Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Man mannequin and babyA toddler and its guardian walk past a shop at Lokhandwala Market in Andheri WestA trip to Mumbairsquos sacred spacesMount Mary Basilica PicSayyed Sameer AbediHave you ever wondered what makes a religious space sacred A series of virtual lectures by the Asiatic Society of Mumbai aims at demystifying the ideology behind the sacred spaces of the city starting February 13 ldquoWhy does a Shiva temple have a Nandi statue outside or why does a mosque face Kaaba We will discuss this in the context of Mumbai including the Doongerwadi Mount Mary Basilica the Jewish synagogues and Babulnath Tank among several other spotsrdquo explained Dr Shehernaz Nalwalla who is part of the managing committee adding ldquoWersquoll also address street and indigenous spacesrdquo Interested to learn more Write to them at mumbairesearchasiaticgmailcomMarch under this archMumbairsquos cultural spine project begins near Siddhivinayak Mandir and runs till Mahim The DadarShivaji Park area with so much history and milestones on the stretch is seeing a phased facelift We came across one more pleasant change under that umbrella The footpath just outside the old Mayorrsquos bungalow at Shivaji Park which is now going to house a Bal Thackeray memorial has an arch trellis just outside Soon vines and creepers will crawl up these arches and we may have a canopy of green a natural umbrella giving pedestrians on the footpath succour in the bummer of a summer we see in the city Kiran Dighavkar Assistant Municipal Commissioner G North ward told this diarist ldquoThis is a part of the cultural path which comes under the overall cultural spine project The yettobe completed arch trellis is designed for aesthetic appeal and relief from the blistering sunrdquo We are all for greening our footpaths and eagerly await vines on this trellis Fuchsia pink bougainvillea might make this resemble a picture postcard but we leave that to the expertsWhat the doc saysPicWikimedia CommonsA leading doctor who is hailed as the Father of Diabetology in the country Dr V Mohan is set to publish his memoir this month Titled Making Excellence A Habit Penguin Random House India the book is due to release on February 22 The Padma Shri awardee told this diarist that in the title he will reveal secrets that helped him achieve success ldquoItrsquos a story of how passion focus resilience and hard work are all necessary for success More importantly it shows how spirituality empathy and integrity can be seamlessly combined with science and the practice of medicine even in the present dayrdquoWhorsquoll be the best indie voicesThe nominations are out for The Indian Music Diaries Awards an annual event that honours worthy independent musicians in the country Some of the names in the 10 different categories include Kamakshi Khannarsquos Qareeb for Best Music Video and Best Song of the Year and Topshe for Best Singersongwriter Both musicians are based in Mumbai Organiser Akshay Kapoor shared that there were 600 applications that were sent in and the jury is now in the process of scanning the shortlisted names ldquoWe expect the final results to be out in about 10 daysrdquo he shared Watch this space to find out who makes the cutScholarly notesThe NCPA has been a key contributor in nurturing young talent from across the country And two musicians mdash Krushna Salunke bottom a pakhawaj player being trained by Suresh Talwalkar under CitiNCPA Support to Gurus CSR initiative and vocalist Aparajita Chakraborty left a winner of the Citi NCPA Hindustani music scholarship will showcase how theyrsquove honed their skills during a performance at the institution on February 12Chakraborty shared that she learnt a lot during her training and that the scholarship helped her stay focused on riyaz without financial concerns ldquoIrsquoll be performing Raga Bihag in Dhrupad style Alap and a Dhamar composition at the concertrdquo the young musician revealed