The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Kirti Surve Parade
Getting all folksy on stage
Artistes groove to a Marathi folk song during the show, Folk Akhyan, at a performance venue in Mulund
Clowning is cool
Aparna Mapuskar during her session in Dongri. Pic Courtesy/@clowning_wali_bai
Why should boys have all the fun? To challenge the notion, Aparna Mapuskar, a theatre artiste conducted a session at a children’s home in Dongri in early July, alongside G5A and Ashiyana Foundation, as part of their Theatre for Change initiative. Though, she noticed hesitation among girls and a stigma around their own body and clowning, Mapuskar said, “It’s instinctive to be messy and laugh at one’s silliness.” She shared that despite their hesitancy, the girls were drawn to physical comedy as they grew more comfortable.
Showdown in Kawasaki
A member of the Indian jump rope team performs in the speed relay. Pic Courtesy/Aman Varma
There might be more in common to Dombivli and Japan than their busy rail networks. A small team of eight athletes from the collective, Rule The Ropes, is part of the 30-member Indian contingent at the 2025 World Jump Rope Championships in Kawasaki this week. “We are part of multiple events across the categories of the International Open competitions, before the finals take place on August 3,” shared Aman Varma (below), coach and founder, Rule The Ropes.
This is not Varma’s first tryst with the championship either. He had earlier travelled to Paris in 2015 for the same. “Back then, I did not have a team,” he shared. This time though, the Indian contingent has been doing well. Having clinched medals at the International Open Tournaments in categories such as double unders relay (skipping the rope twice for every jump) and a silver in the double dutch speed relay (a three-man relay jump with two ropes) and finishing third in the speed relay (jogging jumps). “We have dominated the double unders, and have put up a good performance this time. If we continue, we will make it to the finals,” Varma shared.
A marathon book run
Author Jeet Thayil (below) has taken on quite a project with his latest series, Thayil Editions (HarperCollins). The series will feature 20 books, curated by Thayil, releasing over a period of five years. “The project was first brewed in my mind over six years ago. It was not till recently I began sounding out to find the right publisher,” revealed the author. The first of the series, Soliloquies by Adil Jussawalla, will be released on August 11; followed by three other books later this year. Post these — Buku Sarkar, Kamal Trilok Singh and Karthika Nair completing the list — Thayil admitted they will reveal the other names in time. “The names for the first two years are set. As we get closer to the end of the year, we will firm up the list further,” he shared.
Tiger, Tiger burning bright
It was the largest nature conservation project in India. On International Tiger Day (July 29), Nature InFocus’s feature-length documentary, Project Tiger, commemorating 50 years of the campaign to protect and rehabilitate the species in India made it on air.
A moment from the trailer of the 2023 documentary, Project Tiger. Pic courtesy/Hombale Films on Youtube
“India is a very unique country. In our culture, we protect wildlife unlike other countries. Project Tiger was an ambitious project, but I believe India was the only country capable of running this project,” elaborated producer and Nature InFocus founder, Rohit Varma (right). Narrated by conservationists such as Bittu Sahgal, Dr Ullas Karanth, Belinda Wright and the late Valmik Thapar among others, the film involved voices actively participating in the programme. “We wanted to show the real story and that is why this film is narrated by not one person, but many people who were directly involved in the conservation of tigers. It took more than three years to complete,” he revealed.
Released on the 50th anniversary of the project, the film is also a document of lesser known facets in conservation. Varma pointed out, “While doing research for this project, we were not aware of certain facts which were eye openers for us itself. For example, how big the poaching mafia was and the role which the Dalai Lama played in making sure people of Tibet stop using tiger skins.”
Evening interlude on strings
Niladri Kumaar at a previous performance. File pic/Satej Shinde
Sitarist Niladri Kumaar will headline the upcoming Durbar Evenings by Godawan Estuary Water. The multi-city event is scheduled to move from Delhi (August 2), Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chandigarh. “The tour is designed to offer audiences that exclusive, up-close feeling. Each location will have a specially curated performance, combining tabla, percussive textures, and melodic themes on sitar and Zitar,” shared Kumaar. The events will shed light on India’s artistic legacy, as well as conservation of the Great Indian bustard (Godawan). “I will look to explore themes of centuries-old India, meeting today’s innovation. I will also be exploring some lesser-played raags, which I can only really bring forth in an up-close, personal setting,” he summed up.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
