Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

Once upon a kela

A fruit vendor in Walkeshwar sets up shop in front of a mural featuring notorious monkeys, leading to a humorous juxtaposition.

Farmer slows pace in zippy Dadar

Ploughing through Mumbai

Dadar, that frenetically busy central Mumbai area, espousing the Mumbai label as the city which never sleeps, has a new installation inside a traffic island. The island opposite Plaza cinema junction is about a farmer and bullocks ploughing the field. It seems ironic to see this farmer in an urban setting. Cars careening around the Plaza traffic junction with its maddening pace of life, furious footfalls, cackle of commerce as shops and hawkers do brisk business and public transport density, all come together in the Mumbai mélange. The obvious contrast reminded this diarist about the ‘slower' pace of life, the days of the bullock, and men working the good earth, which nurtures and nourishes. That is some philosophy in fast track Mumbai.

For the women, by the women

The jury at the Nargis Wadia Awards for young Indian women in the creative industry is spoilt for choice, this diarist learned. City-based writer Shormistha Mukherjee (right), who is part of the international jury this year, shared, "It is an honour to be judging such bright minds. As a woman entrepreneur, it also feels personal. Some of the nominations are beautiful. They have made my heart sing. It is incredibly satisfying to see fresh thoughts and ideas." The award is named after Nargis Wadia, who launched the first full-service creative agency in the 1960s. "Wadia is the icon we need. It has been a boys' club for too long. It's time we mark our presence," she concluded.

People power on reel

A still from the short film Chalo Chanakya shows a flock of flamingos at the TS Chanakya wetlands in Navi Mumbai. PIC COURTESY/YOUTUBE

Art expands your worldview, they say. For wildlife photographer Sreekumar Krishnan (inset), whose short film Chalo Chanakya premiered at the recently concluded India Civic Summit in Bengaluru, the eye-opener came during his documentation of flamingos in Navi Mumbai. "The presence of flamingos is closely tied to the overall health of the ecosystem.

When 150 mangrove trees were cut for a real estate project in December 2023, I witnessed the consequences first-hand," Krishnan recalled. The short film follows a citizens' protest that followed the cutting of the trees, which eventually led to an FIR against the perpetrators. "Every Sunday, protesters would gather at the TS Chanakya wetlands to raise their voices against the encroachment. The short film tries to capture the pulse of the movement," Krishnan said, adding that the film uses subtle messaging and poetry to convey the gravity of the deteriorating situation to its audiences.

Never too old for a Holi bash

Senior citizens play with colours at the celebrations in Bandra

If you think your Holi party was wild, you probably haven't heard about the Senior Citizens' Holi party organised last weekend by Goodfellows, a city-based companion programme for senior citizens. A shower of 40 kgs of fresh flowers, the classic water balloon fights, and piping-hot jalebis being passed around are just the tip of the iceberg of what went down at a Bandra venue last weekend. "Loneliness becomes more noticeable during festivities. The idea was to be their grandchildren for a day and give them some core memories to take back home. There's no feeling as fulfilling as seeing individuals who haven't stepped out of their houses for festivities in years celebrate with a smile on their face," Shantanu Naidu, co-founder, shared.

The word's out

City-based comedian, actor and spoken word artiste Sainee Raj (below) has her eyes set on the stage following a break from solo shows spanning nearly a year. After working, reworking and polishing her passion project to her liking, the performer will present the solo spoken word show, It's Tough to Be a Romantic in These Dark Ages in the city on March 30. "I am not a poet, so I was initially apprehensive about putting together a 45-minute-long story. However, I did trial shows to learn from my mistakes, and build confidence," Raj revealed. Giving us a sneak peek of the upcoming performance, the performer described the show as a contemplation of love, romance, the universe, philosophy and some history. "Every now and then, I will break into rhymes; they are my guilty pleasure," she laughed.