The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Nimesh Dave
Reflections of a city
A group of commuters walk across the waterlogged grounds at Azad Maidan
Straight from the heartland
Moments from performances by Chhau dancers in Purulia. Pics Courtesy/Indranil Mukherjee
Come June, and Navi Mumbaikars will be witness to a rare performance of Chhau, a folk art from West Bengal. “Chhau is a performance that can only be truly enjoyed live, and in the presence of its traditional performers,” shared Indranil Mukherjee (inset), founder member, VIBGYOR Collective. As part of their ongoing project, the collective has invited 10 traditional Chhau dancers to Mumbai. “We have been documenting the villages of Purulia since 2020. During our last visit in 2025, we realised that the villagers are struggling for livelihood, and the art form itself is at risk.
So, we designed and launched a photo documentary book, Beats on the brink — The Rhythm of Purulia’ in March. The show on June 21 is an attempt to raise funds for these artistes,” Mukherjee shared. In its traditional form, Chhau dancers often stage performances from traditional myths like the Mahabharata or Ramayana. “The two performances or Palas are centred around the dramatic Mahishasurmardini story and Ravanavadh,” Mukherjee summarised.
Getting cool with old-school
A moment from a previous workshop (right) Disha Chandak
Who said letter writing is dead? Disha Chandak, chief marketing officer at Snickerdoodle Coffeeworks, is organising a letter-writing workshop to revive the dying art. Chandak shared, “To breathe new life into the dying art of letter writing, we are collaborating with Drishti Daryanani, a poet and communications expert, to host this workshop. In a world that’s often loud and digital, letter writing offers a moment of digital detox, a chance to step away from screens and reconnect with your thoughts and others.” She added, “The workshop is open to everyone: writers, readers, artists, or anyone curious about self-expression. Participants will also receive beautifully designed postcards at the end.”
Tughlaq’s new coming
A moment from a previous play by the group. Pic Courtesy/Neeraj Singh
An iconic play of India’s theatre history, Tughlaq, will make its way back to the Mumbai stage this June. Written by the late actor, author and playwright, Girish Karnad (below), the drama is centred on the 14th Century ruler Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Now, a new generation of theatre artistes are picking up the baton.
Girish Karnad and Neeraj Singh
Director Neeraj Singh will helm Abhyas Natya Manch’s upcoming production of the play at the end of June. Singh shared, “The play is about the personality of the ruler Tughlaq and his complex decisions. He was a great ruler, but some of his enigmatic decisions add to the complexity of his character.” The theatre troupe has already begun working on the play. Singh added, “We’ve already begun our first readings of the play, and after that, we will set out to rehearse the portions.”
A gut feeling for metalheads
A moment from the band’s previous performance in Mumbai. Pic Courtesy/Gutslit on Instagram
Our metal detectors have alerted us of an exciting development in Mumbai’s metal music scene. Gutslit, the city-based band that has catered to headbangers since 2007, will fly out for a slew of international shows, come August. Aaron Pinto, the band’s drummer told us, “We’re playing some top tier festivals like Brutal Assault where we debuted nearly 10 years ago. The schedule for this year is packed, with multiple shows in the Czech Republic and Germany. We’ll have a day’s rest after the Europe tour before we pack our bags again and fly to Australia for a seven-city tour to round it up with.”
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