The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pics/Suresh Karkera
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After two years of pause owing to the pandemic, Shivaji Park witnesses a vibrant Holi on Friday.
Humanity is all we need
A still from the film
Mumbai-based trans filmmaker Pradipta Roy (she/her) is on her way to London. Her film Muhafiz was recently selected in the official list for the British Film Institute Flare Film Festival. “Muhafiz means the one who protects. Despite political differences, negativity and war, we have survived due to a human tug. Humankind’s ultimate truth is that we can react to crises with kindness,” Roy shared. The filmmaker had to seek financial assistance, and added that short films, by their nature are not sellable, and when LGBTQi+ creators tell stories, it is more difficult. She wished that more sponsors would come forward to back meaningful stories.
Pradipta Roy
Mumbai needs to loo-k at this
Locating a clean public toilet in Mumbai when in dire need of one can be a task. But an event taking place in Chennai on March 28 can offer some guidance for local authorities to rectify the situation. It’s called International Toilet Festival 2022, and will entail a three-day marathon aimed at creating a map of all the accessible private and public loos in the southern city, with the information being uploaded on an app with ratings for each facility based on accessibility, hygiene, and other parameters. Ganga Dileep C, principal architect of urban-design firm Studio Recyclebin, one of the organisers, told this diarist, “This database will be studied by a team of fellows whom we will train; who will work with the local municipal corporation to create a strategy report.” It sounds great, but what we are waiting for is a similar platform to be initiated
in Mumbai soon.
Books in hands, dreams in eyes
This diarist recently read that we must encourage children to read, not just to gain knowledge, but to instil empathy and the power of imagination. And walking this talk is Ghansoli-based NGO We Need You Society, which has opened a free library for students. The non-profit works in the space of education and empowerment among children from underprivileged and marginalised communities. Founder-member Atul Gore shared the initiative was prompted by people losing touch with the habit of reading: “We’re trying to create a culture of reading.” Theatre-maker Savitri Medhatul, who is leading the initiative, said the library and their youth programmes are aimed at opening up windows of possibilities for children. “We want the kids to dream and make choices that aren’t driven by their limitations.” More power to that.
Sisterhood matters
Esther Duflo; Rima Kallingal and Meenakshi Shedde
The Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), a collective of women in media professions, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a three-day online event that started yesterday. While Nobel Prize-winning economist Esther Duflo kicked it off with a keynote address, 42 speakers including actor-producer Rima Kallingal, lyricist Kutti Revathi, and journalists Kalpana Sharma and Ramya Kannan, will delve into topics like women in cinema, they who wrote the elections, and socially relevant journalism. There’ll be networking sessions, a workshop on mobile journalism and a performance by Tetseo Sisters, too, shared NWMI member, independent film curator and Sunday Mid-day columnist, Meenakshi Shedde. “It’s a safe space to discuss ideas, share resources, support each other, promote media awareness and ethics, and work for gender equality. It’s like a sisterhood,” said Shedde, who is introducing a session on why women need to tell stories and be in them too. To join in, log on to nwmi-meet-2022.org.
Mumbai to Goa via Pune
Six years ago, Mumbai boys Karan Khilnani and Anuj Solanki, along with Karan Kulkarni from Karad, set up a restobar in Pune that they called Elephant & Co. Over time, it became one of the most sought-after hangouts, with outposts in Kalyani Nagar and Baner. We now hear that the elephant is expanding its herd to Goa, where the pub will open another outpost in Anjuna this month. Khilnani (in pic) told this diarist, “We went from Mumbai to Pune, because we were a start-up and the rentals were much cheaper there. Pune was very kind to us. The Anjuna outlet will have a food and beverage menu that’s very different, based on locally sourced ingredients, and inspired by local chefs and communities. We’re also focusing on premium Indian spirit brands and crafting cocktails out of them.” Here’s hoping Mumbai, too, gets a trunk call.
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