Week planner: Activities around Mumbai you can indulge in

A lesson in history
11 am - 7 pm: Visit Itihaas, an exhibition of rare sculptures which are on display for the first time in the city. Organised by Art Musings, in collaboration with Natesan's Antiqarts, Itihaas gives art aficionados an opportunity to traverse India's glorious past, from 1500 BCE to 2000 CE, cutting across various geographies and dynasties.

India has an art tradition that spans over 5,000 years. Over these five millennia, each ruler had his characteristic taste and preference for art. Sculptures in various mediums such as stone, wood and bronze serve as great reminders of the life and times of India's royalty.

On display in the exhibition is a bouquet of objects ranging from 1500 BCE to 1930 CE covering dynasties as diverse as Chola, Hoysala, Chera, Rashtrakuta and others. From an ancient harpoon to Chola sculptures to Mysore paintings, viewers can enjoy the unexplored areas of Indian antiquities. Sangeeta Chopra, who has curated this exhibition, says, "In total, there are 20 pieces on display. It took us a year to curate the exhibition as we had to handpick artefacts that give viewers an overall view of Indian history."
At: Art Musings, Colaba Cross Lane
Call: 22163339, 22186071

Turn into a shutterbug
4 pm-7 pm: Noted commercial photographer Dilip Yande will conduct a live photo workshop where he will explain the basics of photography.
At: Piramal Art Gallery, NCPA, Nariman Point
Call: 22029483

Tales of Mumbai
6 pm and 9 pm: Eight citizens share their personal and private moments through monologues with the audience in Vikram Kapadia's Bombay Talkies. The play, which has been adapted by Naushil Mehta, stars Rasika Dugal, Sadiya Siddiqui, Namit Das and Kapadia. They essay various characters who bring life in Mumbai to the fore - the general air of malaise, their struggle for survival, the coping with chaos and their fear of, and hope for, the future.
At: Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu
Call: 26149546

Headbangers' ball
9 pm: Fans of heavy metal music can rejoice as Pune's metal band Chaoskamph debuts at blueFrog's Metal Night along with Mumbai-based bands Bhayanak Maut and Providence who are performing here after a year. The three bands boast of crisp melodic riffage, intricate drum patterns and aggressive vocals and will perform
their most popular numbers from their respective albums.
At: blueFrog, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Lower Parel
Call: 61586158, 65251716/18

When three is a crowd
7 pm: Actor Saurabh Shukla has entertained us in Hindi films with his histrionics. But the artiste, who started off his career with theatre, returns to the stage after 18 years with the play Two to Tango, Three to Jive. The piece, which is not only directed by him but also features him in the lead role, is a light-hearted comedy. Sadiya Siddiqui, Preeti Maimgain and Nigaar Khan comprise the rest of the cast.

The play's plot revolves around the proverbial mid-life crisis of Parminder Singh Seth (Shukla) and his mundane existence. Caught between continuing with his monotonous life and the prospect of making things exciting, Parminder begins a journey that is confusing but alluring. How does he deal with this state of affairs? How does he extricate himself from this tangled web of life? Will he go back to his monotonous existence or will he lose himself in the glitz and glamour of an exciting life? The answers to all these questions form the crux of
the play.
At: St Andrews auditorium, St Andrews College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Bandra West
Call: 26459667, 26410926

Monday: Colaba gets a new gallery
11 am to 6 pm: There's never too much of a good thing in Mumbai, especially if it is a 3,000-sq-ft art gallery under discussion. Tarq (Sanskrit for ‘discussion, abstract reasoning, logic and cause'), in Colaba, opens its doors today with the exhibition, Disappearing Professions of Urban India. Check out evocative digital photographs by Bangalore-based photographer, Clare Arni, which explore patterns of vanishing professions and their attempts to adapt. Arni travelled across Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata and chronicled lives of calligraphers, potters and washermen, among others.
At: Tarq, F35/36, Dhanraj Mahal, CSM Marg, Apollo Bunder, Colaba
Call: 66150424

Tuesday: It's noisy
9 pm: Director Atul Kumar directs Michael Frayn's 1982 comedy, Noises Off. It begins where Frayn's play, Nothing On ends. Here, all the action takes place behind the scenes. Noises Off is known for being over-the-top.
At: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu
Tickets: Log on to www.bookmyshow.com

Wednesday: What the F16s?
10 pm to 11.30 pm: The F16s are an alternative rock band from Chennai, and cite The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys as their influences. If you're looking for energy, electronic music and quirky performances, stop by.
At: blueFROG, 2, Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel
Call: 40332300

Thursday: Daily dose
8 pm onwards: The Daily in Bandra is now more than just a bar. As part of their FAM jam, you can now sit back and groove to the sound of the Squidworks, Zokhuma and Amrisha or watch US-based artist Miles Toland at work.
At: The Daily, ground floor, behind Shoppers Stop, SV road, Bandra West
Call: 992044663

Arranged marriage and a journey
6 pm: Watch journalist Nadia Zouaoui's documentary, Nadia's Journey - The Complex Reality of Arranged Marriages.
At: Alliance Française Auditorium, Alliance fraçaise de Bombay, 40, New Marine Lines
Call: 30932030

Friday: Marshals with a funny bone
10.30 pm: Stand-up comics Sapan Verma, Angad Singh Ranyal, Amogh Ranadive, Karan Talwar and Brij Bhakta think they know what's really funny, beyond the YouTube cat videos, that is. An evening with the Comedy Marshals should tickle your funny bone, or help you develop one - just kidding.
At: Canvas Laugh Factory, Palladium, Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel
Tickets: R500 (Available at venue)

Saturday: Japan, on screen
2 pm to 8 pm: The NCPA will screen 10 Japanese films as part of the Japanese Film Festival India and Japan Expo. Pick from Dreams For Sale, Bread of Happiness, Cheers From Heaven Dear Doctor and others.
At: Little Theatre, NCPA, NCPA marg, Nariman Point
Entry: Free

Aim and shoot wildlife
Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm: Wildlife enthusiasts may want to pay attention. Rathika Ramasamy, who has been described as one of India's first women wildlife photographers, will organise a workshop on wildlife photography on March 8.

