By Joanne Pinto Pereira

Much as I soak in the outstanding art in the city and the choral performances at St Andrew’s amateur talent Zonals that celebrate the ingenuity and agnostic gender roles, reality bites. We have failed our daughter. The story that is at the top of our mind on India’s 78th Independence Day is far, very far away from women being given the dignity and safety that is the least due to them….

Happy Independence Week. The operative phrase in my head is “Where the mind is without fear.” Mumbai is illuminated by tiranga laser projections on government establishments and the sea link bridge. It serves as a reminder to value freedom of expression, as flag bearers to speak up through our mediums of art and culture. When and how and why did it become acceptable to the land that worships Saraswati, Durga and Kali to treat women in sub-human ways?
So it is with hope that I went to look at Jayati Bose’s exhibition, a part of The Independence project, that envisions women indulging in leisure as a norm. It’s an unlikely pretend as I plan to head to IFBE, the restored ice factory space in Ballard Estate to “step into a reimagined world where women reclaim their time, joy and freedom.” The earlier title “Women in Leisure” is now conceded by Jayati, as being sub-judice, to be now named “Leisure” as I write this. I will shelve it for now and move on to a curatorial that embodies the independence movement that led to freedom from colonisation in India
“Freedom to Progress – “An Immersive Journey through Time” is aptly held at the Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery, Nariman Point and it takes you back to the time when the intensity of nation-building was at the core of youngsters like Bajaj. The exhibition draws on well-presented archival material to bring an era alive. It is a private insight into the life and times of a person who could have lived a life of affluence but chose simple living and higher thinking, in keeping with the clarion call of the Mahatma for satyagraha or non-violence to gain independence for India from British colonial rule.
Gandhi’s life and legacy come alive in the space with the use of artefacts like his khaki loom and multimedia. The frugality of lifestyle and the prison cell with a blackboard on the wall, recreate his meticulous schedule and make you value your freedom and those who fought for our freedom. It is also an interesting documentation of corporate milestones and the use of advertising and logos that the country saw in its path to building the economy. There are interesting activities to connect you to his life including teaching you to spin khadi thread in the permanent exhibit section.
Besides, the inspirational takeaway, the family has giveaways like postcards of the countries young Bajaj visited, your image in a legacy stamp and the Indian mindful ethos of keeping the tradition of Indian hospitality, a packet of tiny circular sesame crisps by Soham at Gamdevi.

The exhibition is on till
October 4, 2024

Fragility of Time
CAME in early to CSMVS Mumbai so got to set my soul on fire at the JNAF space with “Nalini Malini: The Fragility of Time…..paints a portrait of the artist as a young woman in an equally young nation. Born in 1946, Malini belongs to a league of thinkers after Indian Independence that marked a departure from Western modernist ideals that privileged style and universality in art, to subjects that could reflect the socio-political realities of post-independence India,” says the curatorial note by Puja Vaish.
The preview had the who’s who of the art community treated to the timeline of her practice. From the watercolour diary of 1965-67 to her oils of the “Place for People” in 1981. From one who revisited her last immersive exhibition at Goethe Institute several times, Malini’s works from gouache on canvas to her tryst with film and photography are a must-see.
To mark the march up to the 78th year of Indian independence, the focus on Avid Learning’s “Discovering Urban Legacies” was the Gamdevi neighbourhood, surrounding the historic August Kranti Maidan. Generations who have witnessed the rapid change in the area described what it took to make this green forest into a chawl and upwardly mobile Malabar hill area that has borne testimony to Gandhiji’s Quit India Movement.
Aside from the ANT (Art Night Thursday) catch-up up I mean to go to Method, near Kala Ghoda. I view the downsized theme relayed at the smaller local Bandra space of the gallery. The gallery hosted a dialogue on Gaza in their thought-provoking interactive style. I leave you with the words of Mahmoud Darwish, the Palestinian poet, “My words are my weapons against injustice.”

Local Stage, Global Flavour
THE local annual blockbuster is on. It’s the 67th Presentation of Zonals 2024. The excitement is palpable in the weeks leading to the grand finale of the cultural amateur talent show nurtured by St Andrew’s Parish in Bandra, Mumbai. The four zones are based on geographical attachment to North-East, North-West, South-East and South-West of St Andrew’s Church. This is possible as there are parishes enough to create these bubbles and enthusiastic participation in all categories. The tradition to finance the props, the lights and rehearsal cost, begins with a fun homemade goodies Tuck shop run after each Mass is by each parish zone… Each weekend, be it Oration, Singing & Choral singing itself, Poster-making, Drama and Dance of age groups starting at 6+ years, lead up to the winners participating in the Finals held in the first weekend of September. The highlight has to be the home grown highly competitive theatre productions for the final weekend by each zone.

47A Slice of History
AT 47A Khotachiwadi, Girgaum you have the fabulous “Feeling Through Fibre Eleven Women Artists’ Textured Tales” with elements of sustainability and handcrafted narratives. Each of Baro market’s Srila’s incredible 11 women brings textile stories curated by Artist Julie Kagti. Alka Mathur puts together fabric, ancient lace, and repurposed tea bags to create some ephemeral textile art. The canvases of Rakhi Shenoy and the exquisite threadwork of Anisha Chakcho.

On till Sept 2024
Worli
TAO Art Gallery beckons. Kalpana and Sanjana put together the centennial of Krishen Khanna’s representation under one roof. A retrospective of the only living legend from the Progressive Artists Group, K Khanna is known for his “Bandwallahs” series in oils and sculpture. They depict his recurring theme of resilience as does the deep impact of the Partition of India on his family. Tao hosted his “Asthanayak” in 2001 with the cover design of the catalogue hand sketched by fellow modernist MF Husain.
The artwork carpets with his trumpeter artworks have his insignia on leather patches behind them. The central exhibit is an unusual black and white elephant tusks into the feline. The interplay of natural and gallery light contributes to the evolving art.

On till September 2, 2024
GALLERY Art & Soul is a space that encourages local talent and different mediums. Be the innovative metal fabrication sound installations, textiles, a zen retrospective of Subodh Gupta, the quirky sculptures of Arzaan Kambatta or the sonic constellations of Sujata Bajaj based in France.
The current showing brings the best of our resilience, “The Happy Auguries of the Monsoon” by 15 emerging artists. Curated by Pais Polity, the thread that ties the theme is something that all of us can relate to in Bombay. Prabhakar Kamble presents the urban-rural anomaly through the aesthetics of diverse practice. The fluidity of exhibits at Stranger House Colaba like Rohan Pawar’s tales of migration “Body Valise” is the kind of synergy that art needs.
The exhibition continues till August 18 at Stranger House, Colaba.