Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

On a highWho said exercise is boring A woman at Juhu beach finds a fun way to work outThe brilliance is back on stageQuasar Thakore Padamsee Vivek MadanLate last year when venues reopened theatrewallahs let out a collective sigh of relief after the pandemic brought things to a grinding halt Every Brilliant Thing by QTP was one of the most talkedabout plays on the circuit and had a digital run too during the lockdown It struck a chord for its sensitive take on depression Now the play will return to the physical stage next week Director Quasar Thakore Padamsee is elated that the Vivek Madanled act is back ldquoThe feeling of coming together to work on something and share that with an audience is almost indescribable I didnrsquot think I had missed it this much until we started rehearsals again The theatre has a huge part to play in this postlockdown world where we can collectively look at other human beings with generosity and curiosity ratherthan suspicionrdquoArt for heartrsquos sakeIn this unprecedented year of losses itrsquos art that has kept our spirits high And starting tomorrow 75 artists including Ajay De KH Ara and Jogen Choudhary will come together to showcase their artworks to raise funds for children battling cancer The CherishArt Exhibition which comes days after World Cancer Day will be held at Viewing Room Colaba from February 6 to March 7One of the artworks to go on displayProceeds from the exhibitioncumsale organised by the Cherish Life India Foundation will go towards funding treatment Founder Blanche Saldanha in pic shared most childhood cancer cases are curable if the right treatment is provided in time ldquoPoverty is the main killer The exhibition will help enrich the lives of art lovers and save children with cancerrdquo Drop by and show your support for a causeSee you at The StepsA prelockdown event at TheStepsBandra Pic Courtesy FacebookA few months after TheStepsBandra gave the city a cool new open space the lockdown happened But wersquore happy to see the artfriendly hangout buzzing again with Feb Fest taking place this Saturday Organised along with LYP Mumbai Bombay Greenway and Little Big City the lineup includes live mdash no thankfully not on Zoom sessions by Neel Adhikari Institute of Classical and Modern Dance India Deepmalika Kathak Institute and Kelly Drsquolima among others ldquoTherersquoll be another round of concerts on February 20 After months of staying at home I think people want to be outdoors and activerdquo pointed out Anca Florescu Abraham partner Abraham John Architects True thatEmbrace the nomadic spiritNahargarh Ranthambore the property where the fest will be heldThe music industry is inching towards normalcy in terms of live events and 2021 will witness the launch of a new electronic music festival Nomads The folks behind the Magnetic Fields festival in Rajasthan are organising it in Ranthambore and emphasis will be laid on elements that are often at the fringes of the larger festival Only 400 people will be allowed to attend it and all safety measures necessary at venues will be maintained ldquoOur focus this year is on championing and supporting local excellence in food culture and music as we cautiously celebrate the encouraging signs of revival in Indiardquo organiser Munbir Chawla told this diaristLittle minds big questionsA previous edition of Bal ParishadEvery year since 2007 ldquohealth monitorsrdquo or student representatives from Mumbairsquos civic schools who are part of Bal Parishad and Bal Panchayat mdash advocacy and leadership forums created by NGO Salaam Bombay Foundation mdash come together to voice their concerns on issues related to the health of youngsters in front of policymakers In its 15th year the Bal Parishad was held virtually yesterday with over 450 students representing 20000 kids from across India tuning in to raise questions such as the measures the authorities plan to take while reopening schools and the status of midday meals shared Tshering D Bhutia VP Projects Preventive Health amp Research ldquoCOVID19 gave us the opportunity to go national Every year we focus on tobacco control but this time a variety of questions were raisedrdquo she added