Mumbai Diary: Sunday shorts

Aruna comes to lifeDelhibased theatre artiste Lushin Dubey is busy planning her next play inspired by Aruna Shanbaug the spirited young nurse who lay in a vegetative state at Mumbais KEM Hospital for 37 years after a brutal sexual assault when she was 25Lushin Dubey and late Aruna ShanbaugThe solo act to be directed and scripted by Arvind Gaur is an adaptation of Pinki Viranis book Arunas Story The True Account of a Rape and its Aftermath and opens in Delhi this September I have previously adapted Pinkis Bitter Chocolate and was keen to take up Arunas Story right after my first solo Untitled But the rights to the book were with someone else says Dubey who waited seven years for it These are early days still says Dubey who is yet to develop the ideaI have finished the first reading of the book and it will take another week before I figure out the approach As of now I am plagued with questions regarding the law police euthanasia and above all how to address the heinous crime of rape Can this an eye for an eye approach be a cureIndias first webonly thrillerWebonly comedy shows are hardly a novelty Which is why when filmmaker Yogi Chopra rued the lack of variety in fiction online he thought thriller After months of ideation casting and fundraising he is set to launch Hankaar Indias first web thriller series In Gurumukhi the word stands for ahankaar or ego The goodbad decisions that my characters take are on account of their ego he saysSet in Mumbai drug dens brothels and real estate offices the series directed by Ravi Iyer follows five ordinary people played by Rajesh Balwani Ankur Vikal Ram Menon Ram Menon and Yogini ChoukEach episode is not more than 15 minutes long and airs once a week starting December With R61000 raised through crowdfunding Chopra has R8 lakh more to amass in 50 days I like that I have a deadline Within that time I need to go all out and make a noise about the show says the Chembur resident who has directed music videos for indie musicians in the pastCurious Check out the promo on wwwhankaarcomWe are waterproofLuxury is a relative term To the Charmichael Road aunty it means the Birken bag For kids living in the citys shanties its a raincoatAnuj Sharma tutored kids in crafting their own raincoats from tarpaulinDigital media firm Culture Machines Blush channel and designer Anuj Sharma got together to make the luxury available to everyone through a DYI rainwear projectInstead of distributing one raincoat and disappearing from their lives I thought we should teach the kids how to make a raincoat on their own from materials that are available in their surroundings says Sharma who used tarpaulin sheets that often make it to shanty roofs in an attempt to render them waterproof along with buttons and rubber bandsThe technique used to make them is a lot like tieanddye It required patience from the mad bunch of kids But their enthusiasm was contagious Since we hadnt planned a look when I got them to wear the finished products they looked like cute ETs says Sharma who collaborated with Blushs Rashi Verma For a peek into the project check out the Raincoat Santa mdash DIY Raincoats for Underprivileged Kids video on BlushWisden halloffameOUR inhouse book scavenger is elated at completing a 25year run of Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1990 to 2015 Earlier this week he managed to land the 2003 edition not an easy one to get hold of For the first time in 140 years the publishers of the Bible of cricket had decided to have a photograph on its famous yellow cover Thats why Edition No 2003 with then England captain Michael Vaughan on the cover is specialThe Wisden collection from 1990 to 2015 PicRane AshishIts other significance for our cricket nut is that it covers Indias 2002 tour to England Remember Sourav Gangulys shirtswinging act at Lords What was also memorable in the English summer of 2002 was the 11 squared series played out by Gangulys Indians vs Nasser Hussains Englishmen For the first time in 16 years India deprived the hosts from a series winThe collectors prized possession is the 1972 edition which covers Ajit Wadekars 1971 conquest of the English in their own denWe hear its getting harder and more expensive by the year to collect Wisdens Our man is keen to collect editions that cover Test tours made by India Heres his wish list 1933 1937 1947 1953 1960 1968 1975 1980 and 1983