Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

Taking the right step

A man lends a visually-challenged fellow commuter a hand to board a train at Goregaon station on Monday.

Sound judgment

Lyricists and music composers often get a raw end of the deal when compared to singers and music directors, especially in Bollywood. But those affiliated to the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) - an organisation meant to safeguard their rights - now have some reason for cheer. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board has recently passed a landmark judgment, saying that lyricists, composers and music publishers who are IPRS members can claim royalties in respect of the broadcast of lyrics and music underlying the sound recordings by FM radio stations across India. This will add to their revenue streams, and IPRS CEO Rakesh Nigam shared, "This judgment is a fundamental game-changer which will pave the way for us to deliver greater benefits to the creative community in India."

A meeting to remember for this author

The weekend was a memorable one for Ayaan Kapadia, who is recognised as the youngest author in the city having self-published his first book at the age of nine. His achievement was conveyed by his family to the Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari, and the 12-year-old was invited to meet him at Raj Bhavan over breakfast. "He asked me about the books I liked to read, genres I like and if I like horror. I also narrated a poem I wrote," Kapadia told this diarist, adding that it would be nice to see law makers take note of more young achievers.

Booked for a film

Published in 2019, Bijal Vachharajani's A Cloud Called Bhura: Climate Champions to the Rescue (Talking Cub), highlighted the urgency of climate change with humour and satire. After bagging the AutHer Children's Book Award last year, the title is gearing for another big break - a film adaptation. The author told mid-day that her agent Kanishka Gupta of Writer's Side introduced the book to veteran producer Sunil Doshi. "We're really excited that our mad brown cloud with the motley crew of Amni, Tammy, Mithil and Andrew sparked his interest and his company, Manzar Studios, has optioned the screen rights. We are at the centre of a climate crisis, and this collaboration will hopefully bring more attention to one of the most defining issues of our time, one that is being called out by children, who are the true climate champions," Vachharajani shared.

Sign of honour at Kala Ghoda

The signboard on the road adjacent to the synagogue. Pic/Ashish Raje

As the first person to have served as both Prime Minister and President of Israel, and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shimon Peres occupies a special place in the hearts of the Jewish community. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 93, and was recognised as Israel's last founding father. Now, Peres's legacy lives on in Mumbai too, as Solomon Sopher, chairman and managing trustee of the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue in Kala Ghoda, announced on social media that the road adjacent to the synagogue has been named after the politician, who had also paid a visit to the space on his India visit as foreign minister. "A function will be held later to honour the late Mr Shimon Peres," he wrote.

Time for Mumbai's margazhi

Meenakshi Srinivasan. Pic/Arun Pradeep

Chennai's margazhi season that witnesses diverse artistic collaborations, is continuing into January in Mumbai as well. This is thanks to Vashi-based Guru GV Ramani Natya Kala Foundation's 9th Margazhi Festival. The event, which will take place on January 30 and 31, is going digital for the first time and will feature performances by Bharatanatyam exponent Leela Samson's Spanda Dance Company, Meenakshi Srinivasan, and a collaboration between Carnatic vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan and dancer duo Renjith and Vijna. "We usually host the festival during Christmastime, but we pushed the dates as a lot of online festivals were underway then. All performances will be pre-recorded in Chennai, and streamed. The artistes have created their pieces exclusively for this festival," shared creative director Gayatri Subramanian (inset). For a ticketed experience of these sessions, head to the institute's Facebook page.