Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Eyes on the prizeStudents of Kirti M Doongursee College practise baseball at Shivaji Park in DadarEmbracing sisterhoodAqui Thami File picNot all libraries are meant for quiet readings Sister Library Bandrarsquos communityowned feminist space for female artistes is to host a film screening of filmmaker Jyoti Nisharsquos critically acclaimed BR Ambedkar Now and Then on September 6 As part of the libraryrsquos September Feminist Movie Night the session will also invite the filmmaker for a oneonone conversation ldquoWe wanted to celebrate the writerrsquos work while appreciating the contributions made by Dr Ambedkar himselfrdquo aqui Thami artist and founder of the library shared with usFor the love of readingStudents browse through the collection of books at the newly inaugurated library Pic courtesyMumbai BookiesThere is a new reading space in town Mumbai Bookies in association with Google for Education and Teach for India has initiated a library building drive in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMCsupported schoolsldquoWe inaugurated our first library at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Municipal School in Worli on September 2 and plan to build similar libraries in four other schools across the city We donated books relevant to kids aged betwen five and 12 to make them feel excited about having something new in their handrdquo shared Shantanu Naidu left author and host Mumbai Bookies The community painted the classroom built and organised the bookshelves as part of the driveSpreading their wingsMeera left performs during a previous event Pic CourtesymeerasmelodiesAfter serving as a venue for theatre since 2018 Aram Nagarrsquos popular performance space Veda Factory will shift gears with a new curatorial wing Veda Factory CurationsldquoIt was time for us to tap into the vast network of artistes that we have built and give something new to our audiences We have some exciting music theatre and storytelling events lined uprdquo Hina Yadav inset head of curations revealed to this diarist The group will kick off their first session of programming with a musical night featuring Sanchi Mannotra Sagar Verma and Meera Desai on September 12Message in a mandalA scene from Vinayaki PicSPECIAL ARRANGEMENTWhen the mandal becomes the medium for an uplifting message we are all eyes and ears The Riddhi Siddhi Mandal based in JB Nagar Andheri East is celebrating its 50th year with a special initiative in the ongoing Ganesh Utsav They have designed a 15minute live drama titled lsquoVinayakirsquo which highlights how a womanrsquos multitasking life such as balancing family work and society often takes a toll on her personal wellbeing In a nutshell this is a live musical which follows Ragini a young woman passionate about music Under parental and societal pressure she sets her passion aside to focus on her careerAs marital and family responsibilities increase she tries to keep everyone happy but her efforts are taken for granted and the value she brings goes unrecognised On the verge of a breakdown she rediscovers her passion for singing With social media her song becomes a sensation helping her reclaim her sense of self and liberation The theme has been scripted by Mandal volunteers Noted Marathi theatre artist Disha Dinde plays the protagonist Those visiting the Mandal can witness a mix of the divine with thought provoking communication and ideas We likeGiving Sanskrit an upgradeA moment from the bandrsquos previous performance at an event Pic courtesyVrunda Gandharva SakhyamWhile this diarist struggled to get through the Sanskrit subhashit mala for the board exams the contemporary band Vrunda Gandharva Sakhyam is looking to bring back the language into popular use Andheribased researcher Dr Shreehari Gokarnakar songwriter for the band shared that they have crafted Sanskrit versions of popular songs from Jeena isi ka naam hai to the title track of Titanic 1997 The band recently performed at IIT Bombay last month to perform their musical play ShravyaThe Sanskrit Symphony ldquoAs someone who studied Sanskrit it always bothered me that people restricted it to a language for ritual text It is a scientific and contemporary language The idea of making covers was to show how adaptable the language is It has proven to be an effective way to take the language to the next generationrdquo he shared With another performance coming up in Bhandup later this month Mumbai might get a taste of the new rhythms