Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Let's add some sparkle

Two police constables take a break from their daily grind to check out necklace sets on sale at a roadside vendor on Borivali's SV Road

What's your idea of a home?

Sheena Khalid (middle) during a previous workshop for transpersons. Pic courtesy/Instagram

City-based theatre director, storyteller, writer and actor, Sheena Khalid, will teach aspiring queer writers the art of storytelling with an upcoming workshop later this weekend at Veranda Underground. She explained about the unique theme of the session - A room of my own: stories about homes, "Home could be a place that you lived in in the past, a place that you are currently living in, or it could be a place that you have visited at some point of time in life. Participants will have to carry a physical photograph of their homes along with them." Khalid added, "Home is a place that gives you your identity, safety and comfort. But during the lockdown, it became a prison for quite a few. It would be interesting to get different perspectives on the same idea."

Bhet, naturally

Pic courtesy/@siddharaj_thale

As the monsoon arrives, so does a Maharashtrian ritual that celebrates the daughters of the house - Agotichi bhet. Lawyer and chronicler from Alibaug, Siddharaj Thale (inset) recently shared about this tradition that is carried in Marathi homes. "Monsoons in Marathi are called Agot. Agotichi bhet is the basket that is gifted to daughters who are married. It contains food items that the mother makes during summer, including dry fish [especially in Alibaug], and home-made masala," Thale told this diarist. He noted that while there is no particular history behind this tradition, it depicts the important position that daughters are given in Maharashtrian homes.

Wave of order at Gateway of India

Big waves splash on passersby near the promenade. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

After parts of the city received the first pre-monsoon showers last week, visitors thronged Gateway of India the following morning to get a taste of "Bambai ki baarish". With winds picking up due to Cyclone Biparjoy, a child jumped excitedly beside his mother. And ferocious waves crashed into the Apollo Bunder promenade. Although passersby exclaimed in shock, they were thrilled with the water park-like scenario. Realising the obvious threat to life, the Mumbai Police started clearing the entire stretch. "These waves look harmless but are very lethal," a taxi driver informed this diarist, reading our mind. "Rocks and stone fragments get thrown back on shore from the sea. Yesterday, a stone hit a man on the lip and he started bleeding profusely. He must've received at least four stitches."

Set in stone

One of the stone sculptures at the recently concluded exhibition

This diarist spoke to Baroda-based artist Kamalkant Jain (inset) after his exhibition, I'm more than just a face, at Jehangir Art Gallery which concluded yesterday. Contrary to its short duration of four days, the exhibition carried the weight of 35 stone sculptures. "I began making this art in 1986 when I and a few artists publicly displayed terracotta faces based on the Bhopal gas tragedy at Tower Chowk in Ujjain. The police arrested us on the grounds of illegal installation and released us after realising that we were artists," Jain recalled. Through mallet, chisel and artistic curiosity behind people's expression spanning over three decades, Jain uncovers the essence of the individuals he has met.

Go sista!

Pics courtesy/@dallaekhorsani

Bandra West's community project, Sister Library has set up its station at the Basel Social Club, an international platform for artistes, in Switzerland. "We are exhibiting books by Dalit and indigenous women, the Sister Times newsletter that we print on the spot, and the Sister Radio podcast that voices concerns of indigenous folks living in Mumbai," Aqui Thami (left), founder of the library, told us.