<h2>Birds of a feather</h2>
<p>Two girls stop to catch a glimpse of a swarm of seagulls at Mahim Beach.</p>
<h2>Art in solidarity</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jan/Rohit-Vemula_e.jpg" alt="The artwork featuring Radhika Vemula" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>The artwork featuring Radhika Vemula</em></strong></p>
<p>City-based illustrator Shrujana Niranjani Shridhar&rsquo;s latest work is a poignant piece that commemorates the eighth anniversary of <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/book-on-dalit-scholar-rohith-vemula-gives-an-insight-into-his-liberal-mind-17525170" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><strong>student Dalit activist Rohith Vemula&rsquo;s death</strong></a> by suicide; an event that became a turning point for Dalit voices across the nation. The artwork, placed on the background of Vemula&rsquo;s famous last letter, depicts the moment Radhika Amma, Vemula&rsquo;s mother, kissed a bust of her son at a memorial in Hyderabad. &ldquo;Amma is a symbol of resilience. Rohith&rsquo;s works continue to live through her. The letter in the background is a reminder of how much work remains unfinished for the betterment of Dalit lives,&rdquo; Shridhar told this diarist.</p>
<h2>We&rsquo;re all eyes</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jan/Anant-Joshi-art_e.jpg" alt="Raised Eyebrow by Anant Joshi" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Raised Eyebrow by Anant Joshi</em></strong></p>
<p>Mumbai-based artist and sculptor Anant Joshi&rsquo;s latest exhibition at Chemould Prescott Road promises an eye-opening experience for visitors. Titled Raised Eyebrow, the series is brought to life using Klecksography &mdash; the art of making images from inkblots.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jan/Anant-Joshi_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Explaining his inspirations, Joshi revealed, &ldquo;Every day, we see stories of resilience tucked away in a corner of some newspaper. The characters change, but the stories are static to its core and they become testimonies of our times. In this sense, these works represent a form of silent dissent or a call for deeper scrutiny, power and freedom of every individual to ask questions.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>On your mark, get set, shoot</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jan/Wild-Clicks_e.jpg" alt="Participants at a previous edition. Pic Courtesy/Nature Wanderers" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Participants at a previous edition. Pic Courtesy/Nature Wanderers</em></strong></p>
<p>Wild Clicks, a <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/travel/article/wildlife-photography-guide--how-to-get-the-perfect-shot-16964188" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><strong>live wildlife photography competition</strong></a>, has opened registration for its ninth edition at Panna National Park on May 17 to 21. Launched in 2010, the competition calls photographers from across India to shoot according to a theme where jury members will guide and judge participants. &ldquo;We had multiple themes earlier but this year, we have kept only one theme so that photographers have a chance to inculcate the skill of storytelling through a series of images, and the jury can judge a portfolio instead of a single image,&rdquo; Shivang Mehta, associate fellow, International League of Conservation Photographers and managing director, Nature Wanderers, told this diarist.</p>
<h2>On the road</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jan/Rahul-Gandhi-walk_e.jpg" alt="Rahul Gandhi at the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2023 in Nanded. FILE PIC" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Rahul Gandhi at the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2023 in Nanded. File pic</em></strong></p>
<p>Mumbai-based writer and journalist Dilip D&rsquo;Souza&rsquo;s (below) latest book, Roadwalker: A Few Miles on the Bharat Jodo Yatra reveals his experience on the campaign by Rahul Gandhi in 2023. D&rsquo;Souza joined the yatra in four cities, observing and photographing the journey. The writer said, &ldquo;What made it so interesting from an everyman&rsquo;s point of view is precisely that it was so accessible to every man &mdash; and woman and child. Few took it seriously at the start; by the end, it was part of daily conversations.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Weapons of destruction</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jan/Karmakar-art_e.jpg" alt="The sculpture by Karmarkar (right) the silver khubyacha kada that belonged to Koli&rsquo;s great-grandmother" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>The sculpture by Karmarkar (right) the silver khubyacha kada that belonged to Koli&rsquo;s great-grandmother</em></strong></p>
<p>Pepper spray might be easy to carry, but leave it to the Koli women of old to truly show you how to fight. At a recent visit to the Karmarkar Museum of Sculpture at Sasawane in Alibaug, resident Siddharaj Thale (inset) was intrigued by one particular sculpture of a fisherwoman. While it captured the delicate realism by the late sculptor VP Karmarkar, Thale&rsquo;s eyes were drawn to the unique shape of the bangles on the fisherwoman&rsquo;s hand.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jan/Siddharaj-Thale_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>&ldquo;I had not seen anyone wearing these around me,&rdquo; he shared. A few inquiries led him to Anjali Koli, a resident of Dadar Parsi Colony who once lived in Thal, Alibaug. &ldquo;It was only when Anjali [Koli] shared that her great-grandmother had left a similar silver kada that I discovered it is called the khubyacha kada. Koli&rsquo;s great-grandmother was a patlin [chief] of the village, and owned it. The kada weighs almost half a kilo, and was used as a self-defence weapon. It also has a screw that can unlock it. These women would travel to different villages alone to sell their wares, so this came handy. It was a weapon as well as an accessory. If you know Koli women, you know how fierce they can be,&rdquo; he told this diarist.</p>

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Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

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