Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

‘Train'ed to nap

Oblivious to the arrival of a local train, a dog sleeps on the roof of the Tilak Nagar railway station.

Poetry in her soul

(From left) The cover of Cama's book; Boman Irani and Ayra Cama at the launch

This week, 73-year-old author and teacher Ayra Cama got herself a Navroze gift with the launch of her title, Ayra Cama's Complete Works of Heart at the Adenwala Baug. She told us, "It started out as a playful poem for my son's school work from 30 years ago." They might be simple poems, but Cama revealed, "My son taught at Trinity College of Speech and Drama, London. Many of his students there have also recited these poems. It sometimes gets embarrassing, but it keeps me going."

Back to Bologna

We're thrilled to share that next month's Bologna Children's Book Fair will have a representation from Mumbai. The city-based children's book publisher Art1st has been shortlisted for the Best Children's Publishers of The Year: Asia prize. Director of publications, Ayushi Saxena (below) shared that this is their second appearance at the book fair. "It is one of the biggest children's book fairs in the world, and an honour to be here. We were invited to participate this year, and now have been shortlisted for the award in the Asia category. What sets the nomination apart is that it is picked on the basis of a suggestion by peers and fellow publishers," she said. To be picked on the shortlist despite having a smaller body of work only means that the publications have left a mark on the international jury, she added.

Buzzing out of Mumbai

A beebox to farm bees

While the continuous drilling, digging and construction work across the city has made us all contemplate moving out at least once in our heads, some of Mumbai's tiniest occupants have left. Chembur resident and urban gardener, Chetan Soorenji, recently shared about the challenge of keeping bees in the city. "I have been beekeeping since 2017, but it has grown more challenging in recent years. The numbers are going down," he shared. With growing construction and redevelopment, these pollinators have found their ecosystems disturbed.

Chetan Soorenji

An ominous sign since research suggests the decline of bees can cause a decline in natural resources. Soorenji pointed out, "Even in a neighbourhood like Chembur, the tree cover is slowly diminishing. There are increased levels of dust, smoke and a lack of nectar/pollination sources. The absence of such sources will cause them to migrate to other regions in search of better environments." While Soorenji admitted that the city's upgrade is inevitable, he said, "Even newly redeveloped buildings, for instance, have concretised ground for parking. They do not have a lot of trees or open soil. This prevents rainwater percolation or growth of small offshoots, further affects these pollinators."

Scholarly treasures from the locker

The students, led by Jinah Kim (in blue) engage in discussion during the visit

A visit by Harvard University students and professors unearthed some age-old treasures from the lockers of The Asiatic Society's special collection room earlier this month. As part of the Mapping Colors in History (MCH) project that aims to study South Asian pigments, the team, led by professor Jinah Kim witnessed conservator Anjali Jain, MCH India project coordinator, examine and analyse two manuscripts and reveal their historical significance.

"The visit led to interesting revelations not only for the students, but also for us. For instance, we learnt that our methods of wrapping manuscripts in cloth to store them was putting them at risk of catching microbial growth," Vispi Balaporia (inset), president, Asiatic Society Mumbai, revealed.

In the company of Dante

Franco Ricordi at a performance

The city will enjoy a taste of classical poetry on World Poetry Day as actor, writer and philosopher Franco Ricordi will take to the NCPA stage to perform works by the ‘Father of Italian poetry' Dante Alighieri. Having begun his tour by showcasing the classical Italian poet in Kazakhstan and China, Ricordi will give Mumbaikars a taste of his works today. "Dante is a universal poet and The Divine Comedy is a universal poem. As a poet, he is comparable to William Shakespeare," Ricordi told this diarist. The recital will include a lecture where he will analyse parts of the epic poem, and illustrate his philosophical interpretation of the Italian poet's three famed Cantos. "I will share my hermeneutical rethinking of his poetry," the actor pointed out. For Ricordi, staging Dante in India has another significance. "It is a pleasure to bring Dante to India because he wrote about India so much," he remarked, adding that he will reveal more in his lecture.