Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Rane Ashish

Time out

A daughter rests her head on her father's lap on feeling unwell during a dandiya performance in Malad's Kurar village

Long river running

A page from the 25th anniversary edition of River of Stories. Pic courtesy/blaft publications

Artist Orijit Sen's River of Stories, the country's first graphic novel that weaved together tribal folklore, people's accounts and the history of resistance movements, marks an important milestone in environmental activism and the Indian comics scene. This diarist was delighted to learn that Blaft Publications will be releasing a hardcover edition with forewords by Arundhati Roy and Paul Gravett to mark the book's 25-year journey. "We plan to launch the book in November. I think Sen's (inset) work is powerful and this book that documents the Narmada Bachao Andolan still resonates with readers," said Rakesh Khanna, editor, Blaft. The title will also feature Sen's original sketches.

The know-how

Point of View (POV), a non-profit for the marginalised, will be hosting a two-day workshop for organisations and LGBTQiA+ individuals in the city next week to help them navigate the challenges presented by the pandemic. The session that's being held in association with Saathii, a Kurla-based outfit working towards stigma-free healthcare, will discuss policy law. "Participants will be taken through the key developments of Navtej Johar verdicts, details of trans laws, social security, healthcare and digital safety," shared workshop moderator Brindaalakshmi K. Interested candidates can head to @povmumbai.

So much tamaasha in Bareilly

A previous staging of Blank Page. Pic Courtesy/@STUDIOTAMAASHA

This diarist was thrilled to learn that a collection of four plays from city-based Studio Tamaasha, a platform known for intimate performances, will be travelling to Bareilly this weekend. The collection features theatre director Sunil Shanbag's Blank Page, Words Have Been Uttered and Soul, and Sapan Saran's Same Same But Different. About the choice of plays, Shanbag shared, "The space at Windermere Theatre is a black box; I thought the work that we have created for smaller places would be ideal for that setting. While we have a young cast, the venue has a group of young people working. It will be nice for them to see their contempo-raries act."

And the community thrives...

More than 1,000 origami birds form a canopy over this Durga idol

The residents of Oberoi Splendour society, JVLR, began planning Durga pujo festivities in August. It might not be enough time to organise a religious and cultural celebration as onerous as this one, said resident Malabi Das, "But we pulled it off with help from our community members." From three to 80-year-olds, everybody came together to make it a success. "We decorated Maa Durga's seat with handmade origami birds; painted sal leaves have been used to jazz up the background walls. Our specially-abled children have been the busiest. It's not just about Bengalis; residents of other communities who've spent time in Kolkata, also pitched in to recreate their pujo memories," Das noted.

Matheran's prayer this Dussehra

A hand-drawn rickshaw in Matheran. pic courtesy/MARIA VAZ

On Dussehra today, signifying the triumph of good over evil, one is sure that Matheran's hand-pulled rickshaw wallahs, washing their rickshaws reverentially - like this one in the picture, will be praying for one thing. As one of Mumbai's favourite getaways stands on the cusp of a revolution with e-rickshaws recently being introduced for trials, trepidation hangs thick in the air, shared Matheran local Maria Vaz. Coolies, hand-pulled rickshaws and ghodawallahs fret about their livelihood as e-rickshaws can become a reality. Vaz and other keep-Matheran-the-way-it-is proponents hope that the godly forces allow hand-pulled rickshaw wallahs and others to survive, and the stress falls away from them, just like the heads of Raavan.