Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

In safe hands

A girl carries her brother as she crosses an under-construction railway line at Malad Railway Station

Showcase freedom

An artwork that will be displayed at the Goa museum (right) Siddesh Gautam

Visual essayist Siddesh Gautam AKA Bakery Prasad is venturing out of Mumbai to Goa with his works. Alongside his lectures with the students of Goa on what he calls the Art Side of Ambedkarism, he will also exhibit his artworks and some heritage objects passed on to him by his family at the Museum of Goa. Beginning on August 25, this exhibition will go on for two weeks. "As Museum of Goa is always on the lookout for exhibitions that also educate, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to display what freedom means to us as a Dalit family as India enters 78th year of Independence," Gautam shared. Along with three layers of his printed artworks that shed light on the history of the Dalit community right from Dr BR Ambedkar and Savitribai Phule to contemporary times, Siddesh will also display recipe books written by his grandmother, his grandfather's diaries, utensils and coins, to offer a glimpse into the history of freedom from a Dalit family's perspective, and other vignettes.

Garba meets Korean pop

The event will feature famous K-pop songs from bands like BTS, attuned to Garba beats

Imagine K-pop boy band BTS sporting a bandhani kediyas, or Black Pink in chaniya cholis. As bizarre as this fusion of South Korean and Gujarati culture sounds, community Mumbai BTS is all set to make it a reality in their upcoming event, K-pop Garba Magic. "This is the first time we're hosting such an event," shared co-founders Ayushre A Tari and Soham Haldankar.

K-pop fans dance on the Marine Drive promenade at a previous community meet-up. PIC COURTESY/INSTAGRAM

"As Navratri approaches, we thought, why not combine the excitement of K-pop with the joy of our Indian festival? Celebrating Navratri with a K-pop twist felt like the perfect idea!" the duo added. While the first leg of this event will be conducted in Ahmedabad in September, the community will bring it to Dadar on October 5. "The event will feature performances, followed by a few hours of K-pop Garba. There'll be stalls with festive clothing, K-pop merchandise, more," they explain, adding that they are working closely with a music composer to create a unique fusion of K-pop and Garba beats. For more details, head to @purpledoorevents.entertainment.

Deco, it's Mumbai!

A photograph featured in the newsletter sheds light on an activity conducted by Art Deco Mumbai Trust to educate students about the Art Deco structures along Oval Maidan. PIC COURESTY/Art Deco Mumbai Trust

Featured in the opening story for International Coalition of Art Deco Societies' newsletter are heritage structures from Mumbai, and the journey made by Art Deco Mumbai Trust to restore and preserve them. "International Coalition of Art Deco Societies is a coalition of 28 countries and cities. It is an honour that Mumbai was selected for the lead story, and our work was chosen among the many older and more established trusts from across the world," shared founder Atul Kumar.

Call for celebrations

Yaariyan, a youth-led initiative by The Humsafar Trust started out as a secret Facebook community for queer people 14 years ago. "We would allow people to join the group after an application process to make it a safe space," shared Dhruv Goenka, advocacy officer. The community has now expanded into various online and offline platforms, celebrating the journey of acceptance by the youth of Mumbai. "We will celebrate our birthday on Sunday with queer artistes at Humsafar Trust office in Vakola," he said, adding that it is open for the public.

Going global

A moment from the documentary

Filmmaker Somnath Waghmare's (below) recent documentary Chaityabhumi is selected for the 52nd Annual Conference on South India, which will be held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in USA, in early November.

"This is one of the most prestigious conferences on media and cinema for South Asia. Here, they treat every documentary film as a research paper. After screening the movie for film festivals across the globe, we were soon going to prepare for its release. This announcement came as a huge recognition for my work," Waghmare shared.