Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pawri ho rahi haiTwo men and their canine have a ball of a time playing at Aksa beachGiving women a musical earAlthough women playback singers in India are many prolific and popular statistics from a recent study by the international arts collective FEMWAV have revealed that the ratio of women composers and producers to male composers and producers in Bollywood was only 180 Further women comprise only 10 per cent of artiste managers in other key roles It is this lacuna that the Indian Performing Right Society is hoping to address CEO Rakesh Nigam told this diarist ldquoWe have assembled a panel of prominent music professionals including music director Sneha Khanwalkar singer composer and producer Anushka Manchanda in pic and singer and composer MM Sreelekha and are inviting them to share their experiences and challengesrdquo he shared The roundtable discussion is scheduled on March 8 to mark International Womenrsquos DayHey kids yoursquove got mailThe book includes letters by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan to his grandchildrenItrsquos been a lifealtering year for parents and kids stuck at home trying to juggle studies wellbeing playtime and their own relationships But itrsquos been a harder year for children from underprivileged backgrounds who have lost access to the alreadyscarce healthcare resources that can affect the first 1000 critical days of a childrsquos life Anything Can Be Penguin India a title initiated by the NGO CRY seeks to not just raise funds to support such kids but also young parents with wisdom from those who have been there done thatMandira Bedi to her kidsThe book authored by Sathya Saran comprises letters of love from proud grandparents and parents including Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Zia Mody Boman Irani Hema Malini Mandira Bedi and Sameera Reddy to their kids and grandkids ldquoIt was an idea that came from Sapna Kar of CRY I took it forward in guiding the contributors I think the book can help firsttime parents Many letters show how modern parents believe guidance is a better approach to parenting than structure others talk of the power of choice or celebrate talents in the youngrdquo shared Saran about the titleA melodious unionThe couple at the gig PicFacebookItrsquos a gig that they will never forget Bassist Mohini Dey was in for a massive surprise at the end of a show that she played last weekend with drummer Gino Banks guitarist Rhythm Shaw and American saxophonist Mark Hartsuch who is her partner Hartsuch proposed to her at the end of the gig going down on his knees while asking Dey to marry him ldquoHe planned it with Rhythm and I two days before the gig and my wife Eden arranged for a cake We decided that we will take our last bow and tell the audience that we have just one more thing planned before leaving the stagerdquo Banks told this diarist Our heartiest congratulations to the coupleA quilt for keepsSonali Bendre Behlrsquos artwork for CQPWe had reported in July last year about the Corona Quilt Project CQP that sought to document our lived experiences of these unique times in the form of squares of artworks that are being stitched together With over 12000 Indians contributing to the canvas the first Corona Quilt will be unveiled at Jindal Mansion on International Womenrsquos Day ldquoWhen the world came to a standstill people across the globe experienced a spectrum of emotions we wanted to capture this The quilt symbolises the light at the end of the tunnelrdquo said Tarini Jindal Handa of JSW GroupMeditation pays offMeditation has been a key recommendation by health experts throughout the pandemic and a recently conducted survey by mindfulness app ThinkRightme reflected that most Indians take up the practice in search of happiness peace and personal growth One thousand individuals from Mumbai Delhi Bengaluru and Pune participated in the study It also portrayed how meditation helps different age groups differently for instance in the 1825 bracket around 16 per cent meditated for better sleep while in the 2635 group 25 per cent said they do it for stress For 36to45yearolds personal growth trumped sleep and stress Rajan Navani VC and MD JetSynthesys which runs the app said ldquoThe findings show that Indians are on the right path to leading a mindful way of life and bringing a positive change in their overall mental and emotional wellbeingrdquo