15 July,2026 07:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Atul Kamble
A dog seems very curious about its neighbour's ongoing conversation at Marol Naka
A performance from the 2025 edition. Pic courtesy/@conbriofoundation
Mumbai pianists are flexing their fingers. The 2026 edition of the three-day Con Brio Festival and All India Competition for Piano and Bowed Strings will kick off at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on July 24. With an eye on developing talent, the first two days will host the semi-finals of the piano competition, followed by the finals of the piano and string competitions on the next day. Presented by Furtados, the 16th edition of the festival is built around the theme of flora and fauna, with works as diverse from Léo Delibes' Flower Duet from the opera, Lakmé, to Sergei Rachmaninoff's Spring Waters, and Ludwig Van Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, the compositions celebrate how music reflects the world around us. For readers with an ear for music, tickets are now online at conbrio.in.
(From left) Kurt Cobain (in floral shirt) performs during a Nirvana concert in 1992; Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam at a concert in 1991. Pics Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
Millennials have reason to rejoice. This newspaper's old friend, and Sunday mid-day columnist, Rahul daCunha, is dusting off his vinyl collection to bring them to listeners in the suburbs tonight. "I only listen to music on vinyls. I wanted to bring it to spaces, and pepper them with music and conversation," daCunha shared. The session at High Note in Bandra will focus on one milestone year.
"The year 1991 was the most interesting year in music. It was when grunge almost closed glam metal down. Nirvana broke through with songs that dealt with issues that youngsters were struggling with. It was followed by Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains among others," he added. From Nirvana's Nevermind to Guns n'Roses' Use Your Illusion, daCunha's session will reach out to a diverse listener base. "It feels quite odd to call the 1990s nostalgic, but I suppose that is what it is," he told this diarist. For details about the show, readers can call 8879824242.
The Urban Loo by Kalpit Ashar and Mayuri Sisodia in Secunderabad. Pic Courtesy/@madinmumbai
A quiet conversation has been building up in Mira Road. The Smt KL Tiwari College of Architecture (SKLT) has been hosting The Making of Architectural Practice, a series around the "complex social, ecological, and technological challenges shaping cities," shared director Rohan Shivkumar.
With urban design practitioners, and MAD (E) in Mumbai founders Kalpit Ashar and Mayuri Sisodia helming Thursday's session, he added, "They will speak on public infrastructure, intervening in areas that do not have design values."
(From left) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
Did you know who led the Bardoli Satyagraha that earned him the title âSardar'? Discover the story behind the statesman in Patel: A Life (Aleph Book Company), by Rajmohan Gandhi.
Pic Courtesy/Aleph
The biography follows Vallabhbhai Patel's rise from lawyer to national leader, exploring his role in landmark movements from his years in prison, to the leadership within the Indian National Congress, and the decisions that helped shape modern India.
The book also delves into his relationships with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, offering a compelling portrait of one of India's most influential leaders.
