Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Baby BluesAhead of Janmashtami on August 16 an artist applies final touches to an idol of Lord Krishna at a workshop in GirgaumBapparsquos day at the museumChildren moulded the clay Ganeshas and later immersed it in a bucket at the museum Pic CourtesyCSMVSLast Sunday witnessed a fun crosscultural experience at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya for members of the British Deputy High Commission American German Chinese and Australian Consulate as well as the Royal Thai Consulate and Tourism Authority of Thailand The participants joined children from the Angel Xpress Foundation Colaba and CHIP Mumbai at a clay moulding workshop hosted by professor Anita Rane Kothare Head of Department Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology St Xavierrsquos College autonomousDr Pheroza Godrej centre watches participants from the British Consulate mould the clay PicsAshish RajeldquoDuring the workshop we talked about the myths and rituals of the many Ganeshas as well as the presence of Ganesha in different countriesrdquo the professor shared While working with the clay was fun the children were fascinated by the international presence of Bappa she revealedThatrsquos a wheelie good job juniorAarav Sureka right in his kart Pics CourtesyMohit SurekaWhile most kids his age are still getting rid of their training wheels nineyearold Aarav Sureka has earned a podium finish in Round 2 of the FMSCI National Karting Championship held at Coimbatore on August 3 The Juhubased youngster finished third and on the podium ldquoI started karting because I have always loved speed and carsrdquo Aarav shared As for his parents the challenge has been to balance training and school work ldquoHis journey with karting began with a fascination for speed when he was barely fiveyearsoldrdquo shared father Mohit Sureka adding ldquoTraining at this level has meant balancing school and track time but his dedication keeps pushing us forwardrdquo With four more rounds to wrap up the championship the little champ still has miles to goChange of sceneryNeha left and Anirudh Kadav in a moment from the series Pic courtesyAnirudh KadavCitybased artists Anirudh and Neha Kadav are dishing out some serious FOMO with their new venture Cooking Under Open Sky ldquoWorking in the city can get hectic Once in a while we must pause and reconnect with nature and the simple joy of cookingrdquo said the duo that is documenting a new visual series of outdoor cooking every weekend from Kolad Raigad ldquoThatrsquos where I grew up These are untouched offthemap spotsrdquo Anirudh added lest you plan to follow them beyond their Instagram cookingunderopensky_Celebrating Bandrarsquos very ownBandra has always held a special place for Shormistha Mukherjee below ldquoI have been documenting the old residences lanes and visuals of the suburb for the last four years as well as talking to oldtimers and residents to compile an oral historyrdquo she shared While these conversations were part of her online series Mukherjeersquos senior friends kept asking for something more lsquophysicalrsquo ldquoThatrsquos when I decided to create a magazine that would contain all these stories plus contributions from friends and also residentsrdquo she shared The magazine Pudding A Bandra Christmas Edition Vakil Publications will be released on December 1 this year ldquoWe will have photo essays about the suburb oral histories from residents and also articles that reflect on life and forgotten legends of Bandrardquo Mukherjee revealedThalaivar returnsArun Mayavan carries a cutout of Rajinikanth during the release of 20 in 2018 Pic CourtesyArun MayavanThe madness of a new Rajinikanth release is a onceinalifetime experience unless you are Arun Mayavan The 36yearold has made it a habit for the last 15 years to show up by 5 am on the first day of the first show of every release ldquoIt began with Enthiran in 2010 I have since been part of the fan club and always participated on every opening day of his films I even travelled all the way back from a family event in Tamil Nadu for one filmrdquo shared the Chemburite Mayavan With the next release lined up on August 14 preparations have begun for Mayavan and his friends at the Maharashtra State Youth Rajinikanth Fans Association ldquoWe usually have a series of celebrations planned In 2018 I began the tradition of making a cutout of Rajinikanth and carrying it to the theatre It has since become a tradition with merdquo he shared While it might seem regular for anyone familiar with the South Indian fandom Mayavan added ldquoIt actually draws many people who turn up just to watch the celebration insteadrdquo