Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Bad timing

The iconic clock face above the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) pauses while under repair

NYC welcome for MC Stan

The billboard at Times Square in New York City (right) MC Stan

MC Stan is hogging billboards in New York City. Commemorating the recent release of his single last week, Haath varthi - as well as his collaboration with producer and DJ KSHMR on the latter's album, Karam - MC Stan has earned himself a feature on a Times Square billboard. If that were not enough, the Mumbai boy will also feature on billboards in Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and the music hub of Nashville, Tennessee. "From being a basti boy to seeing myself on billboards outside India, the journey has not been easy but by the grace of God it has been exciting," he told us. While going global has always been a dream for the rapper, he promised there is more to come on the musical front. "Haath varthi is a special song that I have worked on with KSHMR for his upcoming album and the response has blown our minds. This is just the beginning," he added. It does not get bigger than this, boss.

Beyond the stage

The usual stereotype of theatre artistes being poor needs some changing. Next week, Aadyam theatre will hold a conversation in Versova to explore the different avenues that training in theatre can open up. With actor Geetanjali Kulkarni, theatremakers Sananda Mukhopadhyaya and Yuki Ellias (inset), it will be moderated by writer-director Irawati Karnik. The panel is a resource for anyone interested in theatre, and will reveal how theatre can extend beyond the stage, said Mukhopadhyaya who will speak about her experience of theatre in the educational space. Remarking on the application of theatrical tools such as body language, performance and communication of ideas towards training individuals in the corporate realm, Ellias remarked, "It will be important for aspirants in theatre, but also extend to people interested in sharing knowledge beyond the performance."

Dance to the rhythm of a new lndia

Children rehearse ahead of their performance

How do you explain the complex and often confusing ideas of India to children? Use music, revealed Shaheen Mistri, founder of Teach For India. In June, Mistri will lead children from the foundation's course in a musical performance of The Conference Of The Birds at St Andrew's Auditorium in Bandra. It was a question about ‘What is India' that inspired her to conceptualise the play.

Shaheen Mistri

"The idea that any child can achieve at high levels, that all children can pay their education forward, and that our nation's leaders are built in our classrooms, drove me to conceptualise The Conference of the Birds journey," the founder remarked. To add a touch of the new generation to the performance, Mistri reached out to hip-hop artist Nimo Patel and composer Anuraj Bhagat to create a Sufi-style, Hamilton-inspired composition titled ‘I and I'. The children have been training for 18 months now. The show travels to Delhi and Bengaluru as well, after their date with Mumbai on June 3 and 4.

Because Colaba is in its stories

Actors at an earlier walk. Pic Courtesy/Yash Gupta

The city's neighbourhoods can hide stories, but you have to scratch beneath the surface, Vikram Phukan told this diarist as he shared the anecdote of discovering filmmaker Ismail Merchant's former office in Tulloch Road, Colaba. The writer returns with his Postcards from Colaba next week that blends performance with exploration through such stories.

Narrated in verse by actors, the walk will focus on stories from the neighbourhood's queer history. "The performative walk was supposed to be a one-off, but the venture just grew," said Phukan who began Postcards from Colaba last year as part of an exercise. But what drew him to Colaba in particular? "We look at the region as a historic or colonial space, but a lot has not been written about, which feeds into a community that has been marginalised," he noted. Those interested can register @vikithephu.