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Rest between exercise

A dog catches a wink while boys around him put their back into a workout session at Shivaji Park. 

‘Don’t be an Amol Palekar in today’s world’

(From left) Meenakshi Shedde, Amol Palekar and Sandhya Gokhale in conversation at a Worli venue. PIC COURTESY/CHINTAN JADIA

The veteran, critically acclaimed actor had these words of advice for young audience members at a discussion around his book Viewfinder: A Memoir (Westland Books) in Worli on Thursday. In conversation with film curator and Sunday mid-day columnist Meenakshi Shedde for Asia Society India Centre, Palekar took a walk down memory lane with wife and creative partner Sandhya Gokhale. “One of the more interesting anecdotes was hiding right in the title of the book. Back in the day when there were no monitors on film sets, directors used viewfinders. Director Hrishikesh Mukherjee had passed on his viewfinder to Palekar, a moment he holds dearly. What’s more, the viewfinder originally belonged to Mukherjee’s guru, director late Bimal Roy,” Shedde told this diarist. In discussion about his career outside Hindi cinema, Palekar admitted to his reservations about playing the same character in repetitive performances of plays. “He’s the kind of artiste who is always on the lookout for something new,” Shedde added. Among questions Palekar might not have seen coming was a young media student who asked him how one could ‘be like Amol Palekar’. This diarist learnt that Palekar was quick to quip that she was better off not trying, adding that his free-spirited outlook when it came to work might not fare well in today’s world.

Room for everyone

Krishna Mohini performs in a local. PIC COURTESY/KRISHNA MOHINI

Once you’ve done time in Mumbai locals, nothing really surprises you. Or so we thought. Earlier this week, transgender artiste Krishna Mohini treated commuters to an impromptu dance performance in the ladies’ coach of a Virar-Churchgate train.  “I’ve always had the knack for dancing. My life hasn’t been a walk in the park. After being abandoned by my father in Kolkata as a child, and unfortunately finding myself practising sex work in a red-light district in New Delhi, I finally found a safe home in Mumbai. Now I occasionally perform in locals to brighten people’s commute. The hijra community has long been misunderstood as those who simply clap for money. Now, when I dance, it’s the passengers who clap for me,” Mohini told this diarist.

Ladies and local trains in Hamburg

Sandra as a Hindu Goddess. PIC COURTESY/Keerthana Kunnath

Art gallery Method (India) made its debut in Germany this week with the ongoing exhibition Ladies Compartment at the Galerie Melike Bilir. The showcase, featuring six Indian women artists, is titled after the eponymous compartment in the Mumbai locals that is ‘at once refuge and restriction’.

Anushree Fadnavis and Keerthana Kunnath

Anushree Fadnavis, whose project #traindiaries is a journal of photos and observations from her daily train journeys, shared, “This project has helped me get closer to understanding the people, especially the women, of Mumbai.” Also on display is the photographic series, Not What You Saw, by Keerthana Kunnath on female bodybuilders. “Through this work, I aim to disrupt the gaze, reframing muscularity not as masculine, but as a form of feminine agency and care.

You alright, mate?

Rohit Shah. PIC COURTESY/@ROHSHAH

Unpredictable skies got the better of comedian Rohit Shah even before he landed in the UK this week. The Goregaon-based artiste who is in the UK for his debut overseas tour shared, “I missed my connecting flight from Abu Dhabi, and had an unusually drawn out delay with the immigration process for reasons beyond my control.” With the rocky start behind him, Shah is set to have the last laugh with a three-city presentation of Naseeb Kharab, his solo set that talks about life in a State Board school and living in a joint family.

What a bright idea!

The umbrellas are equipped with a sound emitting device. PIC COURTESY/ACCESS FOR ALL

Mumbai’s monsoon is set to turn less intimidating for its visually impaired citizens. City-based disability support organisation Access for All and Niraant Foundation distributed umbrellas with beepers and torchlights at the National Association for the Blind in Andheri earlier this week. “The beep sound will help alert passers-by and motorists when activated,” shared Access for All founder, Siddhant Shah. Meanwhile in Delhi, the organisation has also submitted a disability access audit of the Red Fort to UNESCO.