Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

Falling head over heels

Devotees carry a woman to safety after she faints during the immersion procession of Lalbaugcha Raja on the final day of Anant Chaturdashi.

Bringing down the curtains

Cyrus Broacha and Kunal Vijayakar

Seventeen years is a long run for a programme on Indian television, especially if it does not involve drama. This diarist was disappointed to learn that Kunal Vijayakar and Cyrus Broacha's hilarious parody of the weekly news, The Week That Wasn't, has gone off air. "Many have not noticed since the older episodes are still running on the channel and YouTube," said Vijayakar. Reminiscing about the series, he said, "Sometimes it is good to part ways since it shakes you up to do something different. We need to get new ideas flowing." Even as the old episodes go on, the veteran remarked that the duo are working to explore the possibility of revamping the show in a different format in the future.

Stamp of honour

(Left) A Mongolian stamp featuring Mahatma Gandhi; (right) an artist's illustration of the two Pound UK Sterling with Gandhi's message

Commemorating the 154th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, the online museum of Mintage World has published a memoir, Global Collectibles of Mahatma Gandhi through Bank Notes, Coins & Stamps. The book brings together the fields of philately, numismatics and notaphily, said Bimal Trivedi, team leader, Mintage World. "There are stamps, from Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and even Iran among 150 countries, with Bapu's image. In fact, UK minted coins in 2021 with Bapu's phrases as a tribute to him," he remarked.

Dress it up

Jayita Ghosh; (right) Anil Dadheech and Sarita R, winners of the contest last week

To mark Dev Anand's centenary on September 26, Peddar Road's National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) - which falls under National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) - in collaboration with National Film Archive of India (NFAI), screened the iconic actor's Guide last Saturday. The screening was part of their Chronicles of Timeless Treasures series that showcases Hindi cinema classics. For the latest session, they had invited fans to dress up as the stars of the film. It proved to be a hit with a turnout of over 180 people dressed as Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman. "Everyone followed the dress code, and dressed up in different ways. Hence, we thought of giving people a platform now called Stage Hamara Kirdar Apka. At the screening of The Jewel Thief today, attendees can come dressed up as the characters, and even perform their favourite sequences from the movie," said Jayita Ghosh, of NMIC. The event will also see the family of late actor Ashok Kumar and Shahid Rafi in attendance. Those interested can drop an email on nmic mumbai@nfdcindia.com.

Also read: Maharashtra: Will Ajit Pawar have to eat his words?

Learning some healthy moves

Participants perform capoeira at the 2022 edition of the festival

Andheri-based MMC Dojo, a community of martial artists that also practises movement and flow, have announced the dates for their annual festival next month. Named On The Move, it will be a fusion of movement, martial arts and dance. "This year will see a few new workshops including hoops, kali, a knife-based Filipino martial art and dance fit. There are also sessions on movement, boxing, bachata, capoeira and others," shared Amod Sarang, founder. He remarked that the idea behind the fest was to create a space where fitness is celebrated, something that the city doesn't witness often. Log on to
@mmcdojo for more details.

Fair representation

Nin Kala; Glorious Luna. Pics Courtesy/ms_selfportrait; yusufslokhandwala

About six years ago, when Glorious Luna arrived in Mumbai, she struggled to find an agency willing to represent her. The memory has stayed with her even after becoming a top drag artiste and model. "People wanted to work with me, especially during the wave of androgynous modelling, but it was more of a fad to them," Luna said. Frustrated with the lack of inclusive representation, she has now teamed up with Nin Kala, production designer, model and entrepreneur by taking matters into their own hands with a management company ‘of the queers, by the queers, and for the world'. The entrepreneur shared, "That's why I co-founded Current Management, where the core value is to create a space for all queer artistes from the LGBTQiA+ community and empower ourselves."