Celebrate Bandra Picks

Soulmate.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22
MANTO ISMAT HAZIR HAIN
Motley, the Naseeruddin Shah led theatre group, will stage a performance a day, until Saturday, November 26. On Tuesday, they will perform Manto Ismat Hazir Hain, an adaptation of two controversial short stories by Urdu literary greats, Saadat Hasan Manto and Ismat Chugtai. The theme of obscenity is central to both stories—Bu by Manto and Lihaaf (The Quilt) by Chugtai—and was the reason both authors were put on trial by the Lahore High Court in the 1940s. 7.30pm at Hindustan Lever Park, St. Paul’s Road, near the Candies on St. Andrew’s Road, Bandra (West). Call 98202 33999 or 98203 72069 to reserve a free pass for the performance.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23
SOULMATE
Shillong-based blues rock band Soulmate last performed in Bandra at the Mahindra Blues Festival back in February. We don’t know if it was the prospect of seeing Buddy Guy later that night or Bandra that inspired the duo of guitarist-composer Rudy Wallang and singer Tipriti “Tips” Kharbangar to deliver their most power-packed performance in Mumbai till date, but we’re hoping that the seaside setting of the Lands End Amphitheatre provides the stage for another soulful, funk-filled gig by the act. 7.30pm at the Lands End Amphitheatre, Bandstand. Call 98202 33999 or 98203 72069 to reserve a free pass for the performance.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24
BY GEORGE!
By George! is theatre director Naseeruddin Shah’s first attempt at adapting the works of celebrated Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. The performance is based on a set of three short pieces by Shaw. The first two, Village Wooing and How He Lied to Her Husband, are satirical plays on the process of wooing and the business of weddings respectively, while the third, English Pronunciation, is a dramatised rendition of a poem that deals with the peculiarities of spoken English. The play will also be staged at the same time and place on Friday, November 25. 7.30pm at Hindustan Lever Park, St, Paul’s Road, near the Candies on St. Andrew’s Road, Bandra (West). Call 98202 33999 or 98203 72069 to reserve a free pass for the performance.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25
ENVIRONMENTAL WALK
For a suburb with an alarming rate of real estate development, Bandra still has a good number of trees that you can get to know better on an environmental walk conducted by Satwiki, an IT professional who spends her free time getting familiar with Mumbai’s green cover. During her 45-minute guided walk down Turner Road and Perry Road, you will encounter jamun, Karanj (an indigenous source of biodiesel in India), jackfruit, mango, frangipani, casuarina, coconut, and gulmohur trees as well as rain trees that are native to South and Central America. The walk will also take place at the same time and place on Saturday, November 26. Registration begins at 7.30am outside Lemon Grass, Carlton Court, junction of Manuel Gonsalves Road and Turner Road, Bandra (West).

NOSHTALGIA
Bandra has restaurants that serve Thai, Burmese, Italian, Chinese and Mediterranean fare, to name just a few. However, you won’t find any establishments that specialise in East Indian cuisine, the food of Bandra’s early settlers. On Friday, journalist Vikram Doctor will lead a discussion on Bandra’s culinary past and raise such questions as to why this cuisine has been sidelined from the suburb’s culinary landscape. During the talk, restaurateur Kishore D. F., who owns Lemon Grass, The Big Nasty and the WTF! chain of pubs; food author Astrid Rodrigues; and food blogger Genesia Alves Tahilramani will offer their opinions on Bandra’s rapidly evolving food scene. 7pm at Title Waves, opposite Durello Convent School, in the same lane as Tawa Restaurant, off Turner Road, Bandra (West). Tel: 2651 0841.

SKY RABBIT
If you missed their gig at the Reclamation promenade last Wednesday or couldn’t catch them at the Bacardi NH7 Weekender music festival in Pune this past weekend, you have one more chance to watch the act formerly known as Medusa this month. The alternative/electro-pop act will perform songs from their soon-to-be-released full-length debut album—it’s now scheduled to launch in mid-December—which is likely to include such live favourites as “Anti-Coke Ganpati”, “Hilltop” and “I Become I”. 7.30pm at the Bandstand Promenade.

WOODSTOCK SCREENING
The music line-up at Celebrate Bandra is not without its share of retro rock acts , which was a given when you consider the number of retro pubs in the suburb. But why listen to a full set of covers when you can see how it was done? Catch this screening of the Woodstock rocumentary, which won the 1970 Oscar award for Best Documentary Film and features iconic performances from the legendary music festival, including a few songs (“With A Little Help From My Friends”, “Voodoo Chile”) that have become concert staples in our city. 7.30pm at Reclamation Promenade.