The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
PIC/NIMESH DAVE
The daily catch
Fisherwomen on their way home after a long workday watch a local train zoom past them at Malad railway station
Give love a chance
A participant holds up a sign at the event. PIC COURTESY/MUMBAI FOR PEACE
Mumbai for Peace, a new citizen-led movement, went vocal for a harmonious Mumbai last Saturday. At an open jam in Prabhadevi, artistes like Imaaduddin Shah, Anand Patwardhan and Aamir Aziz — whose poem Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega became the background score of the 2019 CAA NRC protests — showed up in solidarity.
Children at the jam
“Mumbai was never like this. The recent rise in intolerance is appalling,” said member Sandhya Gokhale. In the months to come, the community aims to host film screenings and discussions to remind Mumbaikars of their true spirit. If you’re keen to sign up, head to @mumbai4peace.
A five-zitar act
(From left) Niladri Kumar and Makarand Deshpande in rehearsal at Prithvi Theatre. PIC COURTESY/Hussain Attari
The latest collaboration in Makarand Deshpande’s special project, Patni, alongside sitarist Niladri Kumar, last Saturday was just as fun for the actor as it was for the audience. The jam session features Deshpande enacting the story to Kumar’s zitar melody. “He [Niladri Kumar] goes with the flow. He is such a sensitive soul. If he catches a musical thought and pursues it, I have no choice but to follow suit,” Deshpande laughed, describing it before going on stage.
Capoeira calling
Gary Curzai trains students in Bandra. PIC COURTESY/GARY CURZAI
Brazilian mixed martial art form Capoeira, has found new footing in the city. This diarist was surprised to learn that it is Gary Curzai, whom we’ve usually seen wielding a trombone, who is helming it. “I have been training for nearly nine years with the Capoeira Academy India. It was time I made the transition from learner to instructor. The art form itself is rooted in a sense of community building,” Curzai revealed to us. Under the Academy, the classes will be held at a Bandra venue where Curzai also runs a creative design studio. “It all comes naturally. These are different mediums to the same end,” he says. Clearly, he’s not one to toot his own horn. Those keen, can head to @garycurzai to learn more.
More room for graffiti
The new graffiti near Silver Beach in Juhu. PIC COURTESY/RAHUL MAURYA
For years now, visitors at Juhu’s Silver Beach have been greeted by the crumbling grey walls of the seaside settlements at its entrance. We have Mumbai’s bright graffiti artists to thank for bringing a change of scenery last week. A new funky graffiti artwork by Rahul Maurya aka Alchemy, Bengaluru-based Rahul Sonar and the Road Runners Crew now brings visual respite to the area. “The salt and breeze from the seas had eroded the walls. To our surprise, the local residents thanked us for the revamp. Many of them even posed for pictures as soon as we were done. It’s not every day that we get to paint by the sea, so I’d call it a win-win situation,” Maurya told this diarist.
Bandra, back in the day
Denzil Smith and Joy Bimal Roy
Last Friday, film and theatre actor Denzil Smith hosted a book club for which he picked Joy Bimal Roy’s Ramblings of a Bandra Boy, a collection of short stories and essays chronicling the author’s past and present experiences on the streets of Bandra, his special encounters with people, battle with mental health with an ode to his childhood memories. “As the son of Bimal Roy, he has experienced life in a way few of us do, and he is also a wonderful writer,” remarked Smith, all praises for the author. In a discussion with Shireen Gandhy, gallerist and director of Chemould Prescott Road, the duo spent time reminiscing about the past and its journey sprinkled with joy and magic.
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