Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

Rain-proof on the beach

Given the city's unpredictable spell of rain, a young girl in a raincoat also holds on to her umbrellas.

Race with the Mughals

The artworks created by Varun Gupta depict a race set in the Mughal era

City-based artist (below) Varun Gupta's new artworks are a textbook blend of art and history. Mughal Era: Need for Speed, Gupta's latest series of Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted art panels imagines how the Mughals would've taken to modern racing culture. "I was listening to some upbeat Middle Eastern music last week, when the visuals started taking shape in my head," the Malad-resident recalled.

Gupta's creations depict vintage cars battling it out on winding roads that traverse palaces and forts while crowds dressed in traditional attire cheer them on. What makes the works a visual treat is an intricate recreation of the textures and artefacts one would find in an antique hand-painted piece. Revealing the secret behind these details, Gupta added, "I had to work and rework on the AI text-to-image tool Midjourney before I had a satisfactory result. The details like the creases and textures you see were added in manually. The cherry on top when it comes to AI art is always manual intervention."

Stage call for Thespo

A moment from the previous edition of the theatre fest

To mark the 26th edition of their festival, Thespo has announced their first call for young actors and theatre makers. This year's theme is Bring Your Own Drama. Srishti Ray, (inset) associate producer at QTP and mentor, explained, "The idea stemmed from the need to find a tribe and meaningful connections. We want diverse voices to bring their individuality to the stage."

The orientation meet on July 20 welcomes all theatre enthusiasts - actors, directors, writers, and production designers - to explore opportunities to stage plays, participate in workshops, and engage in community theatre events. The festival has in the past been a fantastic launchpad for bright talent under 25 years. Ray described the orientation as unveiling plans and an introduction to the festival's offerings. The festival is scheduled for the first and second week of December.

Poké-mania at Shivaji Park

Participants at a Pokémon Go event earlier this year (right) Pikachu. PIC COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The Pokémon Go craze might have died down for some fair-weather fans in the city, but the true-blue kind are still going strong. The Pokémon GO Fest 2024 Mumbai this weekend will witness nearly 200 fans of the Japanese franchise head to Shivaji Park for a day-long celebration. "This is possibly the biggest event for fans in the city. The Go Fest travelled to San Francisco and Tokyo before heading to Mumbai. There are some exciting in-game and real-life bonuses and goodies to look forward to," shared Dhruv Shah, founding member, Pokémon GO Mumbai. The choice of the venue, he added, was a strategic one. "Shivaji Park has been a hub for players ever since the game was released in 2015. It offers a safe space for us to walk while playing. Given the overcast conditions, Safety remains our first priority," he told this diarist.

Welcoming eco-friendly Bappa

Students craft idols at a workshop (right) An eco-friendly idol made of shadu maati

Parisar Asha, a Santacruz-based NGO, is organising eco-friendly Ganesha-making sessions ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi. Aarati Savur, CEO, emphasised their mission since 1982 to promote environmental conservation. They initiated eco-friendly Ganesha workshops a decade ago, aiming to revive the tradition of crafting idols from shadu maati instead of Plaster of Paris (POP). Savur highlighted changing attitudes towards eco-friendly practices. The NGO collaborates with in-house artists who are graduates from LS Raheja School of Arts and Sir JJ School of Art for these workshops, welcoming participation from schools, colleges, housing societies, and offices interested in sustainable celebrations.

Senior master chefs

Participants at a previous workshop

There will be no such thing as too many cooks at an upcoming competition for senior citizens organised by the social enterprise Happy2Age next week. Senior citizens from the city will join residents of the Sahabhaav home for elders in Andheri to participate in a ‘no fire' cooking contest. "The idea is to keep them occupied with engaging activities. As a safety precaution, the dishes will be easy to make and there will be no stoves or fire involved," informed Sugandhi Baliga, founder. Those keen to put their chef's hats on can reach out to @happy2age.in.