Decoding your match-day look can be a tall order if you’re a true-blue fan of the game — you want your outfit to reflect your unwavering support for your team of choice, while also being comfortable enough to jump, wave, dance and holler all through the match. For fashion designer Asang Kamble, the choice is a simple one: “I would not compromise on comfort. Instead, I’d focus on creative ways to weave my love for cricket into my attire. The soaring summer sun makes it especially important to focus on the right fabrics and shapes that are flattering and breathable at the same time,” he explains. A fine balance (From left) Pair your team’s jersey with a simple skirt. Pic Courtesy/ TANVISHAH91 on Instagram (middle) Ditch your heels for comfortable shoes. Pic Courtesy/lahari_shari on Instagram (right) Oversized sunglasses are match-day essentials. Pic Courtesy/Kat_diaries on Instagram Wearing the team colours from head-to-toe is an extreme option that some fans might embrace; but for the rest of us, a more wearable option is to layer smartly. Start with a light base of shorts, a coord set, a skater skirt and baby tee, flowing floor-length skirts, skorts or knee-length jean shorts (jorts). Natural fibres such as cotton and linen are your safest bet in the searing heat. Asang Kamble However, if you tend to get very sweaty, choose moisture-wicking activewear. Now, layer your team colours over your base in clever ways — an overshirt, baseball cap, accessories like your earrings, a headscarf or bandana, or even coloured sneakers. “With statement handbags trending, you could even channel your support for the game with a cricket bat or ball-shaped handbag, or one that features a pop or abstract design in your team’s colours,” Kamble suggests. Accessorise with panache Choose cotton and linen layers in your team’s colours. Pic Courtesy/iammaya1008 on Instagram Oversized sunglasses are an integral part of your game day fit. Additionally, you could wear oversized bows in your hair, dress up your look with a fanny pack and interestingly coloured beaded jewellery. Keep your make-up minimal to avoid sweating it off. Neck jewellery is best avoided, as are impractical shoes such as very high heels. Remember to carry an extra layer (such as a light cardigan or varsity jacket) for day-to-evening matches, and extra sunscreen for reapplication. If you want your exuberance to shine through with a face tattoo, skin-safe face paint is a much more practical alternative to glitter, Kamble signs off.
30 April,2025 09:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Anindita PaulMiles Davis’ Birth of the Cool: The film explores the life of the iconic musician and is a treat for his fans and jazz enthusiasts. The director of the documentary, Stanley Nelson, gives a deep insight into the musician’s life. Log on to: Amazon Prime and PBS A moment from the documentary by Ken Burns. PIC COURTESY/PBS ON FACEBOOK Jazz by Ken Burns: This 10-episode documentary series talks about some of the greatest Jazz players in the history of the USA. The film explores sex and romance, the great depression and wars, and how these factors influenced the genre of music in the country. Director Ken Burns is known for his documentaries about American history and culture. Log on to: Amazon Prime Anita O’Day. Pic courtesy/SilverMineENT on Youtube Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer: Directed and written by Robbie CavolinaIan and McCrudden, this documentary follows jazz icon Anita O’Day’s path to success. O’Day made a full career is jazz despite early diagnosis of a serious illness that affected her voice. Log on to: Apple TV Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog: The 1997 film is directed by Don McGlynn, who shows the life of a genius jazz player Charles Mingus aka The Angry Man of Jazz. The film also sheds light on Mingus’s struggle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Log on to: Amazon Prime and YouTube Louis Armstrong plays the trumpet. Pic courtesy/Wikimedia commons Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues: The documentary scratches beneath the surface to explore how the jazz legend’s life was influenced by the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement in the USA. Log on to: Amazon Prime and Apple TV Gig guide The Meg D Collective- by Bombay Jazz ClubON April 30, 8.30 pmAT PCO Cocktail Bar, Lower ParelCALL 9920055588 (for reservations and queries) Tribute to Ustad Zakir HussainON April 30, 7 pmAT St Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra West. Log on to: district.inENTRY Rs 1,180 The Rajeev Raja Combine ON May 3, 8 pmAT AntiSocial, Lower ParelLog on to: skillboxes.comENTRY Rs 499 (cover charge); Rs 799 (entry ticket)
