From art to food: Here are fun city events to kick start your New Year celebrations

It is that time of the year when the illuminated shop fronts brighten up city streets spreading the festive cheer and one cannot help but step out to experience the thrill amid chilly winter evenings From Christmasthemed events comedy gigs and art workshops to brunches and photo walks these events have already encouraged movement across the cityIf not staycations or long weekend getaways herersquos a roundup of interesting events that may pique your interest and enhance your December joyAppreciating modern artContemporary artist Gunjan Shrivastava will be displaying her signature artworks lsquoCyanotypesrsquo online and at lsquoContemporary Signaturesrsquo an exhibition hosted by The Curators Art The exhibition will include works by 30 contemporary artists from across the country with an objective to promote modern art and showcase the signature styles of artistsAs Shrivastava who is also an art critic and cofounder of You Lead Foundation explains a cyanotype is a form of cameraless photography that involves using chemicals and sunlight or UV light to create a cyanblue print It is blue in colour which lends its name cyan to the techniqueArtwork by Dr Gunjan Shrivastava Image courtesy Gunjan ShrivastavaldquoIn an era where photography is now as simple as clicking buttons on a smartphone or other highend cameras cyanotypes manifest in their creators the need to slow down the need to let Nature take over and enjoy a free reign to conceive a masterpiece And my engagement with issues relating to sustainability drives me to use cyanotypes as a sustainable optionrdquo she addsShrivastava will be showing her series lsquoThe Victory Chroniclesrsquo which celebrates women who have accepted themselves embraced their wounds scars of the past their failures and their triumphsldquoThese scars are relics of experiences and define ones journeys They form visual fragments of the adversity overcome and pain suffered They are marks of triumphs projecting our strength and resilience of our bodies changing and growing Our scars hint at the heroes inside usrdquo says ShrivastavaVenue Online at wwwthecuratorsartDate December 15 ndash December 19Entry FreeEscape to the seaIf you are a sea person and interested in a short December adventure Aquasailrsquos lsquoDiscover Sailingrsquo could be something you are looking for You get to experience the thrill of sailing a 25 foot sports yacht under the guidance of qualified instructorsOr you can choose to get on to the yacht loosen yourself and sail through the sea away from the cityrsquos hustle pollution and chaosThe activity is recommended for adults and for children above 4 years Younger children will be accommodated on a case to case basisVenue Aqua 360 sailing MandwaDate December 16 ndash December 30Duration 1 hour 30 minutesEntry Rs 10 000 onwardsThe brunch you might not want to missEveryone loves food And if you are one of those who are into brunches the Grand Hyatt brings you lsquoThe Grand Sunday Brunchrsquo from December 19 to December 26 From special thin crust Italian pizzas from Celini to kebabs from Indian restaurant Soma and freshly prepared dishes from the live counters the brunch will offer food and drinks from the signature restaurants of the hotelSet in the lobby of the hotel the live music and freeflowing drinks will surely add to your brunching experienceVenue Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel amp ResidencesDate December 19 ndash December 26Time 1230 pm onwards duration 3 hours 30 minutesEntry Rs 3 535 onwardsCapturing the lesser known citysidesDCP Expeditions has organised a Weekend Photo Walk for photography enthusiasts and anyone who loves observing and capturing the wilder side of the city Photowalks are increasingly getting popular across cities and DCP has been doing it in Mumbai since 2013 If you are a budding photographer these photowalks provide an opportunity to polish your skills and also document the elements of nature in and around the cityYou need to carry your camera fully charged camera batteries binoculars backup memory cards water bottle medications if any and other essentialsVenue Kharghar Hills Kharghar Navi MumbaiDate December 26Time 7 am to 930 amEntry FreeComedy gigrsquos a mustOne cannot miss mentioning standup comedy gigs in the list of weekend plans A stressful week calls for some relaxation and mindless laughter and Inder Sahanirsquos solo standup at The Habitat is here to tickle youPicking on everyday stories that start with ldquoAap Manoge Nahirdquo this one hour session will perfectly kickstart your Christmas celebrationsVenue The Habitat KharDate December 24Time 9 pmEntry Rs 299 onwardsA taste of IranJust in time for Yalda the Iranian celebration of the longest night of the year sign up for lsquoTaarofrsquo an Iran food festival at Cafe Mommyjoon coowned by the family behind Lucky Biryani and Priya DuttldquoBombay people have had a long history with Irani cafes all over the city but we havenrsquot had a taste of Iranrsquos food and culturerdquo the cafe founders note in its origin story ldquoWith the festival we want to share the joy of food and the diversity of cultures thatrsquos where the name lsquoTaarofrsquo comes from the Persian hospitality and etiquetteldquoGuest chef from Iran Majid Yagoobhi will help serve up a 5course menu of wholesome and fragrant dishes hummus and noone khoshk a Yazdi cracker bread tahchin ba morgh chicken stuffed saffron rice cakes mirza ghasemi grilled eggplant stew and kabob koobideh grilled minced meat among them Desserts such as akbar mashti saffron ice cream and Mommyjoonrsquos special bread pudding will be on offer too The festival will also involve a display from the Culture house of Iran Persian handicrafts Persian style fortune telling or FaaleHafez based on the 14th century poet Hafezrsquos enigmatic words mdash tied together with Persian musicWhile at the cafe donrsquot miss the chance to peruse Nargis and Sunil Dutts spectacular personal collection of books and magazines spanning politics culture and fictionVenue Cafe Mommyjoon Off Linking Road Bandra WestDate December 18 19 and 20Entry Rs 1500 537 GSTContact 91 8928638522