8/14/2019 Mumbai Miscellaneous

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WednesdayMUMBAI MISCELLANEOUS

Malvika Tegta

A game of marbles is on at the end ofDharavis MG Road. A taxi trying tocut through is brusquely turned away.A camera, however, manages to putthe game on hold. The LCDs attemptat gathering a pushcart resting on abrilliant yellow wall is half-eclipsed bygreen translucence.Try that,one ofthe players says, holding a marbleclose to the lens. Children come intwos and threes to get clicked, othersorchestrating camera angles from be-hind. Spontaneity is Dharavi.

The Dharavi Shelter wont be anydifferent; right from its entrancepainted by neighbourhood kids to thebackyard,the space and its use will bedecided by the residents. The shelter,three months into use, is the new

neighbourhood space for learning,sharing, art, knowledge,participationand development.

By Dharavi standards, the space,once housing a half-built construc-tion,is huge. And to think that it wasin disrepair for 30 years, lorded overby junkies. Paul Raphel, however, hadother plans for his 200 sq m inheri-tance at the corner of the New Tran-sit Camp. What he needed were ideas.And he happened to know just theright people.

The detritus gone, a bare, whiteroom with a verandah and backyardraised, Paul turned to his tenants URBZ,a collective of urban thinkersand designers. URBZ,with its history

of engagement with residents of se-

lected localities in Mumbai andTokyo, hopped on board. But whatPaul may have expected to trickledown will travel up;the ideas that willdrive and shape the Dharavi Shelterwill come from its people. URBZ willplay facilitator.

Its been three months since Hi-manshu and Dipti Hingorani of URBZ

did up the shelters front wall with lo-

cal kids and began holding weekenddrawing classes. The idea is to growthis concept to create a full weekly pro-gramme run by volunteers and resi-dents, says Hingorani. As for possi-ble uses of the backyard,which is yetto be developed, and the room,resi-dents have suggested holding English,computer, dance, and sewing classes,

legal and architectural counselling

sessions, and womens groups meet-ings. It could also house a library anda tea shop.

URBZ is currently looking for fund-ing to buy tables, chairs and drawingmaterial for the shelter and to providelunch for 60 children a day. It is alsocontemplating the use of old tyres forchairs,discarded wood for shelves,

and waste bottles for walls.

DNA Correspondent

DNA and the Indira Groupof Institutes will felicitatethe best performers in thecorporate world in market-ing and advertising, at the9th Indira Awards for Mar-keting Excellence onMarch 6 in Pune. Theawards will be presented tothose dedicated to excel-lence in the field of brandbuilding and to those whohave shifted the paradigmin setting new trends.

The awards will be pre-sented by the minister for

co-operatives, employmentguarantee scheme,market-ing and parliamentary af-fairs Harshwardhan Patil.

The awards are judgedby an independent jury,which comprises businessleaders, CEOs and expertsin the field of advertisingand marketing.The awardsceremony will showcaseIndias best talent in mar-keting, branding,creativi-ty, advertising and commu-nication. The theme isSublime Brands. Theawards will be presented intwo distinct categories -

The Indira Marketing Ex-

Awards forexcellencein brandbuilding

Heres a room for several views200 sq metre plot in Dharavi is new neighbourhood hangout for local kids

2 days to ramp up

To raise funds for the DharaviShelter project and get the wordout to potential volunteers, theteam has planned Dharavi 48, atwo-day art event, nextweekend, when the shelter willformally be opened. For the twodays, the transit camp will buzzfrom 10am to 10pm with artprojects, traditional dance andmusic, craft workshops,exhibitions, and discussions.Organisation meetings runningup to the event will remain opento volunteers.

The 48-hour non-stop conceptwas employed by URBZ co-founders Rahul Srivastava and

Matias Echanove in Les Paquis,an ethnic enclave and red-lightdistrict in Geneva. In its purestversion, it involves creating abuzz around a neighbourhood,say Kurla, with itsstereotypes.

UNIQUE IDEA: While architects, artists will come with background work,residents will engage with them to create a place for rest or a streetscape