30 April,2025 09:12 AM IST | Mumbai | Minal SanchetiMost comedians climb the stand-up ladder the usual way. Gig around the city, launch a solo show, maybe go international, and if it all goes well, land a short stint with a Bollywood celebrity. With city-based comedian Kashyap Swaroop, it feels as though someone handed us his resume upside down. He recalls writing ad films for your favourite tinseltown A-listers back in the day, has the city’s top comedians on speed dial and recently performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. After all that, he debuts his first solo, Would You Rather? in a Powai club this weekend. “I have a full-blown identity crisis, and there’s some inherent humour to it,” admits Swaroop, who grew up in a familiar half Kashmiri and half Tamil household. Familiar for him, and for us. The 33-year-old’s parents, filmmakers Kamal Swaroop and Priya Krishnaswamy gave the world parallel cinema classics such as Om Dar-B-Dar (1988), which continues to be cited as inspiration and referenced in films by the likes of Anurag Kashyap and Imtiaz Ali. Kashyap Swaroop Inspiring is not exactly the word the comedian would choose, though. “As much as I love experimental films, they don’t make you much money. I wanted to take my writing to a wider audience,” he reveals. Swaroop recalls his own earliest inspiration, “I remember watching a clip of American comedian Lenny Bruce. Standing in a sea of policemen in his audience, he read out a legal notice they’d just served him to stop the show. I was sold,” he adds. A decade later, Swaroop swears by his satirical one-liners. But he might not have many takers, we’re afraid. “I wasn’t a big fan of where the bar was set in Indian comedy. The storytelling style of humour had more takers than any other genre. And It really put me off initially. I looked overseas for audiences that appreciated deadpan, dry-wit one-liners,” he recalls. In his upcoming new solo show, however, he calls truce. The 90-minute set is sprinkled with anecdotes from the comedian’s personal and familial life. “There was a time when my father and I would frequent a pub where he got offered a fortune by an infamous shady figure to write his biopic. That’s a story and a half,” he offers a sneak peek. Swaroop has tested waters, albeit far from home, before the big showcase. Last year, he signed himself up for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF). “It was like a comedy gym. I was performing almost every night of the week. It burnt a hole in my pocket as an independent comedian, but by the end of the trip, I was at a break even with my expenses. Performing to a diverse international crowd shows you where you stand in the global scene,” he recalls. But a thumbs up from Down Under will barely keep you afloat amidst changing tides back home, he admits. “Like many comedians before me, I will tweak my jokes to play it safe; especially with the way things are looking for comedians right now,” he sighs. Nearly 30 minutes of Swaroop’s set from MICF will make it to the upcoming solo show. As for the rest, he’ll “save it for a time when jokes don’t invite jail-time”. Like he said, he’s not a big fan of bars. ON May 3; 7 pm onwardsAT RA Studio, Saki Vihar Road, Manohar Nagar, Powai.LOG ON TO in.bookmyshow.comENTRY Rs 299
