24 April,2022 07:22 AM IST | Mumbai | Team SMD
Pic/Anurag Ahire
A young boy is seen trying hard to get his hands on a graffiti that says "free speech" at Goregaon West
Rahul Sarwate
Academician and historian Rahul Sarwate, who is among one of the three awardees of the inaugural NIF Translation Fellowships, was pursuing his graduation in Mathematics from Mumbai University when he first chanced upon Sharad Patil's Marxvad: Phule-Ambedkarvaad. "In some sense, it opened up the world of humanities and social science for me," says Sarwate, 42, adding that when he read it for the first time, he didn't understand it much. "When I re-read Patil while studying Sociology, I felt that Patil was enabling a conversation between Marxism and the indigenous tradition of Indian materialism and anti-Brahmanism. This conversation was somehow absent from our university training in social sciences," adds Sarwate, a history professor at Ahmedabad University, who will be translating the book in English from Marathi.
Australia captain Ian Chappell at slip watches England batsman Brian Luckhurst grimace in pain after being hit on the arm by Jeff Thomson at Perth in 1974. Pic/Getty Images
Friday night's IPL fracas caused by the Delhi Capitals camp's objection to the umpire not calling a no-ball, was a perfect example of them paying scant respect to one of the basic rules of the game. And that is, the umpire's decision is final and to protest like Rishabh Pant's Delhi did, is a clear no-no. Many players have had arguments with umpires and that includes our columnist Ian Chappell, the former Australia captain. But there were times when Chappell obeyed the men in white coats. This diarist remembers Chappell telling popular commentator Harsha Bhogle way back in 1995 how he was told by umpire Tom Brooks that his fast bowlers couldn't bowl any bouncers to English batsman Brian Luckhurst, who was injured during the Perth Test of 1974-75 Ashes. "I don't agree with your ruling, Tom. But you're in charge of the game and if you don't want any bouncers, he'll not get any bouncers," Chappell told Brooks. Now, that's a nice way to deal with an umpire's decision. Disclaimer: Easier said than done.
Dr Naman P Ahuja
To mark its platinum anniversary, Marg, a magazine that excels in putting the spotlight on Indian and South Asian art and architecture, is delving into its archive of writing on temple art and architecture, to understand the shifts in perspective over the decades. The result is a lavishly illustrated magazine. "Temples were not just made for and used by âHindus'. They are not limited to India. This issue of Marg moves beyond the all too well known Khajuraho, Thanjavur and Konarak to look at temples in Kutch, Kashmir, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kerala and Southeast Asia - each with a unique style. This volume looks at who built temples and why? What were they used for? Given that many Hindus do not believe in image worship, what makes temples valid spaces of worship and what legitimises their public role?" says General Editor, Dr Naman P Ahuja, who has conceptualised and curated the collection.
Bengaluru-based rock band Thermal And A Quarter, also commonly known as TAAQ in the independent music community, will be playing in Mumbai for the first time since the pandemic. For today's gig, they will be bringing their nine-piece line-up. Joining the original line-up of Brue Lee Mani, Rajeev Rajagopal, Leslie Charles and Tony Das will be Sweethin Hartman and Alston Gomes on horns, Noel Prashanh on keys, Ananya Raja and Ranjani Ramadoss on vocals. Formed in 1996, the band has released eight studio albums and has opened for acts like Guns âN' Roses, Megadeath, Deep Purple and Machine Head, along with winning several accolades. The band also runs TAAQADEMY, a music institute in Bengaluru for under-privileged children in the city. They will be performing at The Finch tonight.
Mahasweta Chakraborty, the 24-year-old pilot, who evacuated 800 Indian students under Operation Ganga amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, opened up about her experience at a recently held virtual conclave by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Titled EnablHERS of Change, the half-day event had three panel discussions on women and financial literacy, healthcare and entrepreneurship, with many eminent industry leaders participating. Chakraborty, who calls her job a "life-in-a-suitcase," said that the students who were in war zones inspired her. "Vande Bharat and Operation Ganga made me realise that you don't need to wear a uniform to serve the nation." The others speakers included, Ananya Tripathi, CEO WhiteHat Jr-Byju; Swathi Kulkarni, Co-Founder & CEO, Elda Health; and Neetu Yadav, CEO, Animall Technologies.