Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Keep them hangingA waiting water tanker is repurposed as a clothes drying rack as residents queue up to fill their buckets at Prabhadevi on SaturdayA virtual history screeningNehru Science Centre in Worli is conducting a free virtual film festival which started on Sunday and ends on April 23 as part of their Swachhta Pakhwada initiative The films will be streamed through the Centrersquos YouTube and Facebook accounts ldquoSince the Centre is closed for visitors at present we are conducting online programmes the festival is part of one of the few virtual events we have curated For this we have partnered with the Film Division in Mumbai who have a great collection of movies on Indian heritage sites The festival is free and open to all Since we also celebrated World Heritage Day on April 18 most of the films and documentaries will exclusively showcase the history and knowledge behind sites like Hampi the various Buddhist stupas the Taj Mahal and morerdquo shared Umesh Kumar senior curator at the Centre ldquoWe are doing this to popularise the ideas of art science and culture amongst peoplerdquo he addedA galleryrsquos acid testFlux by Osheen Shiva and HolyTrip by RuiningMagazines which are part of the exhibition at Method BandraOn April 19 1943 Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman who synthesised Lysergic Acid Diethylamide LSD in 1938 as a medical stimulant for the circulatory and respiratory system ingested a dose of this substance He then took an infamous bike ride that revealed its psychedelic nature Method Bandra has now put together an exhibition of artworks that showcase the influence of LSD on art and popular cultureThe exhibition is titled Dosed A Bicycle Day Special Microdrop ldquoThe Beatles to Timothy Leary to Steve Jobs and everyone in between has spoken about their experiences with LSD Our exhibition takes inspiration from the culture built around this controversial substance and includes works by 12 contemporary Indian artists The works will be printed on perforated blotting paper as an homage to the medium through which the substance is consumed We arenrsquot advocating the use of psychedelics through this exhibition rather we are recognising Hoffmanrsquos invention for what it is mdash an important scientific discovery that has changed history in its own wayrdquo shared the galleryrsquos founder and curator Sahil Arora insetThe list of participating artists includes painter and poet Kim Kaul photographer Rema Chaudhary popsurreal artist Rogan Joglekar digital artist RuiningMagazines street artist Tyler and visual artist Priyesh Trivedi who are all based in Mumbai With galleries closed for now the exhibition can only be viewed on Methodrsquos website However the founders have decided to keep it running for a week after the gallery opens to the public Check it out at themethodinAn artistic tribute to Meena KumariBollywood Art Project BAP is an urban art project that aims to transform Mumbairsquos walls into living memorials of Bollywoodrsquos tradition of handpainted posters During the ongoing lockdown its founder Ranjit Dahiya has moved his work indoors to the safety of his studio at Chapel Road Here Dahiya is creating a tribute to actor Meena Kumari to mark her 49th death anniversary which was on March 31ldquoThe film I have chosen is Chitralekha 1964 It was based on a Hindi novel by Bhagwati Charan Verma and Meena ji plays a courtesan Chitralekha in the Maurya Empirerdquo he said The mural is 7x10 feet and Dahiya is adding the finishing touches While the pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to street artists through the last year he is determined to keep the art alive until public walls become available to paint on againAmerican intervention for DivineIndian hiphop mainstay Divinersquos star has risen even higher Gil Green mdash an awardwinning American music video director who has worked with the likes Snoop Dogg and Nicki Minaj mdash recently directed the video for Rider a track from Divinersquos sophomore album Punya Paap The song also features IndoAmerican songstress Lisa Mishra The video shows a ragstoriches story featuring the two artistes set in Mumbai and Dubai ldquoI loved the message of the song which is about an independent woman who Divine is so comfortable with that their connection goes beyond just a relationshiprdquo Mishra shared