Stray thoughts
An indie rests by the entrance of a parked Mumbai Police van in Dadar
Classical notes at Windsor
(From left) Audience at the concert; Harsh Narayan, grandson of late sarangi maestro Ram Narayan, performs at Windsor. Pics Courtesy/ Harsh Narayan, 108Lab
Not everyday does one play a Puriya Kalyan in an Edwardian building, dating back to the 1800s. “It is one of the better, acoustically-rich auditoriums I have performed in,” reveals Harsh Narayan. Grandson of the late Pandit Ram Narayan, the musician was invited by 108Lab to perform at Windsor’s The Old Court. “The idea was to reach out to a larger audience, beyond the usual community-spaces overseas. Windsor has a number of admirers of Western Classical music, and we felt it was a rare opportunity,” the Bandra-based musician shared. The impact of the sarangi on a Western Classical audience is no surprise. “My grandfather earned the instrument to international recognition from Yehudi Menuhin and Itzhak Stern. I am trying to walk his path,” he shared.
Once upon a story
August might be a while away, but Usha Venkatraman (below) is already in preparation mode. The founder of Mumbai Storytellers Society has opened up the invites for the fifth Mumbai International Storytellers Festival in August 2026. “We have opened a blogging initiative to build awareness about the upcoming festival on August 15 and 16. The theme is ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (One world, One family). It is an open call to all storytellers. They can share their stories that focus on the conversation topic while bringing a personal element to the fore,” shared Venkatraman. Interested readers can send in their entries to mumbaistory-tellerssociety.org
Arrowhead’s royal jump in Ranthambore
The Royal Jump, clicked by Abhijit Chattopadhyay (right) at Ranthambore National Park. Pics Courtesy/ Abhijit Chattopadhyay
Abhijit Chattopadhyay, an Ulwe-based photographer has won the second prize in the Global Big Cat Photography Competition 2025. The photo that featured a tigress from Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan named Arrowhead, as the strips resembled an arrow above her left eyebrow. “I had actually booked the whole day of safari, and that’s when I tailed Arrowhead for almost eight hours. Luckily, she was in a completely playful mood, and the photo was clicked as she was about to jump and hence the name of the photo turned out to be The Royal Jump,” Chattopadhyay revealed to this diarist.” The photographer also said that he has been pursuing the art of photography since the past 11 years, and he professionally started taking photos in 2014, after he got himself his first DSLR.
This noise is not just for the boys
Jemimah Rodrigues plays a cut shot during the recent semi-final match against Australia in the ICC Women’s World Cup. Pic/Atul Kamble
With India’s smashing win over Australia in the semi-final of the ODI Women’s World Cup, excitement has zoomed for the final to be played at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai against South Africa on Sunday evening. Post India’s Aus-some win, or a Jem of a match (all puns intended), one could hear firecrackers going off in Dadar-Prabhadevi-Shivaji Park. There was a mad hooting of car horns in celebration. We witness after men’s matches, especially when India crushes Pakistan, but this time, it was post the semi-final where the desi girls made the city erupt in elation. We think besides the money, popularity, endorsements and other formalities, this is also an indication of the growing stature of the women’s game. Crackers for a cracker of a win.
Authors, par excellence
Thomas Matthew, Dhirendra K Jha, Zai Whitaker, Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell
The Crossword Book Awards 2025 shortlist was recently announced to celebrate exceptional works across Fiction, Non-Fiction, Translations, Children’s Books, and Business & Management. In Fiction, Girls Who Stray by Anisha Lalvani (Bloomsbury India) features prominently, while the Non-Fiction category includes Golwalkar by Dhirendra K Jha (Simon & Schuster India). The Children’s Books shortlist highlights The Wall Friends Club by Varsha Seshan, illustrated by Denise Antao (HarperCollins Publishers India), and Ajay of Agumbe and the Signal Snake by Zai Whitaker, illustrated by Rajiv Eipe (Pratham Books). In Translations, The Day the Earth Bloomed by Manoj Kuroor, translated from Malayalam by J Devika (Bloomsbury India), and Our City That Year by Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell (Penguin Random House India), were some of the inclusions. The Business & Management category features Ratan Tata by Thomas Mathew (HarperCollins Publishers India) and Just a Mercenary? by Duvvuri Subbarao (Penguin Random House India). The winners will be announced on December 3.
