Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Race you to the Fishes

Fishermen get their fishing boats ready for their daily catch at the Gorai Jetty

Your forests, our forests

Stickers from the campaign. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

By the time this diarist reached the Save Mollem Campaign stall at the Goa Heritage Festival in Panjim, Svabhu Kohli, one of the artists behind the movement's striking creatives, confessed that they had run out of some of their prized prints. "I'm so sorry; but you could check these out," he offered, showing us postcards that celebrated the region's flora and fauna, and stickers with simple, effective slogans.

Postcards

For a while now, this motley band of artists have quietly created a visual impact for one of India's most vocal citizen-led movements to save forests that will be sacrificed for two infrastructure projects in Goa in the UNESCO global biodiversity hotspot - the Western Ghats. From the signature campaign to the information on display boards, the public at the festival - ranging from gawky jhola-sporting collegians to silver-haired aunties - turned up in strength. When Kohli learnt that we were from Mumbai, he sprung a double thumbs up of support, "We're with you; more power to Aarey. The community there [Mumbai] is doing some fabulous work to save its forests." We like the neighbourly show of support.

Remembering SK Sham

The late SK Sham (left) with Ajit Wadekar and Sachin Tendulkar at a souvenir launch before the India v South Africa Test at the Wankhede Stadium on February 24, 2000. Pic/Mid-Day Archives

A rare launch was witnessed at the Mumbai Press Club on Saturday - a book written by a deceased sports writer. We are referring to Platinum Touch - An Intimate Study of Mumbai Cricket by SK Sham. The author, who passed away in 2011, was sports editor of The Free Press Journal, The Indian Post in Mumbai and News Time in Hyderabad. Post-retirement, he graced the pages of this newspaper. Sham was into serious sports writing and never afraid to call out those who brought disrepute to sport. He also had a fine sense of humour. Once, a journalist from Bangalore got involved in the organising of a charity auction. The noble soul went about asking cricketers and members of the press gang for memorabilia to raise funds. In all seriousness, Sham suggested that there was a typewriter which could go under the hammer in ‘The Most Abused Typewriter in the History of Indian Cricket' category. His fellow pressmen cracked up when Sham revealed the name of the typewriter owner. It turned out to be a hot-headed reporter who was known to utter expletives everytime the typewriter malfunctioned or when some brave soul interrupted his work. Memories of Sham returned in a flood on Saturday. May he never be forgotten and oh yes, kudos to his wife Lata for bringing this book to fruition.

A new stage for playwrights

Sapan Saran

The folks at Studio Tamaasha are launching their first Playwrights' Residential Workshop in February 2023 in Kashid. The nine-day programme has no participation fee. Co-founder Sapan Saran told us that they are looking to shortlist four playwrights. While some participants will attend on invite, they have launched an open call for women playwrights to widen the search. "We're looking for young playwrights who are passionate about theatre. The workshop hopes to support their journeys as theatre makers. Playwrights can apply by sending us drafts of their new plays," she said, adding that attendees will be mentored by six senior playwrights, writers and academics including Shanta Gokhale. Head to @studiotamaasha for details.

Bar, bar dekho, Mumbai

Vikram Achanta, co-founder, 30 Best Bars India

It is festive season and the cup is running over for the bars from the city. The latest longlist of 100 best bars in the country includes over 20 bars from Mumbai. Vikram Achanta, co-founder, 30 Best Bars in India which curated the honour roll, told this diarist that the domination is a marker of the city consumers' growing awareness and appreciation. "Mumbai has always had some of the best restaurant bars in the country," Achanta said, adding that the depth of the selection from Mumbai is down to the influx of top hospitality groups and strong cocktail-centric outlets with world-class beverage programmes. Familiar names such as Americano, Masque join Ekaa, Slink & Bardot, among others on the list. With a focus on sustainability and a new Best Bar Design award, the shortlisted rankings of 30 best bars will be unveiled in Gurugram in January 2023.