Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

Weight and watch

Something catches a cat's eye as it sits next to a weighing scale outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

Spacing it out

The folks at Love Your Parks Mumbai (LYPM), an initiative that highlights the importance of public spaces in the city, had a busy Children's Day. They were part of two events spread across Cuffe Parade, where they helped organise a Wagathon - an event where pet owners and dogs had a day out at SB Somani Park - and at Patwardhan Park in Bandra, where they hosted a yoga session for kids. "We had an expert who asked the kids to walk around the park and tell her what they observed, before making them practise poses based on what they saw, such as a butterfly or a tree," Tina Nandi of LYPM told this diarist, adding, "I think it's important for us to think more creatively about our public spaces, which holds true especially for children who have been at home for two years now. They need to head out and socialise with others in their age group, and parks provide a safe space for that."

Science of art

A photgraph taken by Dr Avnish Rajan which will displayed at the exhibition

Some members of the medical fraternity will showcase their creative side at an exhibition being organised next month, where a group of doctors will display their paintings, photographs and sculptures. "There are 20 doctors from the UK, Delhi, Gujarat and Mumbai who are already on board, and I am contacting more people to participate," shared Deepak Jadhav, founder of Deepkala Foundation who is hosting the exhibition at Nehru Centre Art Gallery in Worli. He added that the city-based doctors on the list include gynaecologist Dr Smita Mudgerikar and cardiologist Sanjay Tarlekar. "It will be an event where art meets science," Jadhav said.

For a green future

The annual Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival uses the medium of movies to promote environmental awareness, with a whole range of activities accompanying the screenings. The line-up for this year's edition has been announced and it features films like Tigers in the Backyard and Garbage Matters, and panel discussions with people including noted environmental activist Dr Vandana Shiva (in pic). Visit kirloskarvasundharafest.in to attend the event.

Coining an offer for readers

The folks at independent publishers Tara Books have decided to thank their loyal clientele with an initiative called Tara Coins. It works pretty much the same way as a points card does at shopping malls - the more you purchase books, the more coins you get that add up to a discount on your next purchase. Redeeming 20 Tara Coins will give you a '74 discount on any future order, for example. "For the festive season, till December 15, each coin will be valued at four times its amount. This is our way of giving back to our readers for supporting our work," shared Rohini S, publishing associate at Tara Books.

Keeping Asifa's memories alive

A group of people have come together to keep alive the memory of Asifa Bano, the eight-year-old girl who was brutally gangraped and murdered in Kashmir in 2018. They include authors Kiran Desai (in pic, below) and Suketu Mehta, who have contributed haiku and short stories that honour Bano to a website called asifagirlmatters.com, which also contains artworks dedicated to her. Amitava Kumar has contributed one piece of art, for example. "I have used newspapers as my painting surface, using gouache to alter, change and transform what I had first encountered only as news. I ask my sister in Patna to mail me both Hindi and English newspapers that she gets at home and then I set to work in an effort to regain a small measure of sanity," Kumar (inset) shared.