Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Mirror MirrorA puddle of rainwater reflects passengers arriving at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus on TuesdayRediscovering Hore through young eyesSomnath HoreTo mark the birth centenary of Somnath Hore a noted sculptor and printmaker Art1st an independent publisher has paid tribute to his life and works Titled Somnath Hore Wounds the book is aimed at young readers aged seven years Hore who was born in 1921 in Chittagong now Bangladesh was deeply moved by the crises of his time which included the Bengal Famine of 1943 and the Tebhaga movement The suffering struggle and helplessness influenced his seminal series WoundsThe book encourages readers to explore their own art through projects designed on Horersquos art practiceChildrenrsquos writer Likla Lall who has penned the book shared ldquoI connected with the intention behind Somnathrsquos art Here was a man who seemed to live a life of curiosity experimentation and compassion in a quest to understand the wounds of the world With humanity stranded in the middle of a pandemic this seems like a familiar questrdquo Kripa Bhatia the bookrsquos illustrator added ldquoSomnath witnessed the many changes the country had gone through and experienced his own ups and downs His unceasing engagement with lsquowoundsrsquo enabled him to attain a spiritual peak in his practicerdquoMahim reflectsThe site in Mahim where the mural is being paintedMahim beach will soon receive a mini facelift with the BMC House of Creativity and Painter Shabbu Akhlaq Ahmad coming together to visually beautify a 31 X 25 metrelongwall near Mahim fort Luv Singh who is one of the cofounders of House of Creativity shared that their vision was to encapsulate the spirit of the city ldquoWe focused on the word lsquoreflectrsquo and thus came up with a design that reflects the BandraWorli Sea LinkrdquoItrsquos curtains for QualiaOnly last week we reported that Lower Parelrsquos Qualia made it to the prestigious 50 Best Discovery List Who couldrsquove imagined that days later this barelytwoyearold restaurant which has been pushing the boundaries of culinary experiences would shutter Last night cheffounder Rahul Akerkar posted a moving goodbye revealing that despite rolling with the punches the pandemic dealt them a knockout blow and that it had become ldquoeconomically unsustainablerdquo This diarist remembers Akerkarrsquos words ldquoTherersquos a lot of thought that goes into what we serve and why we do it Wersquove always celebrated convivial diningrdquo In that spirit we hope Qualia makes a comebackCricket adda in collegeVasoo and Lalita ParanjapeIndia and Mumbairsquos cricketing fraternity lost one of its most respected names Vasoo Paranjape or lsquoVasoo sirrsquo earlier this week And as flashbacks tend to race the mind when such news is broken this diarist was reminded of her time at Matungarsquos Ruia College Vasoo sirrsquos wife Lalita who taught English at the institution for over three decades had remarkably insightful views about the game and its players as well Much to the delight of her students they would look forward to those throwbacks that would seamlessly find their way into her English Literature classes From Lordrsquos hallowed legacy to the brimming talent pool on Mumbairsquos maidans the wellread and welltravelled professor would regale with anecdotes galore Of particular interest would be how some of the leading lights of the Indian national cricket team took their first steps on the maidans under the watchful eye of Vasoo sir Going by the tributes that continue to pour in it was a long list Our condolences to the Paranjape familyLabour of loveSunitha Tati producer of Oh Baby has broken new ground with her upcoming feature Arrangements of Love being the only Asian film selected by the International Financing Forum at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival The film has been adapted from the bestselling novel by Timeri N Murari and will be helmed by writerdirector Philip John of Outlander and Downton Abbey fame ldquoHaving travelled with this book for over 15 years and seeing this dream project come to life has been a remarkable journeyrdquo said Tati