The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Rane Ashish
Look who's on board
Carrom board in tow, a man has his priorities sorted during the lockdown, ridding pillion near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport over the weekend. Pic/Rane Ashish
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Mudgal moves her thumri lessons online
An online learning initiative titled #LearningNeverStops, in its fourth week, has added to its repository a session titled Appreciating Thumri by Padma Shri awardee artiste Shubha Mudgal. Attempting a short-duration web class for the first time, Mudgal told this diarist, "I found the experience rather challenging for several reasons. Firstly, it is difficult to compress a fair bit of information into a short episode with clarity and precision. Secondly, the absence of any live accompaniment during the lockdown made the presentation a bit sterile, and I kept wishing that I could have done this after the lockdown was lifted. And finally, ensuring that my canine companions don't leap into the frame posed quite a challenge," adding that the episode is meant for anyone with an interest in Indian music. "Hopefully, it will encourage viewers to listen to some more thumri and perhaps, explore and discover more about the genre," she signed off. Log on to facebook.com/Avidlearning.
Stories, more stories
As a means of taking education during the lockdown online, Scholastic India is hosting a week-long story fest that begins today. It will bring six storytellers and six children's authors from around the country together, on a single platform. There will be 12 Facebook live sessions in all. Folktales will be told in languages like Marathi, Bangla, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi and Greek. "The Scholastic Story Fest was conceived with the understanding that children and their parents need avenues for spending quality time. It is meant for children of ages five to 11 and their parents. It aims to bring to them the best storytellers and authors with fun and entertaining stories in a unique way, and in the comfort of their homes," Neeraj Jain, MD, Scholastic India, told this diarist.
We've got your back
Zubaan Publishers has been hosting a web series titled A Crisis of Care: Feminist Perspectives on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown in India. This week, the publishing house will shift the focus of the series to the queer and trans communities and will include feminist researchers, scholars and activists who will discuss issues posed by the pandemic in India. In the session to be held online on Tuesday, activists Raj Merchant, Chayanika Shah and A Revathi will be in conversation. "I don't know of the format yet but after the HIV crisis, the Coronavirus has hit the community hard, and I will be talking about this experience. Of course it isn't just our community that has been affected. But, trans livelihoods are dependent on sex work and festivals in the regions of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, all of which have seen a decline or cancellations. Our livelihoods have suffered, and we don't know how long this will last," A Revathi told this diarist.
Witness art through an archive
Dhruv Janis' Somewhere
Hoping to provide solace through art, Bengaluru-based India Foundation for Arts (IFA) is sharing the work of their grantees online in a series titled Staying Connected. From music to interactive fiction and contemporary art, you will find all it, including a session on personalities from the Agra gharana. "It is a way to engage our audience even in these difficult times when we are all isolated. IFA grantees have been creating interesting material as part of their projects from performances, to interactive games, listening sessions, articles, online archives, exhibitions, multimedia art and photographic projects. This series is enabling us to share this amazing work with the world, and help the team stay connected with audiences," Menaka Rodriquez, head of resource mobilisation and outreach, IFA, told this diarist.
Putting expectant mothers first
This can be a stressful time for expectant mothers. Apart from the knowledge that there's a pandemic out there and healthcare services being inaccessible, pregnant women are also unable to attend pre-natal classes. To address these concerns, Motherhood Hospital is starting a webinar series called Little Things About Pregnancy on April 30. The sessions allow parents to interact with experts and address various topics related to pregnancy and childbirth. "We conduct group webinars to educate young mothers on various important aspects including exercise and diet vaccinations, and also respond to their queries. It's important to keep expecting mothers informed at this critical juncture," said Vijayarathna Venkatrama, CEO. Call 18001088008 to register.
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