Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Hay Helprsquos HereA man helps his partner get off a horse at Versova ChowpattyDonrsquot mute our rightsSince the world went online last year artistes have found themselves face to face with several problems such as copyright issues sexual harassment and plagiarism Who do you turn to for guidance in such situations To make legal aid and knowledge more accessible to artistes Delhibased arts scholar Dr Arshiya Sethi and Kolkatabased performerarts manager Paramita Saha in pic and dancerlawyer Somabha Bandopadhyay have joined hands to set up a website called Unmute which is a performerrsquos guide to laws rights and resources The website wwwunmutehelp goes live on Thursday ldquoItrsquoll act as a resource centre for information and as an independent advisory platform to offer guidance to artistes and help build a partner networkrdquo Saha explained Perpetrators in the art world exploit the culture of silence she said ldquoWe want to create a proactive space for discussion to break this culturerdquoAll art for elephantsTo further the conversation on the conservation of elephants over 80 artists are coming together for a fundraising exhibition this World Elephant Day tomorrow at Gallery Art amp Soul Put together by World Wide Fund for NatureIndia WWF India Cyril Amarchand and Mangaldas and Art amp Soul the curated show Little TRUNKETS will honour the mighty Asian elephant Dr Dipankar Ghose director wildlife and habitats WWF India shared that the exhibition is aimed at raising support for elephant conservation Dr Tarana Khubchandani director Art amp Soul said ldquoIrsquom giving a voice to the muchloved pachyderm and to all our artists who responded in minutes with heartfelt tributes in the form of paintings sculptures and ceramics for the causerdquoNo regrets for DollyFrom being one of the earliest newscasters in India to capturing the hearts of audiences with her theatre performances and standing up for the rights of the destitute Dolly Thakore has had quite a journey There have been ups and downs she admitted to this diarist but Thakore has no regrets This eventful life will come alive in her memoir aptly titled Regrets None HarperCollins ldquoI started writing it in 1982 then I stopped started again and paused I restarted work on it three years agordquo said Thakore adding that she has vivid memories of the past ldquoFrom Kanpur and Delhi to Mumbai and London Irsquove travelled widely itrsquos been a happy journeyrdquo she shared about her memoir that hits bookshelves in SeptemberBand togetherThe Bandit Festival is an event that gives schoolchildren a chance to show off their musical prowess Itrsquos open to students between classes 5 and 10 where they have to form musical groups and compete for the winnerrsquos title People from across the country can take part and registrations are open till August 30 ldquoThis is an ideal nationallevel platform where the students can express themselves More than 20000 people have already performedrdquo shared Dharini Upadhaya CEO and cofounder of Furtados School of Music the organiser of the festival Want to find out more Visit the schoolrsquos websiteCaste a shadow on historyBad Hair by Rahee PunyashlokaTo be in someonersquos shadow generally implies influence But in the context of Indian history the shadow of untouchable communities had a different connotation For everyone else the shadow was supposed to be impure and a threat of pollution pointed out Dalit artist and filmmaker Rahee Punyashloka whose show opens at Method Bandra on Independence Day Called Seacuteances Featuring my Kin with Fantastically Large Shadows the title is a play on the word shadow The Bhubaneswarnative added that depending on the severity of how rigidly Brahmanical values were followed there have been active laws in our history banning untouchables from entering the city during sunlight hours to ensure their shadow doesnrsquot fall on othersldquoAs a Dalit individual who shares the heritage of these lsquoshadowbannedrsquo ancestors my art is about communicating with the incredible legacy these kin of mine left behind mdash the fantastically large shadows that they have left imprinted on my personal and political awakeningrdquo he said Punyashlokarsquos work will shed light on how the history of modernity has been more often than not influenced by the visionary thoughts and assertions from DalitBahujanAdivasi people ldquoThe focus is to rightfully placate people from these communities my communities as the pioneers of civilisation and not as mere lsquobackwardrsquo bystandersrdquo he noted