28 September,2024 06:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Satej Shinde
An oriental garden lizard climbs up a wooden post near Mahim Beach
Rahul Deshpande hits the notes for Kala Ghoda. FILE PIC
Come January, and the season for arts aficionados will take over across Mumbai. The Kala Ghoda Festival gallops in every January, with its slew of events, calling the cultural cognoscenti of Mumbai to take it all in. Yet, money makes the mare go round, and the Kala Ghoda Festival too. Precisely, why the Kala Ghoda Association and The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival are proudly presenting the Rahul Deshpande Collective, a curtain raising charity fundraiser concert for the festival being celebrated between January 25 and February 2, 2025. Deshpande is an Indian classical music singer. The concert by Deshpande will be held this Sunday evening at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA. Interested folk can dial 9930977702 for tickets.
Moments from the activities and interactions
Knot Media Club of Kishinchand Chellaram College collaborated with Robin Hood Army, a Mumbai-based NGO for a community engagement initiative for the first time last weekend. The event took place outside Free Press House, Nariman Point, where the students of the committee volunteered to organise interactive activities for the underprivileged children residing in and around Colaba and Churchgate. The line-up of activities ranged from an origami workshop, a music jamming session, mimicry of popular cartoon characters, to a garba jam. "We host interactive events on building community and in the future, we plan to organise a visit at an old-age home and an event on mental health," said Anam Shaikh, a student from the college who volunteered for the event.
French-Moroccan trumpeter, music composer and producer, Daoud (below) made his first performance in Mumbai earlier this week for the Live is Everything show at Bonobo, Bandra. Despite the torrential downpour, the artiste went ahead with his concert. His music is a blend of various genres like rhythm & blues, jazz, hip-hop and Electronic influences. Daoud's compositions defy traditional norms, combining absurd elements and raw vulnerability. He recalled the performance, "I was initially concerned when I heard that it was the rainiest day the city had seen in recent times. But to my surprise, many showed up. It was an incredible experience watching the crowd grooving, dancing and cracking jokes at the performance. I was extremely lucky to experience this as my first day in Mumbai and India. I will remember this gig for years to come."
Our Lady of Salvation Church in Dadar. PIC COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
While most will recognise the late veteran architect Charles Correa (above) for the indelible mark he left on Mumbai's cityscape, Mustansir Dalvi (inset), poet and professor of architecture, wants us to scratch beneath the surface. Dalvi's upcoming book titled Charles Correa: Citizen Charles will introduce readers to the many influences that shaped Correa and his distinct style that stood at the nexus of being contemporary and Indian.
"Correa was one of the most significant figures not only in erstwhile Bombay where he contributed to the designs of iconic structures like the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Dadar, but also across the country," Dalvi shared, further revealing that the book will be an easy read, devoid of usual architectural jargon for readers from all walks of life. The title will be released at the International Conference on Charles Correa at the NCPA on October 12.
The 87-year-old Sahitya Akademi award winner, writer and poet Keki Daruwalla (below) passed away in Delhi on Thursday after suffering from pneumonia. One of the leading lights of Indian English poetry, the former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer also had a strong sense of justice till the end. Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam (inset) shared her thoughts, "With his passing, I have not just lost a friend, but anglophone poetry in India has suffered a major loss." Commenting on his style, she said, "There is always a certain vigour, muscularity and nerve about his poetry. We laughed a lot when we met in April. I read his own poems to him, and he listened keenly." Poet Menka Shivdasani recalled his discipline for craft. "Once, when we were on a flight together, returning from a conference, I watched him read a book, pencil in hand, poring over every word and making comments on the page as he went along. I asked if he intended to review the book, and he said: "I read every book as though I would be writing a review." Since then, I have followed the same practice," she told
this diarist.
