16 October,2026 08:42 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Nimesh Dave
People sit on concrete road dividers as vehicles pass by near the Bandra East railway station.
The guitar riffs will sound sombre tonight, as the news of Mahesh Tinaikar passing breaks through. The 63-year-old, the son of Sadashiv Tinaikar, the former municipal commissioner, suffered a heart attack on Thursday. Tinaikar, a pioneering guitarist and music teacher, formed Rock Machine in 1984 with vocalist Uday Benegal, Mark Selwyn, Jayesh Gandhi, Mark Menezes, and Zubin Balaporia. The band later evolved into Indus Creed. "We have been together 42 years. I am speechless," said a heartbroken Balaporia, sharing the news of Tinaikar's passing. "He was a brilliant guitarist, humble, and completely self-taught," the keyboardist added.
Gary Lawyer knew him since his early days in Mumbai, and worked with him through the years. "In the last few weeks, I have been re-learning the guitar and realising the skill and ability he had to play beautiful arpeggios," Lawyer revealed.
For city-based rocker Ravi Iyer who shared the stage with Tinaikar, he was "a man of few words". "But he remained one of the few musicians who had the guts to call a spade a spade. The unabashed clarity in his thoughts is something we'll miss," Iyer added.
A rockstar till the end, he lit up the Def Leppard stage with the old boys performing Pretty Child in March this year. Farewell, rockstar!
On a day where the music fraternity felt the loss of a stalwart we were also reminded that the art of music is in safe hands. Syed Fateen Ahmed, an 18-year-old pianist from Bengaluru, and the youngest Fellowship of the Royal Schools of Music-holder in India has his eyes locked on Mumbai. The young pianist will join the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation's (MMMF) October 17 showcase in SoBo. "When Fateen plays, you can hear the passion and sheer joy of piano playing, alongside the sincerity and discipline. Each note is never a coincidence, but always a part of a well thought out plan," shared Tavan Shah, piano teacher, at the MMMF. Between compositions of Beethoven and Bach, we'll keep an ear out for the âFateen factor'.
For all those who love our home state, this book should make its way to your coffee table," believes Kalyani Sardesai, author of Gift of the Sahyadris: The Story and Glory of Maharashtra, a new coffee-table book by Heritage India that was announced at a preview event at the Mumbai Press Club on October 14.
Edited by Manjiri Khandekar, the richly illustrated title traces Maharashtra's history across three sections - ancient, medieval and modern - combining research, archival photographs, maps and expert reviews.
"When people talk about Maharashtra, it is usually associated with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. However, this book seeks to tell the story beyond its familiar Maratha legacy, tracing its history from the Satavahana dynasty in the first century CE to the formation of Maharashtra in 1960. The volume of material required extensive research and multiple rounds of fact-checking before we could bring it together," Sardesai added. The book will be formally unveiled by industrialist Dr Abhay Firodia in Pune on October 31.
Recently, we stumbled upon the urban folklore of Man Kapya (âheadless' in Marathi). Nariman Point-based siblings Siddharaj and Priti Thale have brought to life the legend of goddesses Shitaladevi and Champadevi, rooted in the historic town of Chaul, near Alibaug. Their illustration caught our attention, prompting us to explore the folklore behind it.
Remembered as protectors of the sea, Thale explained, "I remember listening to the story of the two goddesses as a child. Worshipping them, especially during the nine days of Navratri, was a ritual our mother followed religiously. We were suddenly reminded of this story, which inspired us to create the illustration."
