The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Shadab Khan
Between Peace and Chaos
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A man sleeps on the divider between the road at Mahim on Saturday.
Once upon a ballet
Students of National Ballet School of India at a dress rehearsal
Rapunzel and Flynn Rider will arrive in Mumbai for a live-action adaptation of Tangled in ballet. Produced and directed by Dhvani Kothari, the performers will include 40 students of National Ballet School of India. Kothari said, “Rapunzel is a fascinating story in itself. We wanted our students to be able to showcase things uniquely, and express themselves.” The live-action production is built around the expressive form of character ballet. The form will bring together acting, dancing and music. Set in the imaginary kingdom of Corona with a princess isolated in a tower, the story has elements everyone can relate to. Kothari is already planning on a second production in December. With performers as young as five, and the oldest being 20, it is a young team in charge. For interested visitors though, a wait is in order. The first production is a private, invite-only event being held at the NBSI headquarters on Peddar Road on April 17. But Kothari is optimistic. “This will be the first of many productions in our plans for the year. We want to take this art form ahead,” she said.
Producer and director Dhvani Kothari
A fable on climate crisis
Recently, educator and illustrator Devangana Dash shared on Twitter about her collaboration with author Amitav Ghosh to design the cover for his upcoming modern fable, The Living Mountain. Dash told this diarist, “Exploring, drawing and discussing a bunch of motifs over a number of rounds led us to the author’s vision of the Mustang Valley in Nepal, an artistic translation of which made its way onto the final cover illustration and design. Dash added that a decade ago, she was moved by The Hungry Tide; and designing a visual vocabulary for the same author’s new book was intimidating, to say the least. Her evocative design includes untamed line work etched in gold over a seamless deep jade apart from a set of lyrical illustrations that await readers in the inside pages.
Meet the Keepers
The Keepers of the Quaich is an international society that celebrates the stakeholders involved in the production, promotion and protection of the much-loved spirit. And Shatbhi Basu, known as India’s first woman bartender, made us proud when she was inducted as a Keeper. Basu — the only woman — along with three others from India including Prathmesh Mishra, Puneet Chhatwal and Manish Pardasani was honoured in what looked like a Scottish affair — kilts, bagpipes et al. “To be inducted as a Keeper of Scotch whisky is like being part of a family of passionate people who love and respect it. It’s like being enveloped in the warmth of years of tradition, heritage, culture and the golden liquid ‘Uisge Beatha’ — [Scottish for] water of life,” Basu shared. Well, slainte!
Butterfly island
If you drive past the JK Kapur Chowk traffic island in Worli, you may be in for a surprise. This traffic island in BMC’s G South ward will soon be a haven for butterflies. Efforts are currently underway to naturalise the space to plant saplings, and encourage butterflies to reside there. Dr V Shubhalaxmi, founder, iNaturewatch Foundation told this diarist, “We plan to set it up on Earth Day itself on April 22, and plant 1,500 saplings to make it look aesthetically appealing.” As for the unending Mumbai traffic, she added, “Butterflies adapt to city life very well.” As long as the island gets enough nurturing and protection, the insects will flock to it. It will be quite the sight in a traffic jam.
An upgrade for kindness
Renu Sakhrani and Naresh Karmelkar
Technology is not just for ambition; it can serve kindness as well. The Rotary Club of Mumbai Bravehearts recently launched their movement, Year of Kindness, with quite the tech twist. Their Kinder app allows you to log in and share a good deed with others. While the doer will receive credit, the receiver of the deed will be encouraged to pay it forward. Naresh Karmelkar, president elect of the club, told us that the initiative seeks to make kindness a habit even during times of normalcy. “As a child — I learnt to always live with kindness always,” said Renu Sakhrani, President (2021-22) Rotary Club, adding, “Kindness is a basic ingredient in the recipe of happiness’. Amen to that.
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