<h2>An equal stage</h2>
<p>Differently abled artistes portraying Rama and Ravana perform a scene from Ramayana choreographed by Syed Sallauddin Pasha at Shanmukhananda Hall in Sion.</p>
<h2>Masaki&rsquo;s art call in the &rsquo;burbs</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2025/jan/Japanese-Kanjurmarg_e.jpg" alt="Seiko Masaki (extreme left) interacts with students in Kanjurmarg " width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Seiko Masaki (extreme left) interacts with students in Kanjurmarg</em></strong></p>
<p>Kanjurmarg&rsquo;s Jolly Art Gallery transformed into a portal to Japan from the 17th Century Edo era last weekend. Seiko Masaki, a printmaker and art trader, visited the gallery bearing gifts in the form of traditional Ukiyo-e woodcut prints and paintings.</p>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2025/jan/Sanjay-Nikam_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Artist Sanjay Nikam, who conducts workshops at the gallery for budding artists, shared, &ldquo;Masaki was in Bengaluru for a showcase, and I invited her to the city for a cultural exchange. The woodcut prints Masaki presented were flawless. The students spent the day understanding the techniques. I was surprised to see how they were keen to know more not only about the prints, but the business acumen that goes behind keeping an art form alive in the times we live in. It is extremely important to equip young artists with such ancillary skills to help them shape a career in art.&rdquo; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Tilak in today&rsquo;s times</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2025/jan/Lal-Bal-Pal_e.jpg" alt="Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipinchandra Pal. PIC COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipinchandra Pal. PIC COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS</em></strong></p>
<p>History buffs are in for a fresh look into the life and times of Bal Gangadhar Tilak in his own words with authors Nadeem Khan (inset) and Yashodhan Parande&rsquo;s upcoming book Kesari: Selected Essays (Penguin Random House India).</p>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2025/jan/Nadeem-Khan_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Ahead of its February launch, Khan shared, &ldquo;Tilak&rsquo;s ideologies have long been viewed, and criticised from an external gaze. The essays in the book explore subjects like his economic and educational ideologies, to his thoughts on gender issues and philosophy, from a first person view. It was important to unearth these texts that have remained hidden behind linguistic confines for decades.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Lillete&rsquo;s world is a stage</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2025/jan/Suchitra-Pillai_e.jpg" alt="Actors Suchitra Pillai and Denzil Smith in a moment from the play " width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Actors Suchitra Pillai and Denzil Smith in a moment from the play</em></strong></p>
<p>After helming her new rock opera-meets-mythology production Jaya! The Victory, which she admits &ldquo;added a couple of years to my age&rdquo;, veteran theatremaker and actor Lillete Dubey (below) will now turn back time to revisit Autobiography, a play based on eminent Marathi playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar&rsquo;s original eponymous text. &ldquo;We [Primetime Theatre Company] first staged the production in Delhi in 1996. As luck would have it, within a month, I had to move to Mumbai on extremely short notice,&rdquo; Dubey revealed.</p>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2025/jan/Lillete_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>The revived 90-minute production starring Dubey, Denzil Smith, Suchitra Pillai and Sarah Hashmi will premiere in Bengaluru tomorrow, and will move to Mumbai on February 2. &ldquo;In the process of adapting the text, we whittled down the original story to cater to the diminishing attention spans, but the essence remains intact,&rdquo; she revealed. With a New Zealand tour of her play Gauhar in July, and upcoming shows in Pune next month, Dubey is in for a project-packed 2025.</p>
<h2>Booked for brighter days</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2025/jan/Bookies_e.jpg" alt="Students join volunteers in setting up a mini-library in Kurla" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Students join volunteers in setting up a mini-library in Kurla</em></strong></p>
<p>Mumbai Bookies, a city-wide reading community, has begun setting up mini-reading libraries across state government-aided schools in the city. These libraries are set with books from Mumbaikars through collection drives held by the community. Libraries of 500 to 1200 books each were set up in schools like Daffodils English Medium School and Karachi High School in Kurla. &ldquo;These books span fiction, non-fiction, children&rsquo;s books and general knowledge books among other genres,&rdquo; shared Gargi Sandu, host at Mumbai Bookies. Sandu shared that the community plans to conduct another collection drive soon.</p>
<h2>Pitching for the planet</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2025/jan/Seed-balls_e.jpg" alt="Members of the Green Club at a previous workshop" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Members of the Green Club at a previous workshop</em></strong></p>
<p>The Green Club of Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics in collaboration with The Recycling Company (TRC) will host collegians from across the city for a two-day green entrepreneurship workshop and business pitch competition on sustainable business creation starting today. &ldquo;We have 15 to 16 students who have already signed up for the event. The idea is to give students exposure to practical skills like raising funds and running operations,&rdquo; said Ashwini Jadhav, senior executive, TRC.</p><p>
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