We explore the avant-garde Progressive Art Group as veteran art collector Kekoo Gandhy unearths its history Many art veterans believe that the formation of the ‘Progressive Art Group’ is one of the most significant moments in the history of Indian art. The group boasts of people including MF Husain, SH Raza, KH Ara, FN Souza… Continue reading A conversation with Kekoo Gandhi
Category: Mumbai
Is Mumbai Really Secular ?
Lawmakers may have given Mumbaikars a loud speaker deadline of 10 pm, but I guess laws are meant to be broken. True there have been cases wherein Mumbai’s event organisers never cross the set time limit to avoid legal complications, and as is clearly evident, it’s always the minorities who would follow them. It looks… Continue reading Is Mumbai Really Secular ?
Parsi fascination
I first went to Bombay when I was 14 or 15. An uncle worked for an antique store inside the Taj, then the grandest hotel in India, and lived in a rented flat in Bandra. The journalistic offerings of the city fascinated me: the film magazines, the tabloids, the society glossies. I remember reading quite… Continue reading Parsi fascination
The battle of Mumbai
Original article by Deepak Lokhande in the Mid-Day Should I be wasting another 400 words on what went on in our city during the last week? I should. For over two weeks, the city remained hostage to Raj Thackeray and his men, to Amar Singh, Abu Asim Azmi and their men and to an extent… Continue reading The battle of Mumbai
Migrants, your grunts, everyone’s stunts
by Bachi Karkaria in the Times of India I cannot promise to raise a statue of Shivaji in Dadar Parsi Colony. But, in the ultimate cultural surrender, I hereby change my surname to Karkare. Many years ago I got a grubby postcard with a handwritten scrawl. It said, “We have noted you are using word… Continue reading Migrants, your grunts, everyone’s stunts
Bombay central
by Haseena Jethmalani in the Indian Express. Come December and I await invitations from our Parsi friends with bated breath. For me, it’s more about the food, though the bhonu is to die for and the badam pak better than any tiramisu in Italy. I find the Colaba Agiary simply charming and have some beautiful… Continue reading Bombay central
No identity crisis
There was a time when Parsi businessmen and industrialists from Mumbai preferred to employ the ‘Marathi manoos’ in their offices, for he was hard-working, sincere and honest. He had respect for scholarship, was kind to subordinates and obedient to employers. His work ethics earned him esteem from those around him. To be Marathi was like… Continue reading No identity crisis
Freewheeling for a cause: Parsi Bike Rally Mumbai 2008
For the Parsi community in the city, Sunday was Bawas’ day out on bikes. Hundreds of Parsis, both young and those young-at-heart raced their way on their motorcycles from Dadar Parsi colony to Bandra Tata Colony, Andheri and back to Dadar Parsi Colony in a road show that was organised not just to showcase their… Continue reading Freewheeling for a cause: Parsi Bike Rally Mumbai 2008
Migrants are Mumbai’s shapers, not its shame
By Bachi Karkaria, Jug Suraiya’s Second Opinion (January 4) may be dead-on in blaming India’s ersatz modernity for what happened in Mumbai , but it is way off the mark in also damning the city’s migrant nature. As a theory, it may be impeccable to argue that morality and ethics, a sense of right and… Continue reading Migrants are Mumbai’s shapers, not its shame