30 April,2025 09:08 AM IST | Mumbai | Devashish KambleThis writer remembers when the most prized titles on the book shelf at home would be his father’s collection of Paul Scott’s Raj Quartet. It evokes a nostalgia, though tinged with Colonialism. A peek into the works on display at DAG’s upcoming exhibition, Destination India: Foreign Artists in India, 1857-1947, that opens tomorrow offers a similar déjà vu. Giles Tillotson, curator and senior vice president, DAG, has been at the helm of putting this vast collection of around 100 works together. Taj Mahal at Sunset, kokka woodblock print on paper, 1919, Charles William Bartlett For a long time, there has been a general myth among art historians that the attraction of India diminished for artists post the 1857 War of Independence, owing to the rise of photography. But Tillotson observes, “As I began to oversee acquisitions, there were names we had not always heard of. There was a story to tell, not that artists had stopped coming to India, but that they were coming from diverse parts of the world.” These included Charles William Bartlett, Alfred Edward Emslie, Marius Bauer, Cecil Burns, Edwin Lord Weeks, Erich Kips, Hugo Vilfred Pedersen and Hiroshi Yoshida to name but a few. These were American, Dutch, Danish, and Japanese artists moving through the heartland of India. A changed perspective The challenge of photography also shaped their perspective. “It was no longer an enlightenment or explanation of the Orient but a much more individual response to different experiences,” Tillotson points out. As an example, he points to William Hodges’ first visit to the Taj Mahal in 1783. Ajumeru no Burenderuwajaa/High Gate in Ajmer (Buland Darwaza of Ajmer), Hiroshi Yoshida, kokka woodblock print on paper, 1931 “Hodges is the first artist to ever visit the Taj Mahal. He was producing work for an audience that had heard of the Taj Mahal, but never seen an image. By the time William Simpson and Edward Lear visit, a century later, it has become a cliché,” he states. And so, the works become individual perspectives offering a glimpse of marketplaces, people, landscapes and culture — vibrant in colour, culture and texture of life. The locations were just as new as the perspective. Exotic not colonial The meagre presence of Colonial epicentres such as Bombay in the works evokes our curiosity. “The artists were looking at Bombay as another European city. They are in search of subject matters that are more exotic,” the curator adds. While Delhi, Agra and Benares continued to fascinate them, the period turns attention to destinations such as Rajasthan and Kashmir — new unexplored regions till the late 19th and even 20th Century. The establishment of rail networks, a stabilised Colonial conquest of India enabled these travels. An Indian Street Scene, Alfred Edward Emslie, watercolour on paper pasted on cardboard Yet, Bombay is a key artistic city of the period for the artists who did stay behind. Cecil Burns would go on to head the Bombay School of Art (later Sir JJ School of Art) as will Charles Gerrard and John Griffiths. Griffiths would also work on the decoration of the now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and the High Court buildings. The Dutchman Marius Bauer would arrive in the city in 1898, and opt for help on his routes to Gwalior, Mathura, Vrindavan and Udaipur using a familiar city establishment, Thomas Cook. “They were a shipping company then, established in 1888. Not the tourist agency cashing travellers’ cheques as we know them,” Tillotson adds. Maratta Head, Horace Van Ruith, watercolour on handmade paper, c 1880 Art as fiction Tillotson purposely earmarked the exhibition between two of the Subcontinent’s tumultuous years of political change — 1857 and 1947. Yet, the artworks eschew any portrayal of these social moments. To give context, Hiroshi Yoshida travels through India in 1930, the same year Mahatma Gandhi declares the momentous Civil Disobedience Movement. Giles Tillotson “It is the curious incident of the dog that did not bark in the night,” Tillotson quips, adding, “There is a sense in which all art is fiction, but these works were not aimed at engaging with societal change and change in landscape.” This is not to say that there were not Indian artists radically changing the landscape at the same time. “That is a story for another exhibition,” he concludes. On May 1 to June 28; 11 am to 7 pmAt DAG, Mumbai Gallery, The Taj Mahal Palace, Apollo Bunder.
