Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

Message from god?

Against the backdrop of the spires of Gloria Church, an engineer checks his phone atop the railway overbridge at Byculla

All hands on deck

A moment from a previous clean-up session

Charkop Pond in Kandivali, an area that was once abuzz with natural beauty and biodiversity, has suffered years of generational dumping. This problem caught the attention of Zidaan Castellino, founder of the Green Nagar Foundation, who, along with the Janani Foundation, social worker Milli Shetty and local NGOs, launched an initiative to clean the pond in June. On Sunday, volunteers will gather to clear trash and raise awareness with banners. "We have confronted people for dumping waste near the pond," Castellino notes. The initiative also includes educating the community about recycling and planning awareness campaigns. The Sunday clean-up will include students from educational institutions like NMIMS, SIES and KES colleges who will join the cause.

Comic timing on the commute

Ajji's Phool (right) Riya Thakkar and co-author Girish Malap

The local train commute began with the usual rants about the delays. Amidst this buzz, this diarist spotted an artist seated across her, lost in her sketchbook. Riya Thakkar, one-time corporate professional, has turned her passion into a career around comic books, strips, and illustrations. "I have always been an artist, and worked on my career alongside," she told this diarist. Thakkar, along with seven artist friends, co-founded Urban Tales Company to pursue their passion for comics. They have brought their self-published work to events like Indie Comix Fests and Bombay Zine Fest. The group sketches around Mumbai on weekends, using their art as a medium to convey the city's diverse experiences and stories. "The next book will explore the same bond, in a different timeline," she revealed. We'll be looking out for this exciting project.

Where the lines converge

An artwork by Shilpa Gupta; (right) artworks at the gallery

Walk into the Chemould Art Gallery this weekend, and you will witness diverse art styles come together. The exhibition, In The Making: Drawing, Refining and Revising, brings together 15 different artists to whom drawing is the essence of studio life. Gallerist Shireen Gandhy (inset) explained, "When we look at our artist roster, there is something fantastic about the span of work that is possible.

So, while thinking about this exhibition, a group show of artists from the gallery, we began to think about going back to the drawing board - looking back at our own stock or works that have been hidden within the artist studio archives. While one curates shows over years or at least months - this show was born much more fluidly and spontaneously." With artists from the late Mehlli Gobhai to Varunika Saraf, Reena Kallat, Shilpa Gupta and Mithu Sen on display, the exhibition will be open to patrons till September 3.

Heavy metal meet-up in September

The festival will see Giorgia Anguili perform in Mumbai

Post the fury of the monsoon, Mumbai's musicophiles can look forward to good news. The electronic music IP Zamna music festival will make its debut in Mumbai later this year with their first gig later this year. Scheduled to be held at the NESCO Grounds in Goregaon on September 28, and later in Gurugram on September 29, the festival will see a line-up of globally popular acts such as Mind Against, Kahani, Kunal Merchant, Giorgia Anguili and Shall Ocin, among others. "Italy-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Giorgia Anguili will bring an energetic groove with her versatile set seamlessly moving between pop, techno and house. Her performance will feature vocals, samples and loops enhanced by a range of toy instruments. Known for his innovative approach to music, Ocin will elevate his sound to new and unexplored heights with a mesmerising blend of cutting-edge soundscapes, beats and custom-made effects," a spokesperson for the blockbuster electronic music festival shared with this diarist.