Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

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A student of Aarey Municipal School waves at her friends as they leave for the day from Aarey Colony.

Remembering a teacher

Kiran Rao; (right) Artist Naina Kanodia, Tarana Khubchandani and Lalitha Lajmi

Artist Lalitha Lajmi's passing might have hit Mumbai's art lovers hard, but they are coming together to celebrate her legacy. Worli's Gallery Art & Soul will host a talk on February 17 in memory of the artist as a tribute to her legacy. Gallerist Tarana Khubchandani shared, "We have invited several people who had witnessed and been part of her life over the years. Gallerist Shireen Gandhy, and Sumesh Manoj Sharma who has curated her ongoing retrospective at NGMA, will also be part of the talk." This diarist could not help but notice the name of filmmaker Kiran Rao among the guests. "It is not just because she is Kiran Rao, but because of her connection with the artist and the admiration she holds for her," Khubchandani explained. The filmmaker and her ex- husband, Aamir Khan, were close to Lajmi, who had also acted in the film, Taare Zameen Par. "They have admired her as a person and as an artist, even buying some of her works," she noted.

Hoop, hoop hurray

A still from the film, Yaari

Chak De India! might have competition. The NBA (National Basketball Association) has commissioned three films from India as part of 24 documentaries and shorts celebrating basketball from different perspectives. The films - Yaari, Tu Bas Khel and Redemption - will be screened through this weekend as part of the NBA All-Star 2023 at Salt Lake City, Utah. The tale of five girls who prioritise the team over personal ambition, Yaari will debut at the premiere event in the United States. Now, this is a veritable three-pointer for India.

Clay takes centrestage

Ghosh in preparation

It's never easy to guess what can inspire art. Object theatre artiste Choiti Ghosh's next performance is inspired by her two and half year-long research on the doll makers of West Bengal. She told this diarist, "We have been documenting and archiving the stories around the traditional doll making practices of West Bengal. Each village in the state has its own tradition and stories, from personal to communitarian and mythological." The play will be performed using clay dolls from the Sundarbans that reflect on the tales of the land she said. Supported by the Voices from the South programme of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, and being a part of the India showcase curated by the Pickle Factory Dance Foundation, Kolkata, the production will premiere in August 2023 on the digital festival of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Dolls created by artist Dinesh Mondol, Manmathanagar in the Sundarbans

The new mayor on two wheels

Dr Iyer with his cycle

There is a new mayor in town for Mumbai, this diarist learned. Dr Vishwanathan Iyer of Mulund has been nominated as the Bicycle Mayor for the city by BYCS, an Amsterdam-based NGO seeking to encourage bicycle-driven commuting. "The position is an honorary title by the NGO for a tenure of two years," Iyer explained. With over 109 mayors across the globe, including Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, the 49-year-old doctor noted that the effort is to bring attention to the benefits of using the humble bicycle as the vehicle of commute. Describing his own journey with the cycle, Dr Iyer revealed, "When I returned to India after having lived in Brunei, I was struck by the busy life. Soon, it led to a severe back pain that made any leisure activity difficult. That's when I took up cycling." Today, the spine and brain surgeon uses the bike to travel to work as far as Thane and Hiranandani in Powai. The idea, he elaborated, was to put emphasis on reducing the carbon footprint by promoting cycle as the main mode of transport. With the city already ranking high on pollution, it might not be a bad idea.

Some technological tutoring

Poonam Kurani teaches children at a Read Aloud class. Pic/Satej Shinde

While the rest of the world is still debating the benefits of AI, Poonam Kurani seems to have found a creative solution. The Mumbai-based educator recently turned to the AI platform, ChatGPT, for a hand with her weekend Read Aloud project. As part of the project, Kurani visits the Ganpat Patil slum in Borivali West to hold informal reading sessions with children of the neighbourhood. While non-fiction has been easy, poetry has proved more difficult, the educator shared. "I do read and listen to poetry, but cannot create poems for children, particularly on socially relevant subjects." This is where the AI came in handy. "I immerse their minds in poetry. It allows me to stimulate their hearts before I stimulate their minds. The AI also gives me the advantage of creating a poem for the class and then diving into the non-fiction material," she said. As for the argument about the automated tool sidelining teachers, She said, "I feel it is a tool that can be used best by educators. I am using it to make life and lessons fun and easy for students." Aye, AI then.