30 April,2025 08:59 AM IST | Mumbai | Shriram IyengarIn May, the people of Alonde village in Palghar celebrate the Bohada Mask festival. The month-long festival starts on Akshaya Tritiya (April 30). Performers wear masks of local deities and dance to devotional songs throughout the night. The performances offer fascinating opportunities for photographers, which is why Chhavi Bombay, a photography community, is organising a one-night stay at the village for photographers during the festival. Ganesh Mhaskar, an engineer and a villager from the area, says, “In the Vanganpada Bohada festival, we wear masks of birds, animals, gods, goddesses, and demons. The traditional dance performed during the procession is called Bohada and the festival is named after the dance." Aslam Saiyad, co-founder of Chhavi Bombay, talks about the festival, “The tribe wears masks of the indigenous local deities like Biroba, Khandoba, Waghoba, and Kansari Mata, and performs the traditional dance, at night. Nowadays, they also wear masks of Mahabharata and Ramayana characters during the procession. The festival starts after Hanuman Jayanti and the date and time differ from place to place. The locals play the traditional version of clarinet and sambal while the masked men dance to its beats. The procession begins at night and goes on till morning. At the end, after their performance the entire night, they wear the mask of the village deity or kul devis as they call in Marathi.” The face masks are prepared by special artists. “The preparation starts well before the festival. Earlier they used to use wood but that made it very heavy. That’s why they shifted to papier-mâché,” Saiyad adds. With colourful masks and live traditional dance, the scenes make it ideal for photographers to capture the culture of the indigenous people in this region of Maharashtra. ON April 30 till May 1AT Palghar (Meeting point to be disclosed after registration) CALL 9867403957LOG ON TO @chhavibombay ENTRY Rs 2,900 (Includes food and stay)
29 April,2025 09:24 AM IST | Mumbai | Minal SanchetiThe Remains of the BodyDiya Sengupta, sustainability strategy consultant, Juhu I am reading this delicious queer book by Saikat Majumdar. It is a novella that brings out the queerness of lives that seem straight from outside. I love its depiction of modern marriage and the slippery zone between the friendly and the erotic. I was blown away by Majumdar’s previous novel The Firebird, and then mesmerised by his novel, The Scent of God, set in a monastic boarding school. So, when this new novella was released, I just knew I had to read it. KitchenAekta Khubchandani creative writing teacher, Andheri Banana Yoshimoto’s novel was a gift to me from one of my students, who is also a dear friend now. The book holds a handful of deaths in it, and the writing feels so tender, fresh and accessible that I wanted to read the book all at once, in one sitting. Being translated from Japanese, the texture of the book is appealing and even sorrow felt wondrous to read about. The Last NostalgiaShrishti Khanna educator and counsellor, Juhu I’m reading Joe Bolton’s collection of poems from the 1980s. The book explores loneliness, love, and grief. I may not always be up for a full book, but good poetry always offers a safe space — something I can hold, and be held by, in the in-between. My partner is a poet, and it was their recommendation that I pick this up. Lately, I haven’t been able to read bigger books, and poetry is a huge solace. Prisoners of GeographyPrashant Magar private tutor, Bandra Tim Marshall’s book talks about how countries are subject to considerations of the geographical settings they are based in. Whether it is survival, conflict, strategic advantages or disadvantages, geography plays a vital role in shaping the destiny of a nation. It’s interesting to read the explanation through the examples in the book. One might agree or disagree with Marshall’s views, but it’s thoroughly researched, and the points are well-made. The VegetarianSurbhi Shah lawyer, Ghatkopar Recently, I read this hugely relevant novel by Han Kang, which is a deeply disturbing account of a Korean woman’s journey against the violence and alienation of patriarchal norms and societal expectations. I came across this book while being a part of a Bandra-based book club, Books and Banter. Prompting a very heated and divisive discussion on the themes and sexual politics of the book, it has been an illuminating and unforgettable read. Available All titles at leading bookstores and e-stores
