Child`s play
Whether rain or shine, a frolic at Juhu beach is always fun.
Goodbye, Mr Dhawan
Shailender Dhawan
We learnt with sadness about the demise of veteran journalist Shailender Dhawan, 65, who served as editor of The Free Press Journal (FPJ) for nearly two decades.
Dhawan, who had retired earlier this year, had settled in Chandigarh after spending several decades in Mumbai.
He had been hospitalised, and passed away on Saturday morning. Cremation was held the same afternoon in Chandigarh.
Dhawan was a well-known name for countless journalists — including this diarist — who remember him for his witty headlines, bonhomie, wacky sense of humour, and his calmness under pressure.
A former senior FPJ staffer tells us, “I feel orphaned, professionally. Mr D trusted me and I worked without fear, knowing I could run to him whenever needed.”
V Sudarshan, currently Editor of FPJ, says, “Mr Dhawan was a pleasure to work with. He was unlike any editor I have worked with before.”
Keep an eye on the CCI
An on-ground treat for the eyes at the CCI
Bowled over. That’s the umpire’s verdict and this diarist concurs. The stunning rangoli at the Cricket Club of India (CCI), Churchgate will hit your senses for a massive six. The rangoli is in the club’s lobby and offers a burst of colour just as one steps in. Madhumati Lele Shrivastava, club president, said, “An artist, Nisha Rupale, does our rangoli every year. She has a team of freelancers who come in here after their office hours to help her. This is a very talented team. They work for 4 /5 days to get it done, and the rangoli goes viral globally.” We learn that the rangoli will stay till tomorrow. Bored? Take a look and you will be floored.
Satish Shah, Sudhir Naik and ‘James’
Sudhir Naik and James Coburn
The late Satish Shah had a cricket connection. The actor’s neighbours at Grant Road area were the likes of former Test players Sunil Gavaskar and Sudhir Naik. There was also the late Milind Rege, who led Bombay in the 1977-78 Ranji Trophy season.
Naik was known as “James” to his teammates and people like this diarist wondered why, without asking him. But Shishir Hattangadi, who played for Bombay in the 1980s and 1990s, revealed on social media recently that it was Shah who started referring to Naik as “James”. Why? Because Naik resembled American actor James Coburn.
Going global, but with Indian roots
The album cover
Gorillaz are back and they’ve gone gloriously global. Following the release of The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks), the band has dropped The Manifesto, the second single from their upcoming album The Mountain, and it’s a wild, kaleidoscopic blend of sounds that puts India squarely at the heart of its rhythm.
The Manifesto features sarod virtuosos Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, flautist Ajay Prasanna, and the brass exuberance of Jea Band Jaipur. Amaan and Ayaan recall their Mumbai recording session as “a delightful surprise and a true pleasure,” adding, “Gorillaz truly exemplifies how music transcends borders, race, and language — uniting us all in a shared celebration of peace, creativity, and harmony.” Ajay Prasanna, who also plays on multiple tracks on The Mountain, called the experience “musically extremely satisfying,” saying Indian and Western harmonies “merge and blend effortlessly.”
The Manifesto is a cross-cultural fever dream — a preview of an album that promises to be as spiritual as it is sonically adventurous. The Mountain releases soon, and it’s shaping up to be Gorillaz’s most universal album yet.
The art of continuity
One of the Continuum series by Nandan Purkayastha (right)
Delhi-based artist Nandan Purkayastha returns to Mumbai with Continuum, a solo exhibition of paintings, drawings, and sculptures. The exhibit explores how art, memory, and emotion flow into one another.
Purkayastha grew up in Assam, watching local artisans mould clay into Durga idols before the Puja season, and says, “Continuum became my way of tracing that unbroken thread through time, material, and feeling.”
The exhibition brings together around 40 works across mediums sourced from across India. “Every surface I use has its own demands, and I respond to them by building textures, by creating dialogue,” he adds. Threaded with myth, memory, and a touch of magical realism, the exhibition captures Purkayastha’s belief that art never really ends.
Presented by Sanchit Art Gallery, the show will be on view at the Auditorium, Jehangir Art Gallery, from November 5 to 10, between 11 am and 7 pm.
