Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Kirti Surve Parade

A tall grass of water

After an extremely hot day, multiple sprinklers offer much needed respite for the green cover at Bombay Gymkhana.

Little Mozart of Mumbai

The audacity of youth can often take people by surprise. The audience at the NCPA were treated to a rare sight last Sunday when they witnessed the performance of 10-year-old Ayaan Deshpande. Performing Mozart's Piano Concerto 21, the prodigy looked at home alongside the more established musicians from the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI). Colaba boy Deshpande has been a part of the SOI Academy for the last three years, and showed consummate skill as he performed the complex composition on the keys. "I started learning the piano in May 2021," he pointed out keenly, adding, "I was not particularly interested in the piano, but I loved to listen to and play music." The Mozart composition was his choice, Deshpande revealed. "I had played it back in November 2021 for Marat Bisengaliev [music director, SOI], but could only play the second movement. At that time, playing the full movement was difficult for me. I enjoy the composition. It sounds much sweeter," he shared. With the SOI performance wrapped up, he is scheduled for a recital in Goa on April 27. Talent does not rest on laurels, they say.

The mysteries from Down Under

(From left) The immersive exhibition features artworks by over 100 artists

One ancient civilisation will meet another this week at the upcoming exhibition of Walking Through A Songline that opens at The Museum of Solutions on April 20. The immersive exhibition is centred around the tale of The Seven Sisters that outlines the journey of how the First Nations of Australia mapped the entire continent, and recorded them through features of the land, waterholes and the night sky.

The touring exhibition produced by the National Museum of Australia has been digitised to create the interactive experience. Paul Murphy (inset), Australia's Consul General in Mumbai, shared, "The objective of bringing the exhibition to India is to share and promote the diverse excellence of Australian First Nations knowledge." The exhibition will show kids different perspectives of the ancestral journey through music, art, moving images and technology, Tanvi Jindal Shete, founder, Museum of Solutions, pointed out.

Going public with poetry

While poetry and open mic sessions are increasingly common across the city, there is something new in the works. The poetry venture, Bol Collective recently announced a public open mic session, Bol Baithak open mic, to be held on April 26. This, organiser Neha Bahuguna (below), shared was a move from the more intimate, personal sessions held by the collective to a more public platform. "We will continue to host the quiet, intimate sessions since they are liked by several new poets. Many prefer it as a way to connect with other poets. But we needed to do something since there were many poets who could not find a space for their work," Bahuguna shared. For now, the open mic sessions will remain a monthly or bi-monthly event. "It is also a great way to reach out to new listeners," she added.

Metal for battle

The robot that competed in the 8 kg category (left) the team of students

It is a victorious return for the students of KJ Somaiya's Engineering College robotics team, Robocon. The 11-member squad finished runner-up in the Techkriti Robowars at IIT Kanpur last Friday. "This was our first outing at a robot battle in the 8 kg and 15 kg categories," shared captain Atharv Chandane. With a preparation time of three weeks, the team managed to pull off four key battles to end up on the podium. "We had to learn how to defend with the robot. That control was challenging," he said.

Gaza on their mind

Visitors read through works at the gallery

The voices of Gaza echoed across the Method art gallery in Bandra as participants read out texts written by Palestinians at a session titled Gather for Gaza. Actor Priyanka Charan, who anchored the event, revealed, "The texts were sourced from online forums. The aim was to amplify these voices and underline the fact that the price of war is inevitably paid by individuals who did nothing wrong."