Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Hitting the BUll’s-Eye

With the elections behind them, people enjoy the Konkan fair at Borivli Link Road. 

It’s all adding up 

A moment from the performance

In what we’d like to call a well calculated move, theatremaker Quasar Thakore Padamsee and his troupe have charted out a theatrical journey across 12 cities in India with their mathematical play, The Axiom Of Choice. “It’s rather rare for mathematics and arts to be put on the same stage. It all started when British writer-director Marcus du Sautoy told me about his unique idea. It has evolved into a mammoth production from there,” Padamsee revealed following a show in Boro Bhatarmari village in Kokrajhar, Assam. The troupe, accompanied by du Sautoy, is now looking forward to performing in Pune, Delhi, and Jaipur soon. 

Quasar Thakore Padamsee

Pastry paradise

A view of the pâtisserie’s façade; (right) Isha Shetty

After five years of operating from their Saki Naka-based cloud kitchen, Vanilla Meil pâtisserie is gearing up to open its first brick-and-mortar space in Bandra. “We initially wanted to start a cake shop, but we fell in love with a gorgeous house on Pali Hill Road and thought of making the space experiential with savoury and sweet items,” said co-founder and head chef Isha Shetty (right). Following a soft launch earlier this week featuring coffee, bakes, and pastries, their savoury menu will debut by next week and the cafe aims to be fully operational in two weeks. “We will be serving our signatures and have also added new items, and experiential desserts including a DIY Danish bar,” Shetty revealed.

Next halt, Venice Biennale

A scene from the past Punjab Village, Prasanna Kumar

The world of art is a privileged space, they say. Not any longer, declared Revati Sharma, founder, Barkhatbeej Foundation. In association with Vineet Saraiwala’s Atypical Advantage, a livelihood platform for Persons with Disabilities (PwD), they are set to exhibit the works of over 150 differently-abled artists at the Nehru Center in London. “The exhibition, Art Through My Eyes, will open on December 3 — World Disability Day,” she said. Over a period of one year, the artists from across India were mentored through workshops in Delhi, Bengaluru and Goa by Sharma, Saraiwala and Strangers House Gallery owner Sumesh Sharma. The London exhibition is only the beginning. The curators are already exploring talks with the Venice Biennale to create a differently-abled exhibition section where they could showcase such work. Colaba gallerist Sumesh also shared that several works were made on manjarpat — cotton linen fabric manufactured in Bhiwandi, and hopes to bring the show to Colaba post its international tour. 

Vineet Saraiwala; Revati Sharma

Kathak moves with Korean sounds

Yudong Gu and Aditi Bhagwat perform

How does a Kathak iteration of a traditional Korean ceremony look? Those in attendance at the ongoing Duo Dance Festival at the Sungkyun Theatre in Seoul will witness city-based Kathak exponent Aditi Bhagwat giving a demonstration alongside gayageum performer Yudong Gu. “The gayageum is a stringed instrument that is plucked to create rhythms,” shared Bhagwat. Having participated in a residency programme with the theatre company in the past, she revealed that she was invited as the international artiste this year. The  Seoul trip concluded on Sunday with their last performance. “I also composed a poetry performance with Korean terms to put across the emotions while expressing them through the mudras,” she noted.

A gaegyum

Big break in Tokyo

BBoy Tornado at an earlier event

It is destination Tokyo for Mumbai-based Bboyer Ramesh Yadav AKA BBoy Tornado. The freestyle performer joined Arif Chaudhary AKA Flying Machine and Ishwar Tiwari AKA Wild Child, as the three Indians on the line-up of the Super Break Japan festival in Kawasaki, Tokyo. “We just landed in Tokyo,” shared Yadav over a phone call, adding, “We were invited to join the tournament that begins tomorrow. There will be over 150 teams from across the world participating in the competition.” As for the challenges, Yadav pointed out that as invitees, they have been inducted straight into the top 16. “The key thing is to take it one battle at a time. Since the entire tournament is a day-long event, it can be physically challenging. We hope to make it to the end,” he signed off. 

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!