The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Eye spy
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A child gives the mid-day photographer a look at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.
Give these sarees a second chance
Susmita Misra; (right) MoS focuses on pre-loved sarees
MOS (Magic of Sarees) Preloved is a digital marketplace that kindles a shared love for sarees and is a special initiative in India’s small world of sustainable fashion. The site sources and lists sarees that are of little use to their original owners; these drapes find their way to new closets. For this festive season, MOS had curated and made their Preloved Reds available for purchase, urging people to make these sarees a conscious gifting option. Susmita Misra, its founder, told us, “In our country, second-hand clothes are a hit amongst youngsters, but social media handles that promote such sales include other dresses and artefacts.” Misra adds that they focus only on sarees to cover a wider audience. Their latest collection, curated for the festive and wedding seasons, is a niche fashion business. “A buyer, who bought five to six sarees at one go, told me she will start gifting it to her loved ones. Sarees must be given a second chance for the memories they hold. Also, due to social media visibility, many don’t repeat sarees. Buying preloved sarees will make a saree run its actual course.”
Going regional
Dr Verghese Kurien aka The Milkman of India led an extraordinary life in which he transformed the way dairy operations were run in the country, thanks to his efforts at Amul, where he empowered farmers by making them direct stakeholders in the business. He documented his journey in his autobiography, I Too Had a Dream. The publisher (Roli Books) is now translating that English title into several regional languages including Gujarati, Malayalam and Marathi. The move will give a wider group of people access to the man’s incredible story.
Food for thought about 2022
Leading up from the month of October to around Christmas Day, the F&B industry had been genuinely hopeful that the worst days of the pandemic were over and business would start prospering again. That’s what Anurag Katriar, a trustee at the National Restaurant Association of India, told this diarist as we step into the new year, adding, however, that there has been a negative impact post-Christmas due to cases rising. “NYE sales were worse than Christmas this year, which is usually not the case,” he shared, adding, “I am nevertheless hopeful about 2022, and hope that Omicron doesn’t bring about any knee-jerk reaction from the government. I mean, if we are already working at 50-per cent capacity, why not relax the hours? These are logical questions.”
Books and the arts
Anshika Varma. Pic/Adil Hasan
India Art Fair and Ishara Art Foundation have collaborated to host an online symposium (January 6-7) that will focus on the next generation of practitioners shaping contemporary art in South Asia. Called Staging the Contemporary, this platform will include artistes, curators and writers born in the post-1980s. Photographer Anshika Varma, founder at Offset Projects and one of the panelists, shared, “At this talk, I will be deliberating on the photo book and its journey as an artistic medium, and how and why books are gaining importance in the arts.” Due to the pandemic, India Art Fair has been postponed to April 2022. For more details, head to ishara.org
Creating a zine in the city
Interested applicants can only send in physical zines
The folks behind The Bombay Zine Fest, an event that has championed the independent art of zine-making in the city, have planned a smaller festival later this month in view of pandemic restrictions. It’s called Zine Kya Hai, and organiser Himanshu S shared that they have almost finalised a physical venue. He added that they will showcase zines from their own roster as well as those of international artists. There is also an open call for people to send in their own pieces. “But I must clarify that we are looking for only physical zines. We often get enquiries from people looking to send PDFs, but we ask them to make an actual, physical booklet,” he told us. Those interested can contact bombayunderground@gmail.com.
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