Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Got your back

A dog scrutinises this Mid-day photographer while its owner relaxes at Dadar Chowpatty. 

Tales of Pind

Since its inception, The Pind Collective — a collaborative platform for South Asian creatives — has brought together dynamic artists from India and Pakistan to create and remember the history of a journey. To take their efforts ahead, they put out a call for new associates for the second edition of the Secret Histories project. A cross-border zine series, the Secret Histories project will witness a confluence of artists and researchers from both the countries and venture to explore the Subcontinent’s diverse heritage. Those interested in this visual and text-based research project can check @thepindcollective on Instagram and Facebook.

Designing a win

Brinda Somaya and Balkrishna Doshi

An architect par excellence, Balkrishna Doshi’s most recent recognition is just another feather in his cap. Doshi, who symbolises post-Independent India’s architectural vision, was awarded the 2022 RIBA Royal Gold Medal — the greatest honour for architecture in the UK. He has earlier made the country proud with his various international wins, but his Pritzker Prize — often called the Nobel Prize in architecture — made us the proudest. “It makes me feel so happy and wonderful,” said architect and urban conservationist Brinda Somaya, who looks up to his work. She added while commenting on a senior’s legacy she now knows personally, “He has a rare combination of brilliance and humility. This combined with his humanity makes him a rare figure in our world of today.” That, she admits, is probably why she can’t think of anyone who deserves the honour more richly than he does.

Art that leans into the mind

Art4Good is an art drive taken up by Paint Your Blues and Suicide Prevention of India Foundation to create awareness around mental health in India. “The idea is to develop the world’s largest repository of mental-health imagery. Photos have an enduring power to support a narrative and images impact our minds,” shares Nelson Moses, founder of Paint Your Blues. Participants are given a theme for their submissions, and the selected images will receive prize money. All listed images will be available for free use on Wikimedia Commons. “When the world uses images to promote misinformation, we aim to change how mental health is represented, and de-stigmatise mental health conversations,” he shares.

Feline company

Here’s your chance to ring in 2022 with feline-focused happiness. Curious Cat Company (CCC) is ready with their Curious Cat calendar for 2022. “The calendar shows a day in the life of a cat owner. Daily moments you share with your cat is portrayed on each of the pages. Cats are often seen as distant creatures, but this calendar shows them in a new light,” shares CCC founder Vinda Dravid. The calendar includes DIY colouring, journal spaces, and detachable postcards for your dear ones.

A new platform for directors

Harkat Studios

Those who are keen to find an audience for their filmmaking ideas and more importantly, the means to give them shape, have some good news. Harkat Studios, in association with London-based Straight 8, is giving directors a chance to put more Indian stories on the international map. The rule is simple; make one short film on a Super 8 roll with zero edits. You can see it only when it premieres. “We have 12 spots and all the selected candidates will be helped with necessary equipment by Harkat. The hand-holding is our responsibility. The spots are being filled on a first-come-first-serve basis,” Karan Talwar, founder, Harkat Studios, shared with this diarist. Every year, the top eight entries from Straight 8 are screened at Cannes, but irrespective of that, all India entries will be screened at the Harkat’s 16mm Film Festival 2022, Talwar added.

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