26 November,2021 07:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Satej Shinde
Commuters throw caution to the wind as they hop over from one train to another at Borivali station on Thursday.
Sometimes, it doesn't take a big step to bring about significant changes. Every small action can help save our environment. That is the intent of a mural that is coming up at Pali Hill Road in Bandra next week, for which the organisers have put out an open call for Mumbaikars to participate. The mural itself will show babies doing their bit to reduce waste on the planet, involving images of them disposing of garbage in an appropriate manner, for example. It will be painted on November 28. "We are also inviting influencers and sustainability champions to join us while painting the mural. All adequate COVID-19 regulations will be followed at the site," shared Pallavi Utagi, founder of cloth diaper-making enterprise SuperBottoms that envisioned the mural along with sustainability advocate Trinayana.
Nestled inside Good Earth's Lower Parel store, The Tasting Room had a long list of loyalists, who were understandably disappointed when the restaurant shut shop. But, as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. We're glad to share that chef Ritu Dalmia, the brain behind the chain DIVA, and Cittamani Milano in Milan, has taken over and revived it as The Tasting Room by DIVA. The chef told this diarist that after being in Mumbai often in the past few months, she regrets that she didn't open a restaurant here sooner. "Truth be told, I never considered opening [a restaurant] in Mumbai. However, after the pandemic, a lot of my thought process changed. Good Earth has been friends and partners with us for years with our Latitude 28 café in Delhi, so when they spoke about this new concept [at their Mumbai store], I just could not resist it," she revealed to this diarist, adding, "Our food has always been based on small menus changing often, and is driven by ingredients. The menu is very different but I don't think the old loyalists will be disappointed." She added that a pizzeria at Jio World Drive by the end of December is also in the works.
Nucleya and Ricky Kej
Indians have reason to cheer after the list of Grammy Award nominees for 2022 was announced this week. Two people originally from the country stand a chance to win, while a third person is associated indirectly with the nominations. They are Ricky Kej, who has been nominated in the Best New Age Album category for Divine Tides, which he co-created with Stewart Copeland, former member of iconic rock band The Police; Falu, a Mumbaikar now based in New York whose A Colorful World stands a chance to win the Best Children's Music Album award; and Nucleya, who co-produced a track on Music is the Weapon, a record by electronic music giants Major Lazer that has been nominated in the Best Dance/Electronic Music Album category. Kej shared, "Although my music is cross-cultural, it has always had strong Indian roots and I am extremely proud that Indian music has been recognised and shortlisted for this prestigious award by The Recording Academy."
The shortlist for this year's edition of the Big Little Book Award (BLBA), an endeavour by Parag Initiative to honour authors who write for children, has been announced. Every year, the organisers choose one Indian language to consider for nominations, and for 2021, it was Malayalam. The four shortlisted authors are S Sivadas, Palliyara Sreedharan, K Sreekumar and Sippy Pallippuram. The jury consisted of Dr MM Basheer, Paul Zacharia (in pic), Sherylene Rafeeque, Suneetha Balakrishnan and an author who goes by the pseudonym of Greystroke. Speaking about Pallipuram's contribution to children's literature for example, they collectively shared, "The much beloved raconteur keeps young readers enthralled with his unpretentious and uncomplicated narratives. His verse is of performance variety and about everyday things, which readers will remember for its rhythm and sound."
Arvind Iyengar receives his award from actor Tisca Chopra, while the event's moderator, Kunal Vijayakar, looks on
The first edition of the Mumbai Debate Championship, organised by Mind Wars, a knowledge platform for school students, concluded recently. Arvind Iyengar from Bombay Scottish School in Powai was declared the winner, while Kaamya Karthikeyan from Navy Children School in Colaba was the first runner-up. They defeated competition from over 350 students representing 150 schools in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and Iyengar's win means that apart from pocketing the prize money, he will now also represent the country at the World School Debating Championship scheduled for 2022. "The fact that debaters must speak in favour or against a motion randomly means that the person is able to look at different viewpoints on the same subject. In the long run, this enables a person to structure his/her thoughts and get better at decision-making, and this in turn can help in their professional and academic lives," shared Umesh Kumar Bansal, who is one of the organisers.
