<h2>Hail the warrior king</h2>
<p>Women perform lezim during the birth anniversary celebrations of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Nav Kshitij Pratisthan at Kurar Village in Malad</p>
<h2>Marathi in our veins</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/Singer-a_e.jpg" alt="A moment from previous year&rsquo;s magazine launch" /><br /><strong><em>A moment from previous year&rsquo;s magazine launch</em></strong></p>
<p>The Marathi Vangmay Mandal of St Xavier&rsquo;s College (Autonomous) is organising Pakhran, its annual magazine launch on February 22 and 23. The event will feature Marathi actress Mrinal Kulkarni as one of the speakers for the sessions. It aims to include state-level competitions to offer youngsters a platform to showcase their talent across fields. &ldquo;Since Marathi has been conferred the status of a Classical Language, our theme for the magazine explores the journey and transformation of the language,&rdquo; Rutvi Choudhari (inset), the assistant general secretary of the event shared.</p>
<h2>Desi cine love all the way from Tokyo</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/Books-ad_e.jpg" alt="(From left to right) A Sahir Ludhianvi songbook from Tamaki Matsuoka&rsquo;s collection. pic courtesy/film heritage foundation; a poster of the 1976 film Laila Majnu. pics courtesy/tamaki matsuoka" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>(From left to right) A Sahir Ludhianvi songbook from Tamaki Matsuoka&rsquo;s collection. Pic courtesy/Film heritage foundation; A poster of the 1976 film Laila Majnu. Pics courtesy/Tamaki Matsuoka</em></strong></p>
<p>Veterans and collectors will remember reading lyrics on the back of songbooks. For former Japanese civil servant and an avid lover of Hindi cinema, Tamaki Matsuoka (below), these songbooks shaped her love for Hindi music. Her recent donation to the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) includes a collection of rare posters, film festival catalogues and the now-extinct tradition of published songbooks. &ldquo;Back then, postcards of stars were sold on the street for R1, and movie scripts and story books were sold at railway stations. It was a little later that I found the movie song book,&rdquo; shared the veteran, who first travelled to India in 1975. &ldquo;The books were arranged in alphabetical order, so that I could sing them in Antakshari games. I would also look at the books while listening to the songs,&rdquo; she added. As for her collection, Matsuoka revealed, &ldquo;Right now, I probably own nearly 200 LPs and EPs of various Indian film songs from around 1980.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Antakshari on the move</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/Mtero-Antakshari_e.jpg" alt="Women enjoy a game of Antakshari on one of the Metro rides " width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Women enjoy a game of Antakshari on one of the Metro rides&nbsp;</em></strong></p>
<p>Imagine this scene as part of your post-work commute on the Metro. Suddenly, the voices in the compartment break into Antakshari. This is exactly what the women from the Why Loiter? campaign are planning on February 22 at the Versova Metro Station. &ldquo;This is our first session of Antakshari in the Metro in 2025. We started this campaign last year to reclaim public spaces for women and make it safer for them,&rdquo; Neha Singh, the founder of the campaign told this diarist. With popular songs echoing all around, the compartment usually swells with energy and vibrancy. &ldquo;The game makes people look up from their phones and engage with each other. That itself lessens all the burden of travel,&rdquo; Singh told this diarist.</p>
<h2>Be-loved gets nominated</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/META-play_e.jpg" alt="A moment from a previous staging of the play " width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A moment from a previous staging of the play</em></strong></p>
<p>The Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) has just unveiled their list of 10 plays across 13 categories. It was picked by a five-member committee of theatre practitioners for its final awards night in Delhi on March 20. &ldquo;This is the 20th year of the META awards where we carefully select plays from all over the country on the basis of theatrical excellence in categories like acting, lighting, production design and more,&rdquo; Jay Shah, vice president of cultural outreach, Mahindra &amp; Mahindra, revealed to us.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/Sapan-Saran_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Among the 367 entries for the festival, Mumbai-based theatre director Sapan Saran&rsquo;s play, Be-loved has fetched a spot in the top 10. With shows at the Adishakti Festival, Serendipity Arts Festival and at other events, the young cast is excited about the nomination. &ldquo;Our play is an attempt to explore modern Indian queerness from a historical, literary and sociological lens; borrowing from writers in the country whose work deals with intersectionality. The play is contemporary in its staging and experimental in its form. For us, it is both a celebration and an act of rebellion,&rdquo; Saran (inset) shared with us.&nbsp;</p><p>
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