Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Fitness takes centre stageA man attempts the Shirshasanaat the Five Gardens area in DadarTrisharsquos twisted take on mythologyIn her book Misters Kuru The Return to the Mahabharata HarperCollins author Trisha Das spins up a pretty amusing and feminist take on the Mahabharata Therersquos a slice of romance action and bits of comedy ldquoItrsquos a contemporary fun read with social commentary and mythological elementsrdquo she told this diarist A sequel to Ms Draupadi Kuru After the Pandavas Das moves from Draupadi to a second comingofage around the Pandava brothers mdash how would they relive their lives given a choice But the book still holds nuanced interactions that bring to light womenrsquos experiences in a manrsquos world And in this case heaven too Like a final declaration that frees Draupadi from belonging to the brothers Arjuna attributes Draupadirsquos tears to relief unable to fully appreciate the situation But Das doesnrsquot tell and prefers to lay the scene down for what it is In these scenes the importance of retelling a story from a female perspective is highlighted The plot is set in New Delhi which is where Yudhistra Bhima Arjuna Nakula and Sahadeva drop down from heaven Can we expect another title The sister of funnyman Vir Das says that therersquos a romantic comedy nearing completionMusic is artIndiarsquos diversity is not just evident in the number of local languages there are or the varied topography in different regions It is also evident in the individual styles of music practised across the country The Indian Performing Rights Society IPRS an association of industry professionals now wants to highlight that fact with a new campaign called Know Your Music which will involve a series of programmes every month starting June 21 The launch will commence with a panel discussion featuring singers Shantanu Moitra in pic and Abha Hanjura among others ldquoWith this campaign we aim to initiate a transformation in the way people are consuming music thus making music not just a passive consumption habit but a work of art and creation that the audience will take notice of and love to engage withrdquo shared Rakesh Nigam its CEOLook whatrsquos brewing in BandraFrom left Brew Whale cofounders Vedant Munshi and Pranav MehraEver since the state government allowed the sale of growlers last year growler stations have been mushrooming across the city The latest one to launch is called Brew Whale in Union Park BandraThe outletldquoWe realised that Bandra was the most central of our shortlisted locations for us to deliver across Mumbai We also have plans to launch a couple more growler stations in Mumbai this yearrdquo shared Brew Whale cofounder Pranav Mehra Head to the outlet and take your pick from options such as Moby Wit Bowhead Stout Killer Ale and Bandra BrewLined for a winAravind Adiga is no stranger to literary awards He won the Man Booker Prize in 2008 for The White Tiger the book that catapulted him to fame Now Adiga has been shortlisted for Australiarsquos biggest literature prize mdash the Miles Franklin Literary Award mdash for Amnesty Pan Macmillan The book is about an illegal immigrant who flees from Sri Lanka to Sydney and tries to create a separate identity for himself The others on the list include Amanda Lohrey for The Labyrinth Herersquos hoping that Adiga bags the honourYoga shows the wayJune 21 is marked as International Yoga Day and ahead of it the Godrej Group carried out a panIndia survey across age groups that showed how an added number of people have taken to yoga during the lockdown Fiftyeight per cent of the respondents said they have adopted a physical or mental fitness activity during the lockdown restricted not just to yoga but Zumba and meditation too Fiftynine per cent of the millennials questioned said that they have done the same ldquoOur research indicates that many people started practising yoga to remain mentally and physically fit It has certainly helped people deal with uncertainties and anxieties during these tough timesrdquo Godrejrsquos corporate brand head Sujit Patil told this diarist