Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Rane Ashish

Deer diary

A deer seems to be asking a crow to literally get off its back at Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali East on Tuesday.

Last stride

NHS Mani was associated with the Royal Western India Turf Club at Mahalaxmi Racecourse for 37 years. Pic/Shadab Khan

An innings galloped to an end at the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) on Monday evening, as the club's CEO, NHS Mani, retired from his position. He has reached the retirement age of 62.

The administrator said, "I had 37 years with the club, beginning as an assistant in the secretary's office." Asked what it takes to survive and thrive at his workplace, the quintessential racing man said, "Hard work is still your best bet." Well, you know what to put your money on. Or, should that read as Mani?

Visibly proud

June is the month of pride, and city-based e-commerce venture Curious Cat Company is celebrating it by giving a leg-up to small entrepreneurs and creators from the queer community. Vinda Dravid, founder of the e-store, which sells cat-themed collectibles, shared that the idea was suggested by one of her team members, Hemant Andania. "We felt that small businesses, artists and creators can take over our Instagram account - @curiouscat_co - and use it to talk to our audience about their work and process," she said. Dravid (in pic) added they are also open to collaborating with artists from the queer community to sell their products. "If they need any kind of tutorials, design support, or help with business plans or contracts, etc, we are there." Dravid hopes to donate a part of the proceeds to LGBTQAi+ non-profits.

When music calls for peace

It doesn't always have to be so, but sometimes art can also be used as a tool for social change. That's what transpired this week when independent Indian radio channel boxout.fm joined forces with Palestinian channel, Radio Alhara, for a programme the latter had organised, called Sonic Liberation Front. The aim was to highlight the plight of Palestinian people, who are facing the wrath of the Israel Defence Forces. Musicians including Mumbai-based Abhi Meer broadcast 72 hours of music as part of it, and he told this diarist on behalf of boxout.fm, "Publicly asserting our solidarity with the Palestinian people is not something we could shy away from."

Going, going, gone

Tyler is a street artist who shot into the limelight after he created what he called Walk of Shame last year in the city. Yesterday, he conducted a rather unusual auction of one of his works. People were asked to bid for it on Instagram, keeping track of the comments section to check for the highest bid at any one point, and pledging a bigger amount to acquire the piece (in pic). It was eventually sold for '42,500. Keep an eye on @tylerstreetart on Instagram if you, too, want to fork out money for this artwork.

A rap on the knuckles

There are two sides to this story. Recently, MC Kode, a Delhi-based rapper, faced right-wing ire on the Internet after an old video of his surfaced, where he is taking part in a rap battle as a teenager. In it, he attempts to take down his opponent with certain lines that attach cuss words to Hindu symbols including the Mahabharata, Bhagwad Gita and cows. Some people immediately took offence, saying that he had no right to hurt their religious sentiments. It would have still been all right, we feel, had it been left to that.

But there are others who threatened to harm him and his family, forcing MC Kode (below) to issue an unconditional apology. Aklesh Sutar aka MC Mawali of Mumbai-based hip-hop crew Swadesi told this diarist that there is indeed a limit to freedom of speech if you are intentionally hurting someone's sentiments. "I am not commenting on any issue here, but I feel that you can say things with love in your heart," Sutar (inset) said. Be that as it may, the threats that MC Kode faced remain condemnable, and there are no two ways about that.