29 April,2025 09:13 AM IST | Mumbai | Nandini VarmaThree years ago, when Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali released the Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi, it propelled a series of reactions; public interest in Kamathipura was renewed, talks on the working conditions of commercial sex workers found a new voice and with all the praise for the film, came a band of critics who criticised Bhansali for whitewashing and glamorising reality. The stigma attached to the precinct is hardly draped in pristine white fabric; the everyday conversations are rarely timed, eloquent retorts and the stereotypes often seep into the lives of the regular people in the area as well — an unsaid side of the neighbourhood which has found a platform in the documentary of 20-year-old Arnav Pagawad. A student of the Bachelor of Arts in Film, Television & New Media Production course at the Vile Parle-based Usha Pravin Gandhi College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Pagawad’s documentary, Beyond the Brothels–The Kamathipura Story, releasing this Thursday on YouTube seeks to talk about the other inhabitants of the area. “Most media accounts of Kamathipura are about the commercial sex work that happens there, and while that is true, people don’t see it beyond that perspective,” Pagawad, the director of the film, confesses. A former resident of the locality, Pagawad’s cinematic lens steers clear of the brothels to focus on the crammed chawls and buildings, shops, temples and everyday lives of the factory workers and local residents. The group during a shoot for the documentary. Pics courtesy/Omkar Naik, Mittal Soni “My parents and a big chunk of our extended family have lived in Kamathipura for years. The public perspective of the area is heavily influenced by the fact that it is the red light district despite the presence of residential lanes. I wanted to show the other side of the narrative to viewers — stories of people giving fake addresses in job interviews and kids hiding where they lived from peers lest it invites unwanted judgement. The Shri Pochamma Devi Temple on 11th Lane in Kamathipura This social perception can set dangerous precedents for everyone,” Pagawad explains, further telling us about an instance in the documentary where one of the interviewers reveals how she was subjected to lewd behaviour at her workplace by a senior just because of her address. Workers at a metal fabrication workshop in Kamathipura “I have touched on issues of housing, how the communal riots of 1993 impacted the people in the neighbourhood, the lore behind the Shri Pochamma Devi Temple in the area, and how you can find beautiful contradictions in a place almost solely defined from one standpoint,” he reveals about his nearly two-year-long project. A man works on a machine in a factory in the locality Pagawad strongly believes in ‘the more local, the more global’, an idea that his small team of six people, all collegians, also adhere to. “I heard an actor mention it in an interview and it has stayed with me ever since. Our group plans to send the documentary for film festivals as well. But before that I wanted people, and more importantly Mumbaikars to know about it,” he shares. An old man looks out from the balcony of a chawl in the area Dabbling in theatre and helming film projects, Pagawad dreams of a lead role in a film someday. “I have always enjoyed watching films by Damien Chazelle, Martin Scorsese and Vikramaditya Motwane. I think it’s only through watching and making films that one can truly grow as an artiste and I hope to be a good artiste someday,” he concludes. RELEASE DATE May 1AVAILABLE ON YouTube
29 April,2025 09:08 AM IST | Mumbai | Divyasha PandaIt is not often that Anne Frank is held up as an example of the nayika in a classical Indian text. “But she has all those qualities. She is precocious, intelligent, brave and outspoken and also quite often infatuated,” shares Aarthy Natrajan. Today, the Kalakshetra Foundation-alumni will present her interpretation of The Diary of Anne Frank at a venue in Mahalaxmi. Anne Frank. