24 March,2021 04:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Anurag Ahire
A woman prefers a glass of sugarcane juice in contrast to the poster where the woman is downing an aerated drink at Goregaon East.
With Holi just around the corner, Red Earth, an arts organisation dedicated to reviving narratives surrounding the country's cultural heritage, is bringing back gulaal gotas (traditional colour bombs) made of lac. "These gotas are created in Jaipur, by artisans who also make lac bangles. In the past, these gotas - which are a by-product of the lac bangle-making process - were found across North India.
However, with the demise of bangle-makers, these colour bombs also faded away from popular memory," said Himanshu Verma, its founder. The colour bombs are much like dry water balloons - they are filled with organic gulaal and revellers can throw these at each other for a colourful explosion. The delicate nature of the lac balloons makes these gotas safe even for young children. They are available for home delivery in Mumbai. Log on to redearthindia.com to check them out.
Mumbaikars, especially those driving down the Eastern Express Highway from Bhandup towards Sion, can view their traffic woes through a rose-tinted lens - the entire stretch is awash in the prettiest pink hues.
The trees responsible for these blossoms, shared naturalist Sachin Rane, are named tabebuia rosea or, more befittingly, rosy trumpet trees, owing to the shape and colour of their flowers. "This exotic species was brought to Mumbai by the British, from the Americas," he told this diarist.
The G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture is hosting the last baithak of its Morning Riyaaz series on March 28. "The goal of this series is to highlight the rigour that informs the artiste's journey by paying homage to this pre-dawn discipline. Each artiste helps the audience to understand the unique form and the nuances of their particular method and practice," said Anuradha Parikh, founder and artistic director of G5A. Among the audience members at the last baithak was Stefania Costanza, Consul General of Italy. Costanza attended Tejeshree Amonkar's morning riyaaz session, which inspired her to create an impromptu sketch. "Morning concerts like this directly enter the heart... the way the artiste explained her music, stressing the pauses and just leaving the breath flowing in between - it is a philosophical lesson for all of us in our lives," said Costanza.
Jeet Thayil, the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Narcopolis, has announced his next book, scheduled for release early next month. About the book, which is titled Names of the Women (Penguin Random House), Thayil said, "It's a retelling of the New Testament, in which many of the female characters - pivotal to the story though they've traditionally been relegated to the margins - are returned to the centre of the narrative." The story begins with Christ cross-addressing Mary of Magdala, asking her to bear witness to his death. It chronicles 15 women, whose lives overlapped with that of Christ. These women, including Lydia and Assia, Martha and Mary of Bethany, Susanna the Barren, and Ariamma the Canaanite, have hitherto been spoken of only in passing or not at all. They stayed with Christ through his crucifixion, when his other disciples had abandoned him.
After a Mahalakshmi-based eatery, it's now the turn of a health café in BKC that is replicating restaurant meals in the comfort of diners' cars. "This is our way of encouraging diners to be safe. You can park your car as per our staff's instructions. You will be given a sanitised table in your car and our team will deliver the food to you," said Kaneesha Shah Jain, owner of Santé Spa Cuisine. They also have an updated global menu.
