Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Nimesh Dave

Bells and Horses

Two visitors examine an installation during their visit to the ongoing Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Fort.

Teacher is king

The poster above the eatery announcing discounts for teachers

Hotel Apala Samadhan in Eksar, Borivli West, is a special find in the city. While every other joint is marketed to us, this one won't pop up in an online search. Unless you Google the name or are familiar with the neighbourhood, you won't get all the details on the Maharashtrian seafood it offers including fish thalis, stuffed brinjal, Malwani wade, and puranpoli. So, any updates about offers and seasonal dishes have to be gathered in person, too. We found it the old-fashioned way, while we were walking past the eatery. On a Sunday visit, we noticed a new banner that offered a discount for teachers. When we inquired, the ‘dada' at the counter confirmed, "The owner was a teacher!"

Stuck in a jam?

Aditi Ramesh and Raghav Meattle

The announcement of a new music festival on the annual calendar is always an exciting thing. Especially when it promises the arrival of names such as Kodaline and Bastille. In October, the promoters of Spxce Jxm Music Festival announced that the festival had been moved to April 2024. But the silence that has ensued since has left both artistes and fans confused. While fans were concerned about refunds, musicians complained of being stuck in limbo. Raghav Meattle, one of the artistes on the line-up of the festival shared that he has had to cope with losing out on close to R12,000 owing to band expenses. "We had been booked for the gigs back in August of 2023. I had already booked tickets for several members of the band. So, the decision of postponement came as a major hit," he admitted. The trouble, Meattle added, was that they had no contact with the promoters after the news of the postponement. Aditi Ramesh, who was set to perform at the Bengaluru edition, shared, "I was booked for the festival through Noel Swami. A few days before the news of the postponement broke, Swami informed us that he was no longer part of the festival, and that we should communicate with Manav Dhumal for further information. The other problem was that they had an exclusivity clause that meant we could not take on any new gigs 45 days before, or 30 days after the festival. Now that it is postponed, it left us in limbo," she revealed. Upon reaching out to Dhumal, founder and CEO of Avirik Live, one of the promoters for the festival, this diarist learned that the promoter is still optimistic of hosting the festival in April. While admitting to some lapses, Dhumal shared, "The line-up might change, and we might choose to make it a one-city festival." About the financial mess, he shared, "We have some paperwork to be sorted, and hope to initiate refunds for fans this week. Almost all the musicians have been paid the advance fees. People are bound to be angry and file complaints. Since I am the only point of contact, it is only understandable. My only mistake was to not be more communicative. But I am trying my best to get the mess sorted out, and we will be ready to make an announcement post-Lollapalooza," he said.

The stage is set

The crew during a rehearsal

Thespo India, a youth theatre community, has opened The Thespo Fellowship for 2024. Young enthusiasts who are 25 years and younger with a love for theatre and the performing arts, can apply by January 31, by writing to thespo@qtp.in.

Toral Shah (inset), from the Thespo team, told this diarist, "The one-year stipend-included fellowship is for three individuals to get a hands-on arts management crash course. It includes building a community, curating workshops, producing shows and programmes, looking at marketing, audience outreach, social media and communication." For more information about the application and programming, you can log on to thespo.org/fellow.

Thinking plenty for the 20

Men's winner Hayle Lemi stamped his class all over the race

A big-ticket event like the Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM), the 19th edition of which wrapped up in the city on Sunday morning, gives the marathon follower much to think about. Like the fact that the landmark long-distance running event will mark 20 years next year. One of the ways to make the milestone truly unique is to have runners from more overseas countries coming in to compete with the African competition. The city spectators standing enroute are slack jawed in wonder as top athletes from Africa like the Ethiopians and Kenyans dominate the distance. This is now a familiar though still beautiful sight. It will be great if we can witness competition from other countries, like top runners from the USA and the UK, for example. The marathon event has had brand ambassadors from these countries. Hugh Jones, race director from the UK, is synonymous with the event, he has been with the race since inception. With world class prize money, the men's and women's winners took back approximately Rs 41.5 lakh each, there is a lot to run for, for top athletes. We can have athletes from Asia (Japan, China, South Korea), South America and elsewhere too. The top runners from Europe can look at coming in here too. Maybe, 2025 will see newer faces from faraway places, even coming up aces.