28 January,2025 06:43 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Anurag Ahire
A constable clicks a picture of a colleague near the traffic police tableau at the 76th Republic Day celebrations at Shivaji Park in Dadar.
Last weekend witnessed the opening of the 25th edition of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF)and needless to say, Mumbaikars thronged multiple venues that formed part of the multi-arts carnival. While strolling through the many stalls at the venue, this diarist chanced upon a quaint musical instrument at one of the stalls near the iconic Kala Ghoda statue. "Zenzula is a thumb piano that is handmade from recycled materials and does not require any experience to play a tune. People don't realise the acoustic potential of everyday objects. We want to bring attention to products that use simple music for wellbeing," Lalith Choyal, KGAF team member, told us. If you'd like to buy this instrument, head to stall number 27 at Kala Ghoda.
Maestro Zubin Mehta who was in the city to conduct a few concerts, also met with students of the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation (MMMF). Twenty students warmly greeted him with memorable performances. "Whenever the maestro is in Mumbai, he makes sure to drop by and interact with them," Farahanaaz Dastur, director of education programmes, MMMF, told us. The session also saw Mehta guiding the young musicians on their craft. "It was extremely enriching to be able to talk to someone with his level of knowledge," Aatish Dhawan, 20-year-old pianist, shared.
Kozhikode's reputation as India's first and only UNESCO's City of Literature is not without cause. A day before late MT Vasudevan Nair (affectionately referred to as âMT') was presented with a posthumous Padma Vibhushan, this diarist walked into one of the author's old haunts in between sessions at the just-concluded Kerala Literature Festival. Apart from being a Sahitya Kala Akademi and Padma Bhushan-awardee, Nair was an author, scriptwriter and seven-time National Film Award-winner. So, it was a surprise when in a casual conversation during our browsing session at Ideal Books on Mananchira Square, bookseller Mohammed Nizamuddin revealed that the late author would frequent the store. "He [MT Vasudevan Nair] would sit right there, with a cup of tea, and call for books. Sometimes, he would call us and tell us to source books for him," Nizamuddin recalled, pointing to a spot near the back entrance of the store. Out came the mobile phones with pictures and anecdotes of the Malayalam-language legend's walks in the neighbourhood, and his taste in poetry. Before this diarist left, Nizamuddin suggested we pick out two translated short stories by the late author. "You cannot leave Kozhikode without having read MT sir," he chuckled. One can hardly debate that.
You go, grandpa! You are my inspiration: that is what Janhavi Jain, 26, thought when she saw her 82-year-old grandfather Ratanchand Oswal finish the half-marathon (21 km) at the Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) in 2024. "I had run the 10 km then, and I was waiting for my nana (maternal grandfather) at the 21-km finish line. When I saw him pass the finish line I said to myself: that is excellent. Next year, I want to run the half marathon with you." Her grandfather told her, "Then, you will have to start training." This time Oswal, who has had a bypass surgery in 2013 and run eight half marathons (including the one in 2025) at the TMM and his granddaughter Janhavi, both ran the 21 km on January 19, 2025. Oswal finished the route in 3:37 while Janhavi finished in 2:21. Janhavi said with a laugh, "It was fabulous to experience the same route nana has run and done. I am a professional dance artiste and fitness trainer, I used to do the 10k but was wary of the 21 km. I finished this one and was cheering for nana throughout." Oswal, who has run 22 half-marathons across India, is back to his regular training, with his Zipper Club group, even as grandpa and granddaughter bridged the generation gap through running.
