11 September,2023 06:58 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Anurag Ahire
A woman enjoys her footie time at a park in Powai
Kelkar's art
Some make notes, others illustrate them. Pune-based graphic designer Sukhada Bhave-Kelkar did the latter when she turned Mumbai's author Shormistha Mukherjee's words in her book Cancer, You Picked The Wrong Girl (HarperCollins India) into art. Kelkar read the book about a fortnight ago, and found that it always looked for strength in fearful situations by looking for the positive side. "I design book covers, and the name and colourful cover made me pick this book up. I didn't make notes, but after reading it, I just illustrated what I felt and learned from it," Kelkar shared.
Sukhada Bhave-Kelkar and Shormistha Mukherjee
She got the attention of the author after her work on social media. Mukherjee added, "It was the sweetest surprise. I don't know Sukhada, so when I got tagged on Instagram, I went to see what it was. And here was the most sensitive and artistic depiction of the things I experienced when I was being treated for breast cancer." For Mukherjee, it was a special moment to see her writing recreated through illustrations, which is now shared on both their social media accounts.
A moment from the play
Last weekend, theatre-goers in Andheri got a reality check of a different side of Versova, courtesy Hum Bhi Hai, a 15-cast-play where the daily lives of its slum dwellers took centrestage. "This play is an adaptation of Maxim Gorky's The Lower Depths. It has a realistic approach, and is character-centric with drug addicts, criminals, even womanisers," shared Pankaj Purohit (inset), director and founder of See Theatre.
"It is a socialist play; so, the audience came in expecting dark comedy with strong political stances. We were houseful on both days, and our third performance will be on September 14," he added. Interested folk can log on to @see_theatre.
Swifties groove to hits by TS at the venue
If you were anywhere near suburban hangout Bombay Adda last Saturday evening, you would have probably heard Taylor Swift's (TS) lyrics resonate in the locality, as over 400 Swifties gathered to sing their hearts out to their idol's hits. "There are so many best moments to pick from," admitted Pune's Sharvari Jadhav over the phone. She organised the popular Swiftie Night in the city. "If I had to pick one; it would definitely be when we played Mirror Balls, and everyone got so emotional. We had even decorated the venue with mirror balls!" She also informed this diarist that they played a surprise song by Swift's best friend Selena Gomez. "We had to play Single Soon by Gomez. Taylor supports her in her lows, and that's how she was able to get back with a hit song again!"
Axiom performed on Antifragile for the regional and semi-final rounds
This newspaper has closely followed Mumbai's K-pop dance group Axiom's undeterred victories across several rounds of the All India K-pop Contest. The 20-year-olds are currently prepping for the finale, which takes place on September 16 in Delhi. "We've changed the song to Eve, psyche & the bluebeard's wife, because we wanted to give something new to our audience. It's a huge risk, as others are performing on the same song as before. We've managed to remove time to rehearse despite our ongoing exams, and we're positive about our decision," they told us.
Participants gather at a recent drum circle in the new space
The familiar Bandra hub of Candies has a new buzz going about it. They are now opening up a new space, Nautilus, to cater exclusively to art and performing arts. While the Casa Candies space inside the Pali Hill eatery has been hosting events and workshops since late 2022, they finally decided to give it a name, shared Beverly Pereira who runs the café with her father, Allan. "We finally rebranded the space on September 1, 2023, and while we have not changed the venue's name, we did decide to give our workshop space an identity of its own," she revealed. The name, Pereira added, stems from the mythical sea creature with a geometrically precise spiral shell. "For me, too, the Nautilus motif is potent with meaning, representing growth and evolution. Learning, unlearning, practice and play lie at the heart of our workshop space," she told this diarist.
