Birds of a feather
A boat foregrounds the huge gathering of seagulls at Gorai Creek in Borivli West
It’s a bug’s life in our backyard
(Left) A 25 million-year-old fly fossil in Burmese amber found on the excursion; (right) participants at the camp in Goregaon. Pic Courtesy/Bombay Natural History Society
Finding an insect fossil from millions of years ago is not an everyday experience. “But it only illustrates how much longer insects have been around in Earth’s habitats compared to humans,” Shardul Bajikar, naturalist at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), pointed out to this diarist. The fossil was one among a multitude of observations made by 16 participants during an overnight insect camp at the BNHS Nature Reserve, Goregaon, conducted by the BNHS on September 20 and 21. “This season is the time when insect diversity is at its peak; hence, we organised this camp, during both the day and night. Participants included collegians, working professionals keen to develop a hobby, and children,” he shared. “We used various tools to attract insects to us instead of invading their habitat, such as lights, sugar and alcohol baits. Other discoveries included the Moon Moth, a Wolf Snake, and grasshoppers, all essential to the ecosystem.”
Women on the rise
Steps by Anupam Sud, 1982. Pic courtesy/Art Heritage
Ebrahim Alkazi’s love for the arts stretches far beyond the stage. Together with his wife Roshen, the theatre director founded Art Heritage and The Alkazi Foundation as a platform for artists seeking a new voice. Over the course of five decades, the couple also supported over 200 women artists whose works unravelled truths about contemporary reality, and our inner lives in startling ways.
Nancy Adajania and Ebrahim Alkazi
To celebrate the birth centenary of Alkazi, the foundation will showcase the works of 39 such path-breaking female artists in New Delhi on October 16. Curated by Nancy Adajania, A Rising Tide: Women From the Alkazi Collection, showcases works by Nalini Malani, Nasreen Mohammedi, Gogi Saroj Pal, Pilloo Pochkhanwala, Yayoi Kusama, among others. “What is marvellous about the Alkazi Collection of women artists is their non-conformity to any particular medium, artistic trend or movement,” shared the Mumbai-based curator in a note.
The ‘otherworldly’ memoir
Sanjoy K Roy. File pic
Sanjoy K Roy, best known as co-founder of the popular Jaipur Literature Festival, and brain behind countless other events and festivals across India and the globe, is ready to tell all in his memoir, There’s a Ghost in My Room (HarperCollins India). Dubbed as an ‘unusual memoir’, this diarist found Roy’s writing style laced in a bold narrative style, sprinkled with humour and adventure in equal measure. The haunting universe that he builds around the storyline will keep the reader hooked. “I am neither mystic nor sceptic, neither soothsayer nor steeped in the occult. But the supernatural and the otherworldly are realities for me. Join me on my journey through time as I explore different dimensions of existence and embrace the miracles of daily life,” he shared about this ‘scary’ memoir. That’s enough of an invite for those who believe. And what about the rest? We’ll be keeping a close watch on the reviews for their verdict.
All eyes on Sonia and Sunny
Kiran Desai
Author Kiran Desai’s latest novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (Penguin Random House India), has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Narrating the tale of two characters whose fate intertwines over the course of several years, the book has already begun to cause a frenzy amongst bibliophiles, as well as fans of Desai’s work. This diarist caught up with Ahalya Naidu Momaya, co-founder of Trilogy, a curated indie bookshop and library in Bandra that stocks copies of the book. “People have been waiting for the book since news of its release reached India; it was released overseas first. All Indian stores got it only on Tuesday,” she told this diarist. “Since a few days, we have been sending copies to all the patient readers who have been growing politely impatient, [having read] glowing reviews of the book. The Booker Prize shortlist has only spurred more book lovers to walk in for it.”
Stories around the corner
Children during a workshop. Pics courtesy/Small Tales Academy
Mumbai-based educational centre, Small Tales Academy, is on the road to presenting a play emphasising the cultural diversity of India, with its rich storytelling techniques. Organised in collaboration with Akshara Foundation of Arts and Learning (AFAL), the theatrical production will feature 160 students from AFAL’s Akshara High School, which works for underprivileged children.
Priyanka Babbar, founder-director of Small Tales, shared with this diarist, “The play is titled Jungle Nama, based on Amitav Ghosh’s novel of the same name. Annual day plays in schools often have [Eurocentric] stories. We want to tell a story based in the Indian setting, like in the novel. It is set in the Sundarbans, features animal characters, and is about contemporary social structures, power relations, etc. The objective is to showcase to young minds that characters, situations and stories aren’t always black and white, but grey. The play is on December 20, but workshops and rehearsals for acting, singing, dancing and music have begun already.”