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons The story is one that Natrajan has often read and travelled with. “To me, the core of the story is that of a young teenage girl. She grew up and lived in a tumultuous time, but her view of the world is the same as that of a teenager today,” the dancer shares. The gamut of emotions expressed through the incidents in her diary can be expressed through the classical bhavas — techniques expressing emotions. Aarthy Natrajan as Anne Frank. Pics Courtesy/Aarthy Natrajan “You read through the book and feel so connected to her; from complaints about her mother, or the curiosity about people, or her little crushes,” Natrajan observes. This is where the comparison with a nayika in the Indian classical text comes through. The Nayika or the heroine is often central to every Indian epic. “They are classified into the ashtanayikas, according to their archetypes. But in terms of age, they are divided into Mugdha, Madhya and Pragalbha — a teenager, young adult and a mature woman,” Natrajan explains. By this definition, Anne Frank certainly fits the bill. It would be difficult for a dance performance to do complete justice to the book. This required some research. Natrajan spent close to two years reading up, and collecting archival photographs and documents, some of which will be part of a visual slideshow during her performance. The 40-year-old Natrajan adopted four key parts from the book — Frank’s friendships, her parents’ call-up, the intense Holocaust, and her optimism to finish with. “I did not want to use lyrical songs to take away from the narrative of the story. So, we used a bit of the text from the diaries set to instrumental music,” she elaborates. To shape its music, she reached out to Navin Kumar aka Flute Navin in Chennai. “I knew the approach needed for certain portions. For instance, a malahari raga for the patra pravesham [introduction], and for the holocaust, I wanted some elements of a jathi. I left the definition of the structure and compositions up to him,” she reveals. A moment from the performance The Mumbai performance today is a return home for Natrajan, who grew up in the outskirts of the city in the suburb of Kalyan. “Interpreting a modern text might seem idiosyncratic, but it is not new. If you look at it [Bharatanatyam] as a language of expression, you can use it to express anything,” she concludes. ON Today; 7 pmAT G5A Warehouse, Laxmi Mills Estate, Shakti Mills Lane, Mahalaxmi West.LOG ON TO district.inEntry Rs 499 Also check out Malavika Sarukkai unravels the secrets to Aharya Abhinaya and its idiom in the classical form at this talk.ON Today, 11 amAT Dilip Piramal Art Gallery, NCPA, Nariman Point.LOG ON TO ncpamumbai.com Entry First come-first serve Join in to shake a leg at this day-long event celebrating every dance form.ON Today, 10 am onwards AT Eternal Motives Performing Arts Studio, 606, Lodha Supremes, Wagle Estate, Thane West. CALL 7304784075LOG ON TO in.bookmyshow.comEntry Rs 49 onwards A contemporary movement performance, Dhrut explores the concept of time dilation in space through dance.ON April 30; 8 pmAT Prithvi Theatre, 20, Juhu Church Road, Juhu.LOG ON TO prithvitheatre.org Entry Rs 350
29 April,2025 09:01 AM IST | Mumbai | Shriram IyengarSarangi maestro Farooque Latif Khan has tuned strings in the presence of legends like Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Rashid Khan. But in 2023, it was 30 little ustads from the city who gave him a jugalbandi to remember. In a Vile Parle studio, music educator Shyama Panikkar and her students sang raag Jaunpuri with Khan, in tandem — taal se taal. It’s not surprising then, that the little maestros will return to the stage this weekend with another brave project, Sur Sufiyana, a celebration of the mystical art form. Farooque Latif Khan (centre) shares insights with children during his visit Between school and the excitement of a summer vacation around the corner, the performers — all below 15 years old — have been flipping through pages of Sufi lyrics lately. But it’s not as monotonous as it sounds. “Sa ga, re ma, ga pa, ma dha, pa ni, dosa!” Panikkar quips over our call. It’s just one of the quirky ways you make classical music forms more palatable for children, she says. Shyama Panikkar (centre) performs with her students With classic Sufi songs like Bulleh Shah’s Mast Qalandar, and Amir Khusro’s Chaap Tilak on the set list, the children have big shoes to fill. Ten-year-old Svanik Jadhav, who tells us he enjoys jazz, African music and “Bollywood tunes that make him do a little dance,” is now rehearsing Raahat Fateh Ali Khan’s Tere Bin Nahi Lagda, for the big day. “I love listening to world music. I think it’s a great way to connect with cultures across borders,” he shares, adding that he’s looking forward to seeing his friends and family cheer him on as he belts out sargams this Sunday. A section of an illustrated manuscript featuring Amir Khusro. PIC COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS “Sufi music is an art form that calls for practice and patience,” Panikkar says. We agree, although we’re not entirely sure children have time for patience these days. “I must admit, it can get hard