Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Giving it more than 100 per cent
The news about ex-cricketer Chetan Chauhan's appointment as Chairman of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) continues to cause a flutter on social media. Here's a gem that was blurted by Chauhan.

Chetan Chauhan

He said, "I will spend 60% of the time in DDCA, 30% at NIFT and 30% in my business". Someone needs a calculator, soon. Talk about giving more than a 100 per cent off the field.

Air pollution alerts for Mumbai?
New London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants his city's residents to breathe easy, and be better equipped while stepping into high air pollution zones. He has pitched for the need to have alerts and road signs in areas where air quality is poor. Khan has promised that he will do his best to ensure Londoners are able to spot these danger zones by introducing preventive measures and working closely with policy makers to keep levels down in a city with 6,00,000 asthma cases. Can we expect something similar from our policy makers? Cough. Splutter.

When Tiger went the full stretch

Pic/Satej Shinde

Actor Tiger Shroff at a yoga session as part of the International Day of Yoga celebrations in Film City, Goregaon, on Tuesday morning.

Health on a platter from Down Under
Have you turned vegan but don't know how to make a substitute for milk? Or are you scouting for tips to make healthier meals? Then, you might want to sign up for a plant-based cooking workshop, taking place this weekend.

Nivi Das and colourful Rice Rolls

What makes the workshop special is that Australian chef Nivi Das will conduct it. After trying to scramble up the corporate ladder for decades, Das quit her suit to don the chef's apron, and started a creative food studio, Green Platter Foods, Down Under.

The visiting chef will teach guests how to make dairy-free milks, yogurt and butter, colourful rice rolls, Double Whammy Gourmet Slider, Pasta Bake and Mango Custard Tart.

What's a Zentangle?
International Day of Yoga is done, and already, there's another meditation form. About three years ago, Sunali Shah, a busy home maker and entrepreneur stumbled upon small little paper tiles with intriguing art work at a friend's place.

An art form created by Rick and Maria from USA. Zentangle can be created on different surfaces using different mediums like canvas shoes, mobile covers, coasters, frames and pillow covers. Now, Shah wants to introduce this technique to stressed Mumbaikars.

The meditative art form helps improve focus and concentration, de-stress and calms the mind and enhances patience while creating structured patterns called Tangles. No artistic skills are required to learn this art. Sign up for an upcoming two-day workshop this weekend, and get zentangled.

New innings for Dada
Saurav Ganguly had a career of immense highs and lows. After being selected for the national team at the age of 17, he was dropped. The next chance came after six long years.

Saurav Ganguly. Pic/Atul Kamble

He came back with gusto, hitting a century at his Test debut but that was somehow not enough to prove his mettle, and he had to keep proving himself; be having to show that he was good enough for ODIs or his decisions as captain, along with other phases in his career.

His first book to be published by Chiki Sarkar's digital publishing company Juggernaut is thus aptly titled, A Century Is Not Enough. He will be working on the book with senior cricket writer Gautam Bhattacharya. We look forward to an explosive tell-all from a rare breed of Indian cricketers who gave as good as he got.

Pune students gear up for space jam
Today is a big day for the students of College of Engineering, Pune (COEP). A satellite created by a mix of its current students and alumni, and christened Swayam, will be one among 20 satellites to be launched into space by ISRO.

Nischay Mhatre with one of the former Swayam teams of COEP (College of Engineering, Pune)

"The Swayam project began in 2008-9," said ex-alumnus of the B Tech department and current faculty member at COEP, Nishchay Mhatre. "Initially, only 11 people were part of the team; but, it grew into a group of 40 people, which is its strength today. Every year some members graduate, but we ensured that a new team of fresh students were ready to take over."

An excited Mhatre also pointed out, "There is apprehension because space can be a very hostile environment where anything can happen. We are keeping our fingers crossed, and are hoping that all the satellites to be launched tomorrow will see success."

The launch will commence from Sriharikota Higher Altitude Range (SHAR) located on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at 9.26 am today. The current team leader for the project is Dhaval Walgude, a third-year student at COEP.