18 August,2020 06:14 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
A row of Ganesh idols in a display in Dharavi awaits buyers in a year where large-scale festivities have been called off in light of the pandemic. Pic/Suresh Karkera
Dr Borade donates plasma
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What happens when a doctor falls prey to the virus? A small change in approach to treatment, that goes a long way in faster recovery, shared Dr Prashant Borade, head of CCU, Global Hospitals, who tested positive in June, while treating COVID-19 patients.
Though he recovered and eventually donated plasma that helped a staff member's relative, the experience came with lessons. "Initially, we were paying attention to all medical aspects of treatment. But, after I was hospitalised, I realised the loneliness can be crippling, as phones weren't allowed. I underwent the same depressing experience. Emotional support is extre-mely important. Eventually, we started allowing phones," reveals Dr Borade, adding that connecting with dear ones plays a key role.
Crompton Texeira
Kalina village resident and activist, Crompton Texeira, is enjoying the fruits of his labour, ensuring his neighbours get some of the guavas grown in his garden. Like many East Indians who were known as Khari shetkaris, they owned fields by the sea.
Texeira, 73, recalls working in his father's fields in Versova, before development took over. "I loved riding a bullock cart with vegetables from Versova to Dadar for sale. I used to climb coconut trees and fish in the creeks; today they are filled with sewage water," sighed Texeira, who also grows flowering plants and mangoes in his garden.
A Rohit Bal creation
Breakthrough has been a platform that's championed women's issues, including prevention of domestic violence, sexual abuse, early marriage and school dropouts. Surveys have revealed a rise in violence against women in the lockdown, and so, to take a positive step, they will be hosting an online tambola fundraiser on August 28. The platform is offering patrons a chance to do their bit, and also win prizes, including designer wear, luxury goods and jewellery pieces, with Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani, JJ Vallaya and Arzan Khambatta sharing their creations for the cause.
An artwork by Arzan Khambatta
One of its patrons Priya Paul, entrepreneur and hotelier, said, "I have witnessed how girls' lives are transformed if they are married later, where they can complete their education. This event offers us the chance to make a difference. All one has to do is to donate towards the tickets and be part of an event with prizes as a bonus." Jewellery designer Shibani Agarwal (of Maharani Jewels) and Gallerist Sanjana Shah (of Tao Art Gallery) are the other two patrons.
Pushpa Palat with Nivaya
When the lockdown began, Pushpa Palat, author, decided to launch Fablesrus, a free storytelling website about mythology and magic with life lessons. Now, the website has added an audio element to its stories.
Palat shared how most Indian kids grow up listening to Western fairy tales. "When Nivaya [her granddaughter] was born, I was not going to let her lose out on our values. The lockdown made me realise these feel-good stories could help parents, grandparents and kids. While my younger daughter Nikhila set up the website, my older daughter Divya and sons-in-law Vivan and Aditya recorded audios for them. It has turned out to be our little family enterprise," she smiles.
A still from The Stork Saviours
Wildlife film, The Stork Saviours, from India has been nominated in the Best Global Voices Film category at the 2020 Jackson Wild Media Awards. Made by award-winning filmmakers and brothers, Ajay and Vijay Bedi, it chronicles the story of conservation biologist and Green Oscar awardee, Dr Purnima Devi Barman who mobilised an all-women army in Assam's Dadara village to protect the endangered Greater Adjutant Stork, known as Hargilla.
Ajay and Vijay Bedi
"The film is an attempt to draw attention towards lesser-known endangered species and warriors like her who spend their lives conserving them with minimal resources," Vijay told this diarist. Another Indian documentary, Peng Yu Sai on illegal wildlife trade, by Malaika Vaz and Nitye Sood, was also nominated in two different categories.
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