Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Two of a kindWith the vaccine yet to arrive a variety of masks continue to flood the marketsArtful solidarityAbandoned Farmlands at Bandra Steps by Vikram AroraIts ironic that while weve all turned to food for comfort throughout this tumultuous year the people who put produce on our tables are fighting for survival across India Citybased artist Vikram Arora has mirrored the way the farmers have been left abandoned in their fight through an interesting artwork at the Bandra Steps I feel art should reflect whats going on around us I know it doesnt change anything overnight but after a while say you are at the spot and see Abandoned Farmlands the artwork you correlate it to the agitation he said adding it gets people talking at a time when the society doesnt seem bothered by itChronicles of an Ambedkarite familyPaikabai Khobragade was possibly the first Dalit woman entrepreneur in Vidarbha and in Maharashtra who after her husbands death took over his fruit business and expanded it while her son Dewajibapu Khobragade was one of the most trusted aides of Dr BR Ambedkar and a champion of his principles The story of the Khobragades in pic who helped further the movement has now been documented by writer and Dewajibapus great grandson Dipankar Kamble in Dewaji Making of an Ambedkarite Family Panthers Paw Publication Founder Yogesh Maitreya shared Paikabai felt that only economic independence can break the shackles of oppression for oppressed castes while Dewajibapu became an established politician and businessman and stood by Dr Ambedkar alwaysA plated causeMonochromatic doodles replicated on handcrafted marble inlay platesLast year architect and designer Rooshad Shroff launched the Gyaan Project with Citta Foundation to facilitate the construction of the Rajkumari Ratnavati School a girls school in Jaisalmer Rajasthan While we raised enough money to keep the school running until December we wanted to create a platform for a steady source of funds for the school We also wanted to involve craftsmen Shroff told this diarist This prompted him to incept the Doodle For Education initiative through which parents can have their childrens drawings translated on marble inlay plates The profits from the sale of one plate can help sustain the education of one girl for a whole year Give it a shot2020 visionFor humans access to the natural world has been harder than it has ever been in the recent past But My2020moment an initiative by Nature inFocus a platform for all things nature is encouraging folks to share their best wildlife moment this year via a photograph video audio or a story All you have to do is upload it on Twitter and tag them Submissions could be anything mdash from a bee that entered their house to a safari they went on after restrictions eased Radha Rangarajan its editorinchief saidTheres good news for artistesTo mark 25 years of grantmaking as well as 25 years of the Internet in the country the India Foundation for the Arts IFA had announced a call for proposals The initiative 25x25 got 129 proposals from which 25 grants of R25000 each were awarded Menaka Rodriguez headresource mobilisation and outreach told this diarist that these projects will now come together as an online showcase in the new year The idea was that given the tough year we award small grants to many artistes as thats the need of the hour The proposals range from women on the Internet and evolution of online dating to looking at queer expressions on the web Theres one project inviting women musicians to perform at night online another looks at a dystopian world without the Internet Well do a marathon showcase in February she added