Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Rane Ashish

Just like when we were kids

A visitor to Juhu Chowpatty cracks up on missing her step and tripping on the sand

Aadhaar ki kahaani

Abhimanyu Tiwari

Our whole identity is linked to our Aadhaar card and now, we will get a glimpse of the process that led to creating the world's largest social identity programme. Docubay's latest documentary, 12 Digit Masterstroke: The Untold Story of Aadhaar, is the story of this phenomenon. "When we started research, we discovered a story of pure genius and grit," the directors, Abhimanyu Tewari and Sujata Kulshreshtha of Wide Angle Films, told this diarist. "Technology experts declared it an impossible task. There were a lot of hurdles from within and outside the government echelons. But the team refused to give up."

Tired minds, over-worked bodies for biggest T20 international event?

India captain Rohit Sharma (left) and his deputy Hardik Pandya

The Indian cricket team who fly out to America for the ICC T20 World Cup at the end of the Indian Premier League, could be a weary bunch. Or let's say staying fresh and ready for the new challenge will be their No.1 task. Physical and mental fatigue spare no one and it must be remembered that cricketers, no matter how skilled and talented, are human, after all. Our in-house cricket nut stumbled on an 1984 interview of Greg Chappell in which the former India coach and Australian batting stalwart spoke about fatigue. "The mental tiredness is worse. If you're physically tired, it's amazing what the body can do. You can push yourself to extraordinary lengths. When you're mentally tired, it's difficult to perform at anywhere near your optimum level." The Indian team sure have their task cut out even before the first ball is bowled in the international T20 tournament which they haven't won after the IPL came into their life in 2008.

Peer into Ballard

Mumbai-based design magazine Paper Planes has launched a unique web game, that is accessible via desktop and laptop. The game, aptly named Ballard Peer, is about one of the most beautiful office districts in Mumbai. Available at https://www.joinpaperplanes.com/ballard-peer/ the game has made for us Mumbaikars to know a little about the area in a fun format. "It is a part of our Local Attractions series - where we look at buildings and public spaces in our cities and towns. With the Ballard Peer game we wanted to look more closely at the Ballard Estate neighbourhood and offer insight about its design and heritage in an interactive and engaging way," says Fabiola Monteiro, the editorial director at Paper Planes. The company says its aim is to contribute to the city's social fabric. "We would love to do more such games, especially with the right partners," adds Monteiro.

Not allowed please

The Santa Cruz police station has not given permission for a peaceful protest scheduled for today, to commemorate the beautiful Baobab tree at Santa Cruz (W). The tree was allegedly hacked for the Metro project, that too, locals and Friends of Trees (FOT), say at midnight. The protest invite was whirring on social media and there was also a dress code of white, to show that this was a gathering to mourn. Since the protest has been disallowed, we learn a complaint will be filed at the police station. A Friends of Trees (FOT) member stated that they wanted to ascertain if possible, where this tree, or pieces of the tree have been "dumped" on whose orders it was chopped and why it was done away with at midnight. Rest in peace, dear Baobab.

When a bad review prompts art

Aaryaman trivedi; (right) Akash Ahuja. PIC/INSTAGRAM

Recently a row broke out on the internet between a music writer and rapper. After talent manager and writer Aaryaman Trivedi, who writes for Rolling Stone India, critiqued rapper Akash Ahuja's song Balenciaga and called it "nothing to write home about", Ahuja posted about the music publication "bashing independent artists when half of your revenue comes from articles bought by independent artists". He went ahead and released a diss track and called it "F''' Rolling Stone". Social media soon was rife with chat about the freedom to critique and if an artist manager had a conflict of interest when it came to critiquing other artists. When we spoke to Trivedi, he said he was "amused". "It really goes far in highlighting the fragility of many musicians' - and especially rappers' - egos. To be unable to stomach criticism against your art, let alone something published seven months ago, does not reflect well for anyone in my opinion. It is, quite literally, my job to review and critique music. It is true that I continue to manage an artist, but this is also not an uncommon occurrence. Our industry is filled with entrepreneurial individuals who don several caps at once. To think that people are unaware of their own professional boundaries is condescending." We reached out to Ahuja as well, but he didn't get back by the time this article went to press. We wouldn't take sides though - as much as Trivedi is free to voice his opinion, Ahuja like many artists, is free to make art out of every emotion he feels. All we can hope for is that the discourse stays healthy.