The Weekend Guide

‘My Mother and her sister Homa from Updating family Album’, Malekeh Nayiny, 2000.

SHOPPING
Exhibitions!
There’s nothing like a little retail therapy to kick off a festive weekend. First, swing by Parimparik Karigar’s arts and crafts exhibition at Coomaraswamy Hall at the Museum. Among the knick knacks on offer are lovely miniature works (seek out the Hemant Art stall), caviar spoons made from shells, buffalo-horn lamp posts, silver jewellery and durries galore. Then, head to the Toddlers Activity Centre, which will sell clothes, books, accessories, toys, furniture and cupcakes for children, from 15 vendors including Tara Books, Jelly Bean, Toon Towels, Forty Red Bangles and Sugar Rush.
When: Parimparik Karigar runs until Saturday, September 3, from 10.30am to 6.30pm. The children’s exhibition will be held on Saturday, September 3, from 10am to 8pm.
Where: Parimparik Karigar, Coomaraswamy Hall, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, 159/161 M. G. Road, Kala Ghoda. Tel: 2284 4484. Toddlers Activity Centre, Third Floor, Atur House (same building as Axis Bank), 87 Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli. Tel: 99874 07237.

ART
Staging Selves at Sakshi Gallery
For this group show on portraiture, curator Maya Kovskaya chose nine artists from India, China and Iran who examine the idea of “the self” through four different lenses: the artist, the subject, the viewer and finally, the photographic lens itself. The resulting images of labourers, families, activists and villagers reveal much by way of the unflinching gaze, offering back a glimpse into the subjects’ lives as well as an understanding of how we ultimately see our own selves. Among the highlights are Samar Jodha’s gritty portraits (they’ve been printed on concrete blocks) of workers from last year’s Commonwealth Games, Sheba Chhachhi’s black and white images of women activists and the objects that define their lives, and Malekeh Nayiny’s montage of family photos that track her parents’ lives before the Iranian Revolution.
When: Until Sunday, September 25. Monday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm; Sunday, noon to 5pm.
Where: Sakshi Gallery, Tanna House, 11-A Nathalal Parekh Marg, Colaba. Tel: 6610 3424.

MUSIC
Cry Freedom at Hard Rock Cafe
Originally scheduled for Independence Day weekend, the “Cry Freedom” concert on Sunday, September 4, celebrates the different kinds of freedom that we enjoy on a daily basis in 21st century India and thus can be commemorated any time of year – like, for instance, the freedom to choose music as a career. Conceptualised by concert production company Indigo Live, it will feature 18 acts from across the country performing 12 hours of music. The impressive line-up includes pop-rock veterans Indus Creed, separate sets by guitarists Warren “Blackstratblues” Mendonsa, Dhruv Ghanekar and Chandresh Kudwa, and popular Mizoram-based hard rock act Boomarang. In case you can’t make it to Worli, you can watch the gig online, where it will be streamed live via Indigo Live’s Facebook page.
When: Sunday, September 4, from noon to midnight.
Where: Hard Rock Cafe, Bombay Dyeing Mill Compound, Pandurang Budhkar Marg, near Deepak Talkies, Worli. Tel: 2438 2888. The entrance fee is Rs500.

ALSO AROUND TOWN
• See British photographer Rachel Cunningham’s painterly pictures of the lush and crumbling interiors of a palace in India, a home outside Paris, and a hotel in Cairo, at Matthieu Foss Gallery, from Monday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm, Sunday closed. Until Saturday, October 1. Hansraj Damodar Trust Building, Goa Street, Ballard Estate. Tel: 6747 7261.

• Look at the 14 works that artist T. Venkanna has created out of his seven-week residency at Gallery Maskara, which doubled as his personal print-making studio these past few months. Until Sunday, September 4, from 11am to 7pm. Warehouse on Third Pasta, 6/7 Third Pasta Lane, Colaba. Tel: 2202 3056.

• Dance at Bandra bar Zenzi’s monthly LGBT-friendly night Khush on Friday, September 2, from 9pm to 1am. 183 Waterfield Road, opposite Subway, off Linking Road, Bandra (West). Tel: 6643 0670.

• Attend a reading of The Bad Boy’s Guide To the Good Indian Girl by its author Annie Zaidi as well as a discussion on the book at Kitab Khana on Saturday, September 3, at 6pm. A collection of stories, co-written by Smriti Ravindra and released by feminist publishing house Zubaan, the book is based on real-life accounts of men and women the authors interviewed. Somaiya Bhavan, M. G. Road, Flora Fountain, Fort. Tel: 2204 3247.

• Chuckle for a good cause at stand-up comedian Papa CJ’s charity performance at Blue Frog on Sunday, September 4 at 9pm; he will donate all proceeds from the night to his children’s NGO One Child. Mathuradas Mills Compound, opposite Kamala Mills
, Tulsi Pipe Road
, Lower Parel. Tel: 6158 6158.