Together, we can
Participants engage in an activity using a ball, during an initiative by Don Bosco, Matunga, organised by Jeevan Dhara.
Curious at the gallery
Students at the exhibition
Gaining knowledge through the medium of art is something youngsters in India need desperately. So, it was pleasing to spot a group of 10 schoolchildren, from the BN High School & Junior College Awas, Raigad pay a visit to The Guild Art Gallery in Alibaug, on October 16. Vrushali Patil, an assistant at the gallery, shared with this diarist, “October 23 is the last day of the exhibition, Far Extending Earth, Far Reaching Sky, Spread like a Mat, Covered like a Bowl: The Works of Rajkumar Korram. It’s about ‘Jan, jangal, and jameen’, a series of paintings, photos, and sculptures depicting the life and daily routines of the artist’s indigenous community in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. Eight female and two male students visited the exhibit. They were fascinated by the works, and even made pencil sketches using some of the acrylic paintings as inspiration.”
A sculpture depicting plants wrapped around Mother Earth like vines. Pics Courtesy/The Guild Art Gallery
Pour and pore over Pinot Noir
The Pinot Noir grape variety. Representation pic/iStock
This month, sommelier Nikhil Agarwal wants people to get familiar with the Pinot Noir grape variety, as part of an upcoming Vinopedia session, which will be held at Colaba fine-dine, The Table, on Ocotber 25. “Pinot Noir is popular and appealing to Indian audiences, mainly because it is smooth on the palate, and easy to drink. Also, it is not very easy to grow this grape variety everywhere. I will lead the session. It will have a lot of fun, laughter, and appetisers too. It is an engaging and enchanting way to learn about wine,” Agarwal shared with this diarist.
Nikhil Agarwal
Craft call in SoBo
Radhi Parekh; (right) The Dashavatar book of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu, with the toys. Pics Courtesy/Aavaran, Artisans Centre
From today till this weekend, Mumbai-based arts and design store, ARTISANS’ Centre, is hosting an exhibition, Mitti Sang Rang, by Udaipur-based platform Aavaran, specialising in Dabu block printing. Radhi Parekh, founder-director, ARTISANS’, told this diarist, “As the festive season is ongoing, we are hosting their textile collection, along with toys made from natural materials. On October 25 and 26, we will host two workshops, on textile jewellery, and thread and fabric jewellery. It is open to eight year-olds as well. Diwali is a great time for cross-generational family members to learn such a craft together.”
Go well, Jini Dinshaw
Jini Dinshaw during an orchestra performance; (inset) a dated photograph of Jini Dinshaw. Pics Courtesy/Bombay Chamber Orchestra
After a long vigil of over 60 years, the grand old dame of the Bombay Chamber Orchestra (BCO), Jini Dinshaw breathed her last on October 23. She was 95 years old. Born in 1930, Dinshaw founded BCO in 1962.
Committee member and violinist of BCO, Freddy Dinshaw, recalled, “The first time I met Jini was at my residence when she and Parvez Doctor came over to ask me to play in the Orchestra. I was only 17. Jini’s idea of having a different conductor and soloist for every concert has given the audience a lot of variety.”
Student and senior cellist Sherna Doongaji shared, “Her passing is an immeasurable loss, not just for her family and friends, but also for each of her hundred students whose lives she touched and made special with her kindness, love, and affection.”
For Aarefa Johari, Dinshaw’s persistence was a lesson in its own right. “I started learning the violin at a rather late age of 22, but her own journey as a musician taught me that it’s never too late to start, and never too late to be good at music,” Johari shared. “Her life was also proof that the active practice of music keeps the body young and the mind sharp: during our lessons, even at the age of 92, she would be able to produce a stronger sound from the violin than me.” October 23 was truly the day the music died.
