Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Last minute winMumbaibased progressive and alternative rock band Last Minute are a step closer to settling a record Vocalist cum bassist Sobodh Gupta and guitarist Bhumit Kaur originally formed the now fivepiece group in 2013 They are currently part of a talent contest being held across nine cities including Mumbai Delhi Bengaluru Chennai Kolkata Hyderabad Guwahati Goa and PuneThe winner will be chosen based on an online vote count The band with the highest number of votes gets an opportunity to record an entire album in a professional studio Additional perks to the press kit include a photo shoot and album artworkCity chronicler turns 40In the 1950s the Bombay Historical Society was founded as a platform to encourage interest in history archaeology folklore and epigraphy of Bombay and Western India Sadly the society didnrsquot last beyond the decade and the local history of the city remained unexplored for a while Decades later in 1977The Heras Institute in St Xavierrsquos College launched its annual local history seminar hoping to rekindle the passion in Bombay of yore This resulted in the formation of the Bombay Local History Society BLHS Since then the group has been dedicated to increasing awareness about the cityrsquos historic past through walks talks and sessionsThe society also publishes a newsletter to give voice to its idealogy While Fr John CorreiaAfonso SJ inset a renowned scholar published the first newsletter in 1985 it was named The Bombay Explorer in 1986 Over the years it has offered insight via articles and journals about the cityrsquos urban historyAs part of St Xavierrsquos sesquicentennial celebrations and to commemorate BLHSrsquos 40th anniversary this yearrsquos annual seminar surrounds the theme My Reminiscences of St Xavierrsquos College Mumbai Scheduled for this Saturday the session will see alumni arrive as speakers Justice Gautam Patel of the Bombay High Court Shankar Jadhav of Bombay Stock Exchange Fr Learoy Rodriques SJ involved in Jesuit formation and Tinaz Nooshian executive editor of Midday will speak at the seminarWill this be a cult classicImagine building everything from nothing Then think of Rajneeshpuram This year Netflixrsquos Wild Wild Country became the new lsquobingeworthyrsquo watch detailing the tale of cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the creation of the utopia mdash RajneeshpuramWith The Rajneesh Chronicles Hachette the inspiration behind the series Win McCormack attempts to narrate the inside story behind the commune and the bizarre series of events that followed The book outlines the shocking tale from beginning to end mdash the early life of the godman to the first act of bioterrorism on US soil Set to release on July 26 it also includes rare photographsBuff above the restActing PM of New Zealand Winston Peters publicly criticised its national carrier for serving veggie burgers made with synthetic meat patties arguing that it could affect national sales of beef mdash an integral product to its agricultural economyNathan Guy another MP echoed Winstonrsquos views calling the move a ldquoslap in the facerdquo to the countryrsquos red meat sector which FYI is worth 6 billion Wersquore thinking Air New Zealandrsquos onair kitchen has a better shot of surviving in one of Bandrarsquos justturnedhipnvegan cafes20 yearsItrsquos that time of the year when budding theatre artistes from across Mumbai and India congregate at Prithvi Theatre to sync with all thatrsquos lined up in the lead up to Thespo arguably Indiarsquos biggest youth theatre festival But this year will be special as the festival which was started by Quasar Thakore Padamsee Toral Shah Arghya Lahiri Chris Samuel and Nadir Khan is turning 20 And keeping up with the vision of reaching out to more of India this edition brings Thrissur and Coimbatore under its fold even as it strengthens its presence in Lucknow Ahmednagar Guwahati Chandigarh and JaipurldquoIn the past 10 years a part of our job has become easier since theatre has become a viable career option people who have participated in Thespo have stayed on in theatre It is also rewarding to see young people working not only as actors directors and writers but also in other areas like sound or light designrdquo Shah told this diarist attributing the development to the increasing number of alternative performance spaces and training options in the city on the one hand and largescale productions that pay artistes a rehearsal fee and finance their travel when a play tours other cities on the otherWait a minute guysAkshay Kumar fools around with Marathi teen actors Sangram Desai and Sahil Jadhav at a film promotion on Wednesday PicAshish RajeCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates