Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Deer diaryA deer seems to be asking a crow to literally get off its back at Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali East on TuesdayLast strideNHS Mani was associated with the Royal Western India Turf Club at Mahalaxmi Racecourse for 37 years PicShadab KhanAn innings galloped to an end at the Royal Western India Turf Club RWITC on Monday evening as the clubrsquos CEO NHS Mani retired from his position He has reached the retirement age of 62The administrator said ldquoI had 37 years with the club beginning as an assistant in the secretaryrsquos officerdquo Asked what it takes to survive and thrive at his workplace the quintessential racing man said ldquoHard work is still your best betrdquo Well you know what to put your money on Or should that read as ManiVisibly proudJune is the month of pride and citybased ecommerce venture Curious Cat Company is celebrating it by giving a legup to small entrepreneurs and creators from the queer community Vinda Dravid founder of the estore which sells catthemed collectibles shared that the idea was suggested by one of her team members Hemant Andania ldquoWe felt that small businesses artists and creators can take over our Instagram account mdash curiouscat_co mdash and use it to talk to our audience about their work and processrdquo she said Dravid in pic added they are also open to collaborating with artists from the queer community to sell their products ldquoIf they need any kind of tutorials design support or help with business plans or contracts etc we are thererdquo Dravid hopes to donate a part of the proceeds to LGBTQAi nonprofitsWhen music calls for peaceIt doesnrsquot always have to be so but sometimes art can also be used as a tool for social change Thatrsquos what transpired this week when independent Indian radio channel boxoutfm joined forces with Palestinian channel Radio Alhara for a programme the latter had organised called Sonic Liberation Front The aim was to highlight the plight of Palestinian people who are facing the wrath of the Israel Defence Forces Musicians including Mumbaibased Abhi Meer broadcast 72 hours of music as part of it and he told this diarist on behalf of boxoutfm ldquoPublicly asserting our solidarity with the Palestinian people is not something we could shy away fromrdquoGoing going goneTyler is a street artist who shot into the limelight after he created what he called Walk of Shame last year in the city Yesterday he conducted a rather unusual auction of one of his works People were asked to bid for it on Instagram keeping track of the comments section to check for the highest bid at any one point and pledging a bigger amount to acquire the piece in pic It was eventually sold for 42500 Keep an eye on tylerstreetart on Instagram if you too want to fork out money for this artworkA rap on the knucklesThere are two sides to this story Recently MC Kode a Delhibased rapper faced rightwing ire on the Internet after an old video of his surfaced where he is taking part in a rap battle as a teenager In it he attempts to take down his opponent with certain lines that attach cuss words to Hindu symbols including the Mahabharata Bhagwad Gita and cows Some people immediately took offence saying that he had no right to hurt their religious sentiments It would have still been all right we feel had it been left to thatBut there are others who threatened to harm him and his family forcing MC Kode below to issue an unconditional apology Aklesh Sutar aka MC Mawali of Mumbaibased hiphop crew Swadesi told this diarist that there is indeed a limit to freedom of speech if you are intentionally hurting someonersquos sentiments ldquoI am not commenting on any issue here but I feel that you can say things with love in your heartrdquo Sutar inset said Be that as it may the threats that MC Kode faced remain condemnable and there are no two ways about that