Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

She isn't going to tire

A police force aspirant trains with a tyre at Shivaji Park in Dadar

Going Hindustani

Pradumn Chourey at a performance

The spoken-verse community seems to be expanding its presence in the city from 2023. Kommune's next event, Alankaar, on January 15, 2023 will focus on the new emerging voices in Hindustani poetry. "Such events are not just to give a deserving stage to the not-so-viral poets and storytellers but also to capture the essence of the time we live in, and the cities from where these poets hail," said Pradumn R Chourey, community manager in charge of the event. Describing it as a platform for new discovery, Chourey shared, "It will be an evening of Hindustani poetry where new age poets such as Nalini Singh, Shubham Negi, Shadab Rizvi among others will talk about topics like modern love, friendship, nostalgia, social commentary and the like through their poems. The goal is to bring out gems of Hindustani poetry. "

Also read: Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

A moment of joy

The carollers sing at the cafe in Bandra the Daughters of St Paul pose by the Christmas tree in the neighbourhood

It never ceases to surprise us that the city is filled with moments of joy and spontaneous kindness that can warm the heart. This diarist heard about one such episode at the Brakefree cafe in Bandra. On Christmas day, the cafe saw some surprise visitors in the form of the Daughters of St Paul who often carol in the neighbourhood. Sumedha Mahajan (inset), owner of the cafe, shared, "They walk through the neighbourhood every year, and it was no different this time; except that they stopped by for a cup of coffee and some breakfast." But it would not be a sweet Christmas story if it ended at that.

The carol singers spent the next hour singing carols and blessing the cafe. Cue the lyrics of Joy to the world and the Christmas classic favourite, Silent night, that echoed through the cafe's hall. It was a delight, shared Mahajan adding, "There were five or six tables running that time, and they were delighted to hear the songs that happened so spontaneously. Since this took place on December 25, it almost feels like a Christmas miracle. You can't ask for anything more than that." As for the cafe itself, Mahajan agreed that the moment was the perfect note to kick off the start of the season.

Getting back to the books

With the new year comes new enterprises, and Chandigarh-based online book club, Bell Book & Candle is returning to its physical meet-ups. From Mumbai to Delhi, and Bengaluru to Kolkata, the club's members will start 2023 by meeting on the last weekend of every month. "Our aim is to bring back the homely feeling of an in-person book club. Online Zoom meetings lack a sense of belonging for a book-lover," said Anmol Jauher, founder of the club. The group will start January with Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. A book about optimism, and hope. It is perfect to start the year on a good note, she said.

To Latin rhythms

Rajesh Punjabi, Baron Jan, Musa and DaTone at the event

New Year parties are starting to kick off all over town, and Bandra is no exception. The queen of the suburbs saw a surprise visit by the MUSA jazz trio of Argentine pianist Musa, bassist DaTone and drummer Baron Jan earlier this week. Incidentally, the trio was in the city for the ongoing Mood-Indigo festival and decided to drop by for a gig. Bombay Jazz Club co-founder, Rajesh Punjabi told us, "They performed a set at Bonobo Bandra as part of the Live is Everything series. It was a presentation of a high energy set of electro, Latin Jazz to a full house of music lovers," he noted. But that is not all; Musa, has been enjoying his time around the suburb sharing pictures of everything Bandra. Welcome to town, we say.

More for the trees

Subhajit Mukherjee (left) at the site where the saplings will be planted

While there is a growing sense of environmental awareness in the city, there also needs to be concerted effort to nurture the right plants. Subhajit Mukherjee, founder, Mission Green, has set off on a plan to plant 5,000 banyan trees across the city for the year 2023. The mission will kick off with an event to plant 10 such trees in the neighbourhood of Chembur in January. "It is our national tree but is growing scarcer in Mumbai. People tend to avoid growing it due to the fear that it might take a lot of space," he shared. Despite the fears, the tree is essential to the ecosystem, he said. "In many ways, the banyan is like a housing society. It is home to everyone from a sparrow to eagle to squirrels."