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Menka Shivdasani

Malls and multiplexes are transforming city lifestyles. Mumbai is well on the way to becoming an international city.

The Giant Hypermarket at the InOrbit Mall at Malad, Mumbai.

Thanks to the commercialism that surrounds even patriotic fervour today, it is easy to forget what Independence really meant, at least for some Indians. While working on translations of Sindhi Partition poetry a few years ago, my co-translator Anju Makhija and I discovered that the trauma of Partition had gone so deep that writers who had lived through it sometimes did not even recollect some of the poems they had written at that time. Then, going through long out of print books with the help of senior writer Arjan Shad, we realised that these writers just did not want to remember what they had been through.

Independence Day is little more than a holiday for most of us. Marketers smell opportunities and provide a range of celebratory services. InOrbit, the new mall at Malad Link Road has a special Independence Day offer — a 24-day shopping and entertainment event till August 29 between noon and 6 p.m. There are interactive games, lucky draws, freebies and prizes galore, plus a wide range of activities from makeovers to face painting and dance performances. If your stars are really shining, you could even win a Corolla there.

InOrbit, touted as South Asia's largest mall, is pretty impressive; spread over 5 lakh sq ft, it houses several upmarket brands, and last week, Shravan Shroff's Shringar Cinemas launched the Fame multiplex — six screens, including one luxury theatre, Jubilee.

Malls and multiplexes are completely transforming city lifestyles, and while we desperately need to buildupthe infrastructure to support them — such as wider roads and better traffic management — these developments are very welcome indeed. Mumbai is now well on the way to becoming an international city.

Raag freedom

For those who prefer to mark Independence week with classical music, a good place to be this evening is Y.B. Chavan Pratishthan Hall opposite Sachivalaya, between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. The Inner Courtyard, in association with the Pratishthan and the Somani Academy of Music, Art and Culture, is celebrating India's 58th year of Independence with performances by Pradeep Barot (sarod) and Ranjeet Pathak (santoor). Barot's performance will focus on a patriotic rendition of Raag Des. Ranjeet Pathak's performance will include Raag Megh and Raag Pahadi to celebrate the onset of the monsoon.

If you are still in a patriotic post-Independence mood, but prefer to listen to music in your own home, try Anil Kant's new album Pray for India, which Jagjit Singh released recently in Mumbai. Kant, Jagjit Singh and Johnny Lever have lent their voices for this album and Kant says he wanted to show "with pop music how to be close to God, loyal to your country, and break down divisions of caste." For a music album, that's quite an agenda!

There's also a music video, set to a bhangra beat featuring Anil Kant and Johnny Lever, designed to show that `prayer is cool'. "It is a song that will bring the people of India together, forgetting all divisions and praying earnestly but in a fun way," says Kant. One doesn't know how successful this attempt will be but it certainly promises to make prayer interesting.

Shiva and the dabbawallahs

It's been pouring in Mumbai but when did that ever stop the partying. On a miserable rainy evening on August 12, the city's Beautiful People congregated at the Grand Hyatt for an art evening over cocktails hosted by Sangita Jindal and Namita Saraf. Anuradha Mahindra, Ila Arun, Jitesh Kallat, Tina Tahiliani, Krishnamachari Bose, Kahini Arte Merchant, Brinda Miller and Rajat Kapoor were among those present. The programme included a dialogue session on `A Journey with Shiva', followed by a performance by Daksha Sheth and members of her troupe.

The venue was certainly appropriate; the Grand Hyatt complex showcases more than 100 commissioned artworks by leading artists, with the art curated by Rajeev Sethi and conceived as homage to Shiva.

Sangita Jindal, President, Art India, spoke of how the Grand Hyatt was an "ideal example of how the best of commerce and the best of art can come together," and even cynics like me have to agree with her because the Grand Hyatt has really done a good job on this front, combining both mythical and abstract art and everyday aspects of the city in new forms. Since Mumbai is famous for its dabbawallahs — perhaps the only city in the world where these people exist — there is even a mural that uses dabbas in aesthetic ways! Creativity in this city can certainly take several forms...

Picture by Shashi Ashiwal

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