Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

When life gives you watermelons

As the temperature rises in the afternoons, a police officer cools down with a fruit snack in a taxi at Horniman Circle.

To celebrate the silent artisans

A stained-glass window by Manikandan; (right) Member secretary Dr Chuden Mishra, sculptor Promotho Mazumdar, chairman of INTACH Major General LK Gupta, Bindu Manchanda, Vankar Ratnabhai and MN Manikandan

For all artists and artisans who find a space in the major galleries and museums across India, there are countless others of the traditional crafts who quietly toil away. Last weekend, such names were felicitated through the fifth INTACH-Martand Singh Memorial Award. Presented across three categories of handicrafts, textiles and handlooms, and architectural crafts, the awards are an attempt to honour and recognise artisans who lack the avenues and wherewithal to highlight their cause, said Bindu Manchanda, head, craft and community division for INTACH. The awardees included Promotho Mazumdar from Andaman Islands, Vankar Ratnabhai from Kasota, Gujarat, and MN Manikandan from Kerala. Sharing the story of Manikandan, who was honoured this year for his contribution to the revival of the craft of restoring stained glass, Manchanda remarked, "The art of stained glass is archaic and fading away, and artisans who restore them are even fewer. It is one of our objectives to discover and honour these craftsmen whose work is not acknowledged."

Look ma! It's a sparrow

A sparrow; (right) Shubham Hadkar. Pics Courtesy/Shubham Hadkar

With the decline in the number of the species in the city over the last few years, spotting a sparrow across Mumbai has become nothing short of an event. So much so that the Sanjay Gandhi National Park is calling for video entries from citizens who might spot the little bird leading up to World Sparrow Day on March 21. "The videography competition will aim to raise awareness about the species," Shubham Hadkar, Nature Education and Extension Officer, SGNP, informed this diarist, adding that the open-for-all competition has already attracted submissions from across the city. "Where I live, in Virar, I see far more sparrows compared to the city. Even though the sparrow population is now classified as stable following SGNP's efforts in collaboration with various wildlife conservation bodies, there remains some work to be done in spreading awareness," he revealed to this diarist. Those interested in participating, can log on to @sanjaygandhinationalpark for more details.

Laughing with fear

Vivaan Shah (left) performs the piece during a reading in Bengaluru

Edgar Allan Poe might not exactly be a literature student's choice when it comes to picking a humorist. But actor Vivaan Shah's next performance at Prithvi Theatre brings to the stage the American author's lesser known side. With his work titled Comedy of Terrors, the actor-writer is set to perform a solo-act based on Poe's lesser-known short story, The System of Dr Tarr and Prof Fether on March 22 and 23. "Since my book, The Forsaken Wilderness, came out last year, I have been working on unique book-related performances. Rather than a book reading or event, I would do performances of short stories or poems that influenced me," he shared. Having done a similar dramatised reading at Bengaluru in February, the actor decided to create a piece, complemented by some of Poe's poetry, to the stage. "This one has elements of suspense, humour, satire, and even surrealism. While the story deals with the surreal events inside an asylum, Shah noted, "The story is almost a literary stand-up comedy. That is something not many people realise about him [Poe]; his humorous side. He was a great humorist along the lines of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. It is a side-splitting comedy, you see."

The Internet is a merciless place

A screenshot of the viral conversation. Pic Courtesy/Priyanka Deshmukh

While organisations having X (formerly Twitter) handles to respond to consumer complaints is usually a good thing, it seems to be backfiring for some. Two weeks ago, a user tweeted to the State Bank of India, saying he had an urgent query. When they responded saying they were happy to help, he asked them why they were delaying disclosure of information on electoral bonds, much to the delight of users on the social media platform. The same thing happened last week, after the data was released. Another user, Priyanka Deshmukh, tweeted to Airtel and, when they replied with their usual happy-to-help spiel, asked them how they were able to buy electoral bonds worth R330 crore when they are officially showing a loss of R300 crore. The exchange went viral and, to add to the people's amusement, Airtel quietly deleted their reply to Priyanka. Needless to say, the wise had immediately taken screenshots, which continue to circulate. "I got the idea from the user who posed a similar question to the SBI," Deshmukh later told this diarist. "Usually, my tweets have a decent reach, but I did not expect this to blow up this much. It feels good that people across the country are speaking up on the issue of Electoral Bonds. This is the biggest scam of independent India and a very serious issue for a democratic constitutional republic like ours."