Author Archives: Sheena

Yacht Club

Spent last weekend with these two beautiful, hilarious boys at the Yacht Club, a strong contender for one of my favourite buildings in Bombay, the others being Buckley Court, Birla House and Sarkar Heritage. The winding wooden staircase, the inner workings of the elevator, the great tiles, the claw foot bathtubs, the high ceilings, the cane furniture in the ball room, the cloakrooms. We explored every nook, took a hundred pictures, went undercover, smuggled beer and wine, smoked, practised a new language, whirled around, we visited art galleries, took a taxi across town to drink Long Island iced teas in shutting clubs, invented new words, laughed ourselves stupid, Photo Booth-ed, sang songs, drank masala chai and ate the best goddamn club sandwiches ever. I already miss you copious amounts Aamir and Akshat.

Final Cut

I’ve often gone past the woodcarving workshops on that long Mahim strip, taking mental note that I should one day visit, be inquisitive and take photographs of their fussy, intricate furniture and accessories. In Final Cut, German curator Tobias Megerle marries the artisans’ traditional handiwork with a western element and lifestyle to create the functional but fancy Mumbai skateboard. The exhibition showcases not only the ornate finished products but photos of the twelve participating artists posing with their pieces. Faceless no more, the show at The Loft in Lower Parel (same complex as the Blue Frog) is currently on as part of the series Solicited Perspectives till April 12th.

Knit

In my gap year (six years ago), I knitted everybody I knew reasonably futile objects. Found out somebody still uses their card holder. Booyah.

Sari Madam

I love saris. I wish I could wear them everyday like my grandmother did. I went to exactly one show at (Lakme India) Fashion Week, the Shantanu and Nikhil show where I saw and lusted over this one. How perfect it is, and how chic and nicely draped.

In other updates, I discovered the album Sinema from this Delhi band Peter Cat Recording Co. And Motherland, one of the first indie magazines in India by ad house Wieden+Kennedy has great cover art and insight into Indian subcultures.

If you can’t tell, my Indophilia is currently off the charts.

Dicso Dicso

Another saweet thing about Bandra is these parties. The second edition of Grime Riot Disco is this Friday, March 25th at Bollywood Mischief, Hill Road and features DJ Ruskin and Bandish Projekt who will be spinning disco, electro funk, techno. Grimy venue in walking distance, cheap bar, beer cart, hookah lounge. Hell yes. Entry is Rs. 300, and covers one drink. Down with the current repetitive, pretentious, bourgeois scene. Music is for everybody.

Vandre

I love you, Bandra.  I love your Portuguese influence, I love your villages and your Goan grannies who get their skirt suits “stitched” and your tiny stalls set up in verandahs selling homemade pickle and potato chops, I love your promenades and pink sunsets and shwarmas, I love your games nights and communal youtubing and burrito bars and theme parties.

I love your farmers markets, and your supper clubs and Sunday brunches and rooftop dancing. (I don’t like your rickshaw strikes and when they say they won’t go some place) I love that Janata and Jimme’s Kitchen deliver. I love your lively backdrops to impromptu photo shoots. I love your bookshops in garages and artist studios and production offices and chocolate shops and Manju dosa and Bombay sandwiches guy on Hill Road and Saroj sev puri.

I love your things to do on Mondays and Thursdays and other days. (I don’t like when your venues shut before I’m ready to stop moving) I love your street stalls and junk jewels and best fifty rupee finds. I love photos from your skywalks and the shops who sold me furniture underneath. I love your host of interesting characters, your beautiful women and sometimes men and my wonderful, wonderful friends.

Bandra, I’m in love.

 

Bookshelf

Please throw rocks at me if I do not finish the five books I have started by the end of April. This is a public appeal to save what little literacy skills I have before I turn into a poorly read, bumbling nincompoop. Slippery slope. You’re welcome to shame me in any way (within reason) if I have not read them.

To think I was once a girl who started a bookclub? Sigh.

Sita Sings The Blues

Hibernated with my favourite person and watched this feature film yesterday. Sita Sings the Blues is an animated retelling of the Ramayana by the extra-talented-and-I-am-now-in-awe-of Nina Paley who wrote, directed, produced and animated it. Narration of the Ramayana, punctuated with irreverent shadow puppet commentary and scenes from the director’s own life, with perfectly sychronised musical interludes with 1920s jazz musician Annette Hanshaw’s songs. The animations are beautifully rendered and alternate between different styles. It’s a brilliant film, a delightful interpretation of this ancient epic.

Amrita Bagchi

My girl Amrita’s work is now on the cover of Time Out magazine. A  detailed and fantastically bizarre illustration adorns the Mumbai edition this month, and the Delhi edition last.

And she’s not just an illustrator. Artist, graphic designer, experimental filmmaker, photographer. The girl paints murals, she sings, she cooks, she exhibits. Her current exhibition runs till 18th March at Studio 21, in Calcutta.

Her blogs showcase a thoughtful and vivid collection of commercial and personal work. Graphic design and illustration can be found here, and her photography here. The Mahishadal Palace slideshows are especially wonderful.

Hire her please, so she won’t have to go to an office and can play with me all day instead.

*Studio 21, 17L Dover Terrace, Kolkata

Zahir

Talented Rhett Dashwood at Melbourne’s Wade Studios which produces some fantastic creative work made a weird little mirror music video for kicks. I’m in it at some point. Whee. So much fun.