Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

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

Nariyal paani? No problem 

A coconut water vendor entertains customers while ensuring that his umbrella and cart are safe from the swelling waves at Juhu Chowpatty.

Zubin’s world-view in frames

(From left) A photograph of a village in Morocco titled Biblical Town; a photograph by Balaporia of the trellis of the Hasan mosque in Casablanca titled Towering Trellis

Old school rockers can surprise you. Brian May is an astrophysicist, while Rahul Ram has a PhD in environmental toxicology. For Zubin Balaporia it was the lens that drew his attention. The founding member of Indus Creed has been pursuing his passion for photography since 2014. From the wilds of the Amazon to the beautifully crafted trellis of the Hasan mosque in Casablanca, the veteran has seen them all. “It has been a decade since I started,” he shared. The experiences of his decade-long travel around the world will find their way to an upcoming exhibition, Faces and Places in August. Held at the Happy Home and School for the Blind in Worli, it will feature over 30 photographs that Balaporia took during this decade. This is not his first stint with an exhibition either. The musician explained, “Earlier this year, I was part of Strokes and Shutters, an exhibition that also featured my friend Nandita Badiani’s works. While that one was in conjunction with her artworks and canvas creations, this exhibition will focus purely on my photography.” Some of the visuals on exhibition will include his first photographs, taken during a trip to the Amazon jungles in 2014. “The latest ones are from my trip to Morocco last year. I have only 30 images to place on the easels, maybe I will bring others to the exhibition as well,” he remarked. 

Zubin Balaporia

Mapping Mumbai

(From left) Pie charts on the linguistic census of Mumbai and Thane regions

Sagar Shinde, a researcher and illustrator, utilises maps and AI analytics to simplify map reading, by focusing on Mumbai’s linguistic diversity. His latest census, based on 2011 data, highlighted significant trends. Shinde noted, “I observed that Marathi speakers were relatively less, possibly due to rising migration.” Despite this, Hindi and Urdu showed significance, and Gujarati showed prominence in northern Mumbai neighbourhoods. Shinde emphasised the reliability of the data, stating, “I have used the 2011 census because it is verified and reliable.” By presenting these insights and neighbourhood-specific data, Shinde’s work aids in visualising Mumbai’s linguistic landscape. 

Sagar Shinde

Dabbawala’s domain

File pic

The symbol of Mumbai’s never-say-die spirit, the dabbawalas now have a place of their own at the railway stations of Andheri, Grant Road, Churchgate and Lower Parel. “They did not have a designated or clean place to park the cycles near the stations. We teamed up with Jhatkaa.org to reach out to MCGM [Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai] to allow them a space to sort out their packages before delivery,” said Priyanka Kumble, lead, projects and operations of the NGO Waatavaran. Founder Bhagwan Kesbhat added, “MCGM has shown support to the dabbawala community. Now they have a dedicated cycling space outside of these railway stations.”

Bhagwan Kesbhat

Inking Japanese traditions

An illustration by Singh. Pic Courtesy/Instagram; (right) Vibhuti Singh

Tattoo artist Vibhuti Singh from No Vacation Tattoo Studio in Khar has embarked on a creative journey blending traditional motifs with a modern aesthetic in her latest series. Explaining her inspiration, Singh says, “Jap rock came out of curiosity about fusing traditional and popular culture and re-imagining them in the form of character designs. I wanted to explore the traditional aesthetic and give it a modern-day twist.” Her artistic exploration also extends to Tatted Royals, a recent creation merging characters from the Mughal era with contemporary alternative tattoo styles. Singh (inset) sees this as, “the possibility of merging the new with the old,” illustrating her approach to diverse tattoo art.

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