26 April,2025 06:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Kirti Surve Parade
With the state government banning use of Plaster of Paris to make Ganesh idols, sculptor Ankush Kamble has taken the first step in this direction by creating a 14-foot idol from clay and paper pulp in his factory in Bhandup.
A moment from the band's performance in the city on International Jazz Day. Pic courtesy/Bombay Lights on Instagram
Cape Town's jazz community is set to get to witness Mumbai's soundscape this weekend. Bombay Lights, the jazz collective of Vinayak Pol (drums), Niranjan Joshi (keys), Umesh Warbhuvan (percussion), Nusrat Apoorv (harmonium and vocals) Omkar Dhumal (shehnai) and Sayar Mitra (bass) will team up at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival for a performance today.
"We were invited by the festival back in August 2024, and finally, got a chance to feature on stage this year. We hope to show them a touch of our own creations with a distinct Indian style," shared Pol (inset) over a phone call from Cape Town. zBut it is not just the performance that has the band excited. "We are lined up alongside some really cool names such as the British acide jazz band, Incognito - they are pioneers of British funk. Then, there is Cape Town's own Fancy Galada, Andrea Fortuin and DJ Eazy among others. Being at such international festivals gives you a chance to explore other rhythms," the drummer added. Of course, it also helps to make friends. Pol shared that the band already has an invite to have a jam session post-concert. "It is a casual session where all of us will get together and discuss music. It is the perfect closure for any performance night," he told us.
Music producers and founders of the indie music platform, Moksha 360, Bobby Baskaran (left) and Richard Dudley (right) have announced a talent hunt for indie musicians across the country, with the final prize money amounting to a R1 crore prize pool. With online auditions underway for the Bengaluru leg, the contest will arrive in Mumbai in July. "The West phase with Mumbai isn't just a regional rollout - it's a cultural statement. India's indie talent deserves the same infrastructure and respect as any mainstream act," shared Baskaran.
The graffiti on Carter Road. Pic courtesy/Rahul Maurya
There is no doubt that Mumbai's infectious energy runs in its vibrant, bustling streets - one that the city's many artists keep illuminating with their artworks. Recently, we spotted Rahul Maurya (inset) aka Alchemy's graffiti featuring Indian rapper Akshay Poojary aka Gravity splashed on the walls of a lane near Carter Road Promenade. "I wanted to combine both portrait and letters for this piece. Gravity and I have been friends for a really long time and I admire him a lot as an artiste. Given that the city has such a rich hip-hop culture, the idea was also to highlight his work so that more people get to know about Indian hip-hop artistes," Maurya shared with us.
Stills from the rehearsal of the play, Ahankarak Kahankarakachi Gosht. Pic courtesy/Sachin Siddharth Jadav
Representing the stories of the Warli community with a new theatrical production, Ahankarak Kahankarakachi Gosht, the students of Repertory Company of Salaam Bombay Foundation's Academy of the Arts will put up an act at a Matunga venue today.
"The New Education Policy emphasises on the importance of our traditions and culture and we see this play as a way to bring those ideas to our students and communities.
As part of the preparation for the play, the children interacted with the play's writer, Ajit Dalvi and also read the book Adivasi Bodhkatha by Shiraz Balsara and Pradeep Prabhu," Rajashree Kadam (inset), senior vice president, arts and media, told this diarist.
