The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Sameer Markande
Back on track
A man walks past wall art outside Ismail Yusuf College in Jogeshwari that echoes the city’s return to normalcy.
ADVERTISEMENT
Back with a bang
After nearly 11 months of staying shut, we’re happy to hear that Mahalaxmi’s G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture is opening its doors to events, workshops, film screenings and discussions from March 1.
A pre-lockdown event at G5A. Pic courtesy/Facebook
And there are a host of projects in the pipeline - digital and physical - including some of G5A Forum’s productions such as Morning Riyaaz and Table Reads, and the virtual cinema club. Ishan Benegal, associate artistic director, said they are taking utmost care to ensure COVID-19 protocols are in place. “We’ve missed the buzz of audiences, and hope that despite all the restrictions, we’ll be able to experience some level of normalcy.”
Kulfi on the table
Kulfi side tables from The Kulfi Collection
During the peak of the lockdown, Farzin Adenwalla, founder and creative director of design studio Bombay Atelier, decided to work on a project that would lighten up the gloomy times we were all living in. Having been in touch with artisans, she knew that they really needed work. So, Adenwalla tied up with six artisan communities working with metal art forms such as Koftgari, Kansa, Kandkari, Naqqashi, Bidri and Thathera, and Bharat Floorings. The result of this collaboration is The Kulfi Project, a collection of unique kulfi-themed tables that draw on the nostalgia, comfort and delicious flavours of the dessert.
Farzin Adenwalla
The first line boasts of kulfi cone-inspired side tables, whose base has been crafted by metal craftsmen and the terrazzo - in hues of rose, saffron, malai and pistachio - by Bharat Floorings. “Twenty per cent of proceeds from each sale go towards supporting these artisans. The idea was to get designers to work with more artisans,” she said. But why kulfi, we ask: “Growing up in New Zealand, I have fond memories of my mother making kulfi. Also, any person with a kulfi in hand always looks happy and nice, isn’t it?” We agree.
Raise a toast to Braz and jazz
Braz Gonsalvez (in maroon blazer) at the cafe. Pic/Ian De Noronha
Goa and jazz music in India have an interlinked history, and a new eatery there now pays tribute to Braz Gonsalvez, one of the greatest saxophonists that the Sunshine State has ever produced. It’s called Cháfé Braz, the title being an amalgamation of the words ‘cha’, or tea, and café. The Centre for Indo-Portuguese Arts runs it, and co-founder Orlando De Noronha shared that there are two parts to it - one is the eating area in a verandah that overlooks the river, and the other is a jazz room where gigs and workshops are held. He added that the menu comprises traditional Portuguese dishes that are getting lost with time, such as empadinhas de carne, a savoury pastry, and serradura, which is also known as sawdust pudding. “It was always my dream to honour these legends of jazz, and for me, Braz is the greatest saxophonist that India has ever seen,” De Noronha told this diarist.
Now, that’s a beery good idea
Does art and tipple sound like a perfect match? Home-grown microbrewery Crafters has tied up with Art Amore, which conducts workshops, to organise a Valentine’s Day contest that requires participants to think up creative ways to upcycle a growler of beer that they receive once they sign up. All you have to do is recycle it with your own design, and post a picture on social media, tagging them. Moreover, those who post the pictures of the repurposed bottles also get 70 per cent of the registration charges back. The winners will be announced on February 16. “The idea is to get more people to do fun stuff with our growlers. Using the growler as an art piece will also help people discover interesting facts about their design which otherwise goes unnoticed,” shared CEO and MD Vipul Hirani. Head to allevents.in to sign up for an artsy date.
Flying high with numbers
Asian Brown Flycatcher, one of the species spotted. Pic/Kushal Kulkarni
Greenworks Trust, a Mumbai-based NGO, and the forest department of the state government recently joined forces to conduct a bird count at the Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary. Forty-one birding enthusiasts, along with the NGO’s volunteers and forest department personnel, were divided into different groups to scan the entire area, and they recorded not just 190 species of birds, but also 50 species of butterflies, 10 different types of amphibians, 23 species of mammals, 18 different reptiles, and four varieties of spiders. “We even saw a mouse deer, which is a rare sighting,” said Kushal Kulkarni, one of the participants, adding that the survey was conducted over three days in January.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