sometimes to get them in the zone,” she laughs. “You cannot simply sit down and teach them, especially the younger ones. The music must move with them,” she adds. This prancing around the studio, scribbling ideas on whiteboards, and reflecting on ragas and taals somewhere in between, is not how many including Panikkar and this writer, remember their childhood music classes. “I remember how my teacher would make us sing the same phrase over and over again till we got it right. That was nothing short of a struggle,” she recalls. Panikkar’s 45-minute sessions, she claims, aren’t bound by any such rules. “If a child cannot ace a part, it’s always better to give them some rest and try again tomorrow,” she says. Young musicians practise at the Vile Parle studio before their performance There’s one part that catches us off guard though. In a jugalbandi of disciplines, the engineer-turned-music educator has been using math to decipher Sufi music for the children. “The concepts of beat cycles and time signatures are perfect exercises in mathematics,” she says. We’re not convinced numbers are everybody’s jam. Perhaps it will grow on us, as a Sufi would say, with practice and patience. ON April 27; 10 amAT Aspee Auditorium, Malad-Marve Road, Malad West. LOG ON TO in.bookmyshow.com (for tickets) @surtaalmasti on Instagram (for queries)ENTRY Rs 800
28 April,2025 02:05 PM IST | Mumbai | Devashish KambleHave you met Chirayu? He’s five years old and on the autism spectrum. Sometimes, he struggles with aggression and violent outbursts. That’s one of the reasons the BMC school that his parents enrolled him in wasn’t keen on having him. But last week, he gave them a sight to remember. With his birthday cake in hand, Chirayu darted across the classroom wearing a wide smile, feeding every child in his path. Kudos to Chirayu. And kudos to Brain Bristle, the organisation working towards helping children like him fit in their classrooms. At Showcase of Wonders today, many more children on the autism spectrum will remind the world that they’re much more than their diagnosis. “Autistic children can be supremely talented. Most of them are. But unfortunately, we’ve viewed them only through skewed representations. You’ll buy diyas [lamps] painted by the children on Diwali, and that’s about it,” says Devangana Mishra, founder. A student learns to read a book; (right) Children perform at a Holi celebration in a city school With the belief that they “might just find the next John Mayer or Ali Sethi in the community”, the organisation has shortlisted bright talent from all across the city. “You never know until you give them a platform, and lend them an ear. The city must see them claiming spaces, and in the best light, to shed their prejudices. There’s no other way,” Mishra reminds us. Having worked on special education curricula in schools in New York and Hong Kong before founding the organisation, Mishra remembers the Eureka moment that planted the seed of the idea. “I was accustomed to seeing autistic children learning coding, robotics and acing their piano recitals as a way to channel their intellect. But when I visited low-income schools in Mumbai, I saw children on the spectrum sitting in the back of the class, clueless and forgotten,” she recalls. The team poses with children at one of the schools under the programme But things have been looking up lately, she assures us. “Parents now come up to us and say, ‘I think my child is special. Kuch pata lag sakta hai? [Can we find out what it is?]’. That’s a promising start. But I wish that other parents showed the same compassion,” she rues. A child on the spectrum is not ‘unfortunate’, and most definitely doesn’t need to be talked to in a patronising tone, she reminds us. With seven schools already under the programme, another eight will soon get an inclusive revamp by the end of June 2025. “Each of the seven schools has a dedicated social worker that we train in concepts like correct terminology, strategically planning lessons, and reinforcing healthy behaviour,” the founder explains. With one in 100 children believed to be on the spectrum as per a November 2023 WHO report, the brain bristlers have a long way ahead of them. Devangana Mishra Could a day-long talent show, a drop in the ocean, really create a ripple effect? “You’ll be moved, most likely to tears, by how talented the participants are. We’re not asking for much. We hope more people show up, applaud the children and leave wondering just why they don’t see more autistic children in the limelight,” Mishra says. We suggest you do. After all, they’re one in a hundred. ON April 28; 2 pm AT Department of Special Education, SNDT Women’s University, Juhu Tara Road, Santacruz West.LOG ON TO @brainbristle on Instagram (to register)ENTRY RSVP mandatory