Those interested should carry a digital SLR camera and a set of lenses. The day will be divided into two sessions - indoor concept and outdoor shooting sessions. The indoor concept shooting session will cover basic photography concepts such as aperture, shutter speed, white balance, depth of field and so on. Other concepts that will be covered include lighting, composition techniques and ethics of wildlife photography. The latter half of the workshop will include field shooting at Uran grasslands.

At: Hotel Yogi Midtown, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai
REGISTRATION FEE: r4,000
log on to: www.drcaesarphotography.com

A day with art
Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm: Attend a two-day workshop Words & Images: The Art of Writing on Art on March 8 with Ranjit Hoskote, who has been described as one of India's finest art writers, cultural theorists and curators.

Hoskote has also been a visiting writer and fellow of the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa and was writer-in-residence at the Villa Waldberta, Munich. He has also held an associate fellowship with Sarai CSDS, a media initiative of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi

The workshop is set in the context of a rising demand for informed narratives on Indian Art. It further aims to teach participants how to situate art works within their broader context, social, political, economic, cultural, how to use a wide range of styles, voices and approaches to writing about art and how to develop a point of view and present complex ideas clearly.

At: Essar House Podium, Essar House, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai
REGISTRATION FEE: Rs 3,500
log on to : www.avidlearning.in

Hunting in Bandra
Sunday 8:30 am onward: Travel company Broken Compass will hold its first treasure hunt in the city - Bandra, to be more specific - on March 9. Six teams of three members each will fight it out in Bandra, following up on clues and tasks to win the game. Organisers are tight-lipped about the tasks ahead, but hint that all clues and levels will have something to do with the Queen of Suburbs. Applicants should be above 18 years of age and should also be medically fit to participate. At the time of registration, applicants should register as a team of three and not individually. Teams for the hunt are chosen on a first-come, first-serve basis. Besides aiming to have a fun-filled day, organisers explain that this is just a better way to know your city a little better. Those interested will be given a list of rules that they must agree to abide to before registration.

At: Will be disclosed at the time of registration
REGISTRATION FEE: Rs 1,800
For registration details email: info@brokencompass.in or call Manjari Verma: 9819355116

Celebrating life in all its glory
Thursday, 11 am-7pm: Ninety-year-old artist Krishen Khanna's solo exhibition A Celebration of Line opens at the Sakshi Art Gallery today. It will be on view till April 5, 2014.

Khanna's work is rooted in the social, historical, political and autobiographical context of India. His paintings often portray the common folk he has encountered at some point of his life such as Miss Amery, the English teacher and Dr Gurbux Rai from his pre-independence days in Lahore. It is, however, the quality of his works to transcend the ordinary moment and strike a moment in infinity, which makes them truly remarkable.
Khanna has described his technique as a process of welcoming the unpredictable to achieve something serendipitous, combining calligraphy with chance whilst removing all extraneous figuration and detail from the picture plane. Though in the past Khanna has used bright colours in his paintings, in this particular exhibition, he has used only monochromatic shades. He says, "It is best to avoid the dynamics of colour when I want say something particular."

Where: Sakshi Art Gallery, Synergy Arts Foundation, Colaba
Call: 66103424

All about relationships
Monday, 6:30 pm: Directed by Philippe Faucon, Dans La Vie is a 2007 French movie. It revolves around Esther, an old Jewish woman whose helpers resign due to her foul temper. Selima, a day nurse, advises Elijah, Esther' son, to hire her mother, a practising Muslim, to assist Esther. Elijah hires Halima, mother of Selima and a bond develops between the duo.

Where: Alliance Francaise Auditorium, Marine Lines
Call: 22035993

When your handwriting speaks volumes about you
Tuesday, 1 pm-7 pm: Graphology is the study of handwriting. As a theory or practice for inferring a person's character, disposition, and attitudes from their handwriting, graphology is considered pseudoscience. This week, you can understand the basics of graphology and in the process learn more about yourself at a workshop conducted by MJ Rajore, a renowned Graphologist and the founder director of the Institute of Graphology and Personal Success. The workshop kickstarts the March Talent Tuesday at the High Street Phoenix.

The best way to express yourself is to write your heart out. One's handwriting is said to be a reflection of one's personality and character traits. An individual's style of handwriting is a beautiful art to understand and to learn about as it is interesting to see how it can help us find the character of a person through the way he/she puts pen to paper.

Where: Courtyard, High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel

Tea-time sojourn
Saturday, 4 pm-6 pm: Tea sommelier Snigdha Manchanda of Tea Trunk has specially curated this walking tour of iconic tea places around South Mumbai, with key inputs from prominent historians on the city's history and architecture.

Every day in Mumbai, fortunes are made and dreams are realised. Hard work requires burning the midnight oil, of course, fueled by endless cups of steaming chai! Whether you are in the business district of South Mumbai or in the homeland of Bollywood in suburbs, everyone knows Chotu, the local chaiwalla. Take a journey to know their stories. Explore the chai culture that defines the pace of the city.

Whether you are a tea enthusiast, city lover or just someone who enjoys a cup of tea and conversations, this walk is sure to engage you and deliver an enjoyable evening around town.

Call: 918381023382 to register, or e-mail teatime@teatrunk.com with your details
Meeting point: Union Bank, near main gate of Bombay Stock Exchange
Charges: Rs 900