18 October,2026 07:29 AM IST | Mumbai | Team SMD
Pic/Satej Shinde
A monkey jumps in the air to pluck a banana from a visitor's hand, while clutching her kurti for balance, at Film City in Goregaon East
This week, as this writer heads to pujo pandals, for the first time, it is with the knowledge that Kola Bou - traditionally depicted as a young banana tree wrapped in a red-bordered white sari - is not Ganesha's wife, as many Bengalis wrongly assume. The Goddess's family tree has always been different in Bengali mythology, and the misconception comes from Kola Bou's position on Ganesh's right hand.
Rather, she is the nurturing, agrarian avatar of Durga, as we have learnt on reading Koral Dasgupta's new book, Stree Sutra, which tells the tales of demi-goddesses of Indian folklore. Ironically, it is this softer avatar that is said to have confused Mahishasura, leading to him confidently charging to his death at the hands of the Goddess. All this to say that a woman's softness must not be confused for weakness. A timely message amid women's protest against gender violence.
Akshay Jha
The city saw a theatrical interpretation of Narayana Guru's prose poem âAtmavilasam' by Dr Omkar Bhatkar featuring digital creator and actor Akshay Jha on October 16. "What happens when the outward-gazing eye turns inward?" said Jha, "Inspired by the radical philosophy of poet-seer Narayana Guru, The Luminous Play of the Self is a 60-minute sensory journey into the heart of consciousness. Taking its cue from Narayana Guru's most defiant act - installing a mirror in a temple instead of a deity - this performance transforms the stage into a âdivine mirror'." The performance was presented by the Backwaters Collective and Metamorphosis Theatre and Films at the National Gallery of Modern Art.
For this diarist, a morning usually starts with playing the daily Wordle and Minute Cryptic. For the longest time, Mumbai-bred puzzle designer Mangesh Ghogre has been supplying Indian mini crosswords for this diarist to solve. Now, he's come out with a new game called MG Jodo, where puzzlers have to join words to make compound words.
Mangesh Ghogre
"The world is filled with divisions today. I wanted to do something where people can jodo things. Yes, you're playing a game, but it's also an exercise in thinking about how two things can come together. Words which you never thought could come together, do. So the walls in your head come down," says Ghogre. MG Jodo is just the tip of the iceberg; Ghogre teases new puzzles as well. "I'm still looking for an inflection point. What is the puzzle that'll make a user get excited?" Ghogre asks. Log in to mangeshghogre.com/jodo to see the fun.
Folk musicians are often seen as keepers of tradition, their art frozen in time. Anahad Foundation wants to change that narrative with Folktales, a social media-forward video series spotlighting the people behind the music and their influence on society.
The Athira team, a group of women who challenge entrenched stereotypes
Over the past 13 years, the foundation has worked with more than 10,000 folk musicians across India, documenting the country's musical heritage while empowering artistes. Its latest initiative builds on a research paper presented in Edinburgh in 2026, arguing for a more participatory approach to folk music.
"We often understand the art, but rarely the artistes and their role in society," says founder Abhinav Agrawal, "Why do they carry this art when it doesn't support them financially? What do they hold that they believe is more precious than money? Folktales brings out these stories from the folk domain."
The organisation also highlights women challenging entrenched traditions, including Athira, who learnt Kerala's Kanyarkali, an art form traditionally reserved for men. "We want people to realise that folk musicians are not just performers, but creators and carriers of our identity, and no less talented than any urban artist," says Agrawal, "They just need to be heard."
England's Barmy Army, the most loyal yet demanding group of fans of the England cricket team, posted this question for X users the other day: "You can meet one cricketer and have a drink with them - who is it and why?"
The responses, as you would expect, were wide-ranging and involved the best names in the willow game. Viv Richards and Ian Botham topped the list, but there were at least a couple who said they wished they'd meet Graham Thorpe, the gritty left-handed batsman who played for England from 1993 to 2005. Thorpe died by suicide in 2024 at 55.
"Personally it would be Thorpe because he needed an arm round his shoulder as well," said one sensitive admirer. Another was more elaborate and wrote: "I wish we could have talked, and you would have felt safe enough to share what was on your mind. I wish I could have hugged you and told you it will be okay. Don't worry.
I wish I had the chance to tell you that this is the only chance we get to live this life, and you had already achieved more than anyone thought.
More than you ever gave yourself credit for. I would have told you to give yourself some time. If you were worried, to leave everything behind for a while and just focus on yourself. To travel, to go on a hippie adventure, to go to the mountains and pitch a tent and breathe.
Please don't leave- that's what I wish I could have told you. I wish you had stayed." The regret is unmistakeable, so are the beautiful thoughts. Rest well, Thorpey.