28 April,2025 12:24 PM IST | Mumbai | Devashish KambleA the same time as F Scott Fitzgerald unleashed The Great Gatsby upon the American reader, a quiet revolution was occurring on the Eastern horizon. “It was the perfect synthesis of art, architecture, design and ideas. I would call them pioneers,” shares Raffael Dedo Gadebusch, head and senior curator of the Museum fur Asiatische Kunst, Berlin. Gadebusch’s enthusiasm echoes across the gallery space we are in at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum that hosts the Eckart Muthesius and Manik Bagh — Pioneering Modernism in India. The exhibition, hosted in collaboration with Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin (Asian Art Museum) and the German Consulate General Mumbai offers a glimpse of this revolution. Senior curator Raffael Dedo Gadebusch helms the walkthrough “Mumbai is the perfect place for a finale to this exhibition. It was here in 1934 that Muthesius opened at the first exhibition of modernism showcasing his tubular steel furniture,” Gadebusch reveals. In fact, Muthesius might have also witnessed the opening of Regal Cinema in 1933 when he visited the city. Eckart Muthesius (seated) and Ernst Messerschmidt during the construction of Manik Bagh Palace. Pic Courtesy/Shubha & Prahlad Bubbar Collection By then, the architect was already at work on what remains his magnum opus, Manik Bagh Palace — The first modernist building in South Asia, if not all Asia, Gadebusch emphasises. Completed in 1933 for the Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II and his young wife, Maharani Sanyogita, the building featured modern ideas in design and architecture such as electrically-operated sheds, thick tinted glasses to balance light, innovative material from wall paints to sleek furniture designs by Eileen Gray, Louis Sognot and Charlotte Alix among others. The entrance hall at the Palace with Bernard Boutet de Monvel's portrait of Yashwant Rao Holkar II. Pic Courtesy/Taimur Hassan Collection It was not all European, either. On cue, Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, curator of the Museum, picks out a photograph that showcases the similarities in Muthesius’ design to the Mughal gardens and ideas of its waterworks. A moment from the film by Henri-Pierre Roché The exhibition is a veritable zeitgeist lived through photographs and canvas. Gadebusch guides our attention to one photograph of Muthesius working quietly in the foreground with an assistant standing by. “That’s Ernst Messerschmidt. He worked on the walls and colours of the palace.” Messerschmidt would later work with Bhagwandas Morarji Kamdar, who would pioneer furniture and interior design practices in 1930s Bombay. A photograph of Eckart Muthesius in the gallery In some ways, the exhibition feels like a glimpse of an artistic Algonquin round table. Bernard Boutet de Monvel created portraits to celebrate the royal couple, Man Ray and Emil Leitner would photograph them, Constantin Brâncuși designed sculptures, Ivan Da Silva Bruhns fashioned rugs with overlapping geometric styles that would later appear on floors across Art Deco buildings in Mumbai. A portrait of Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II by Bernard Boutet de Monvel. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons; (right) Man Ray’s iconic photograph of the Holkar couple As a bonus, Gadebusch guides us to the final room showcasing a slapstick adventure film by Henri-Pierre Roche, better known as the writer of Francois Truffaut’s iconic Jules et Jim. As we watch the slapstick adventure, this writer is quickly reminded of a teenage movie that could be made at home. “It was shot at Muthesius’ family villa in Germany,” comes the revelation. It is no surprise that this was the era that also gave birth to Charles Chaplin and Herge’s Tintin. While the exhibition will return to Berlin in August, the curator hopes that he will be able to showcase it in the real Manik Bagh Palace in Indore one day. “People often talk of modernism arriving in India, but it is important to remember this narrative too; of a young Maharaja who offered patronage to German architects, designers and industries through this enterprise,” Gadebusch sums it up. TILL August 17; 10 am to 5.30 pm AT Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Veermata Jijabai Bhosle Udyan, Byculla East.ENTRY Museum tickets applicable
28 April,2025 09:10 AM IST | Mumbai | Shriram IyengarADVERTISEMENT
