Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Stop and smell the rosesA young flower seller runs past a couple enjoying some quiet at Marine DriveWhen Dior serenades karigarsHave you ever seen a rendition of Kali with hands that look like those of Little Miss Sunshine the zaniest character from Roger Hargreaves bestselling series Madhvi ben Parekhrsquos Kali is black her pudgy hands and halo yellow Raktabija the demon she slayed lies horizontally flat under her resembling an evil eye doll The childlike wonder with which the veteran painter sees the world couldnrsquot have been learnt at art school The 71yearold told a bemused audience of journalists art patrons and fashion professionals gathered at Worlirsquos Snowball Studios for the launch of the Mul Mathi From the Roots exhibit curated by Asia Society India Centre that she learnt painting ldquoaaste aaste slowly gradually in Gujarati thanks to her husband who prodded her to play with colour circles triangles and squares when she was pregnant with her daughter The man she talked about Manu Parekh is one of Indiarsquos finest modernists and the product of this cityrsquos JJ School of ArtFrom left Inakshi Sobti Maria Grazia Chuiri Manu and Madhvi Parekh and Karishma Swali at the launch of Mul MathiMadhvi benrsquos early tryst with embroidery mdash the fallback to fantasy for every small town Indian girl mdash and Padma Shri Manu Parekhrsquos twodecadelong association with textile doyenne Pupul Jayakar and the Weavers Service Centre make this unassuming but innately powerful couple the perfect choice for a monumental artistic collaboration that sees Christian Dior and its creative director of womenrsquos collections Maria Grazia Chuiri commission a series of textile artworks interpreted in craft by the ingenious Karishma Swali and 340 artisans from her Bycullabased nonprofit Chanakya School of Craft The 22 works some of them floortoceiling have used jute silk cotton nettle and chord in a variety of stitches mdash saddle chain tapestry stem mdash and French knots to interpret original paintings by the coupleOnly a tight group of highprofile guests made it to the byinviteonly Dior Fall 2023 runway show at the Gateway on Thursday night But everyone and their grandmother are invited to Swali and Parekhsrsquo hastkala party Art especially the kind Madhvi ben and Manu Parekh create rooted in community and inclusion can be as accepting as fashion can be isolating Itrsquos this bewildering contrast that makes Mul Mathi a mustvisit Make a trip to the Worli venue before April 22Party hearty for the KingAlan Gemmell speaks at the party as Manisha Mhaiskar looks onIt was a party fit for a King Actually it had to be The British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India Alan Gemmell hosted the Kingrsquos Birthday Party an annual celebration to mark the birthday of the British monarch His Majesty King Charles III on Wednesday night at a Bandra hotel The chief guest for the evening was Manisha Mhaiskar State Govt Principal Secretary Environmental and Climate Change Gemmell remarked on ldquothe brilliant bond UK and India sharedrdquo We learn that The Kingrsquos birthday falls on November 14 but his official birthday in 2023 will be marked on June 17 when The Kingrsquos Birthday Parade also known as Trooping The Colour is held in London So why a party in March in aamchi Mumbai Because the Kingrsquos birthday party is celebrated across the globe anytime between March to June Whew Thatrsquos a plethora of parties from the real birthday to the official birthday and a forthcoming birthday paradeHow to sketch a MiyakeA watercolour sketch of Khotachiwadirsquos Gallery 47A that was shared on their social media handle right Anita Alvares BhatiaUrban sketcher and artist Anita Alvares Bhatia was excited to pay a visit to a Khotachiwadi gallery exhibition titled Clothes That Changed The World The display was based on the late Japanese designer Issey Miyakersquos work But this viewer had a different take on engaging with art Fascinated by the work Bhatia said ldquoI wanted to capture the clothes through the eyes of an urban sketcherrdquo Armed with a minimal art kit the Malad resident who thought shersquod manage painting while standing was offered a seat by the gallery and she began recreating Miyakersquos work in watercolours ldquoEvery time I looked up at the displays I would see new details toordquo she recalledRow localMoments from the race in 2022The Ekvira Devi temple close to Karla Caves near Lonavala has an Agrav in Alibaug connection Believed to be the maiden home of the deity last week the Koli community from Agrav and neighbouring villages raced upstream of the Kundalika river alongside a boat with the deityrsquos palanquin to celebrate Chaitra Navratri ldquoYou can hop on another boat and watch the racerdquo Siddharaj Thale who shared pictures of the race told usSo long VivanSundaramrsquos Engine Oil and Charcoal on the Gulf War Pic CourtesySakshi GalleryVivan Sundaram who passed away earlier this week was an artist of great awareness He will be remembered as Indiarsquos pioneering installation artist shared Chemould Prescott gallerist Shireen Gandhy his close friend and collaborator Recalling his iconic representation of the 199293 Mumbai riots Memorial Gandhy noted ldquoIt would easily be one of the first fully realised installation art pieces The central image was one of a man lying dead in the middle of a riot referenced from a photograph that Hoshi Jal captured for a newspaper The image was etched into the minds of anyone who lived through that time in the cityrdquo Geetha Mehra director of Sakshi Art Gallery recalled his work on the Gulf War and said ldquoHe was an activist who used his art to project his concern regardless of the materialrdquo