Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Barso re megha!

Two youngsters enjoy the heavy downpour near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus

Clowning for a cause

Monica Santos reads from a storybook during one of her performances

Whenever this diarist hears the word clown, it reminds her of a guy with a red bulb for a nose, and fooling around with the audience in a circus. Correcting this misconception, Monica Santos, a Barcelona-based professional clown explained how it is more of an art form. "Art in theatre is performed normally with a script. Clowns are taught to feel and make people feel along." She will be bringing her performance to Andheri's Harkat Studios next weekend. "I am a professional healthcare clown and I also work in theatre. All my shows are born from the work I have done in the social field. Created in 2019, this show is about a clown who pretends to be a storyteller." Santos explained that with the fast-paced life of adults as well as children in Mumbai, this show might help them connect with their emotions. "I think, exposing them to the art form of clowning where they feel the emotions along with the clown can help them understand their inner selves. Connecting with the innocence of clowning helps you to believe in yourself as well," she said.

Penning a salaam to Salam!

One of the poems that Professor AN Pandey had written for Professor Abdus Salam; (right) the autographed photo of Professor Salam from the historian's archives. Pics courtesy/Eshan Sharma

While Eshan Sharma, the founder of Karwaan Heritage, is known for making academic history accessible to students, he recently shared a piece of his own past. An autographed photo of Professor Abdus Salam found its way from his personal archives to his social media recently. Sharing the story behind the picture, Sharma said, "Nobel laureate, Professor Abdus Salam established a centre called International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy in 1964. My maternal grandfather, late Professor AN Pandey was a theoretical physicist. He pioneered the research on laser spectroscopy in India.

Eshan Sharma

He was a visiting scholar at ICTP in the 1980s. It is where they became acquaintances, and exchanged letters. During one of their last meetings at ICTP, my nana [grandfather] clicked Salam's picture, and got it signed by him." Sharma revealed that the photo was passed down as an heirloom after his grandfather's demise. "My nana passed away in 2007, after which two of his notebooks were handed down to me. One was a diary of his poems. The other one was an autograph book. It contained all the letters that nana shared with the scholars at ICTP. It also had two poems that he wrote for Professor Salam, and the picture as well," he told this diarist.

This one's for the number crunchers

While medical professionals hogged July 1 by celebrating Doctor's Day, it was also a big day for accountants. The day marks the 74th anniversary of the establishment of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) with efforts that began in our city. Asiatic Society of Mumbai, member and researcher, R Venkatesh (inset), shared, "It announced the inclusion of accountancy as a specialised skill. It began with ML Tannan, then head of Sydenham College, SR Batliboi, SB Bilimoria, JA Woodhead among others, setting up the accountancy board in 1932 that later led to the formation of ICAI in 1949. In fact, the ICAI building at Bandra Kurla Complex carries a plaque with the story," he informed.

Actions speak louder than words

Children perform a street play during an awareness campaign

Taking this quote quite literally, Vanashakti India has been organising street plays by students across the country for over two decades to spread awareness among adults about the need for conservation. A recent post by the Nahur-based NGO highlighted positive responses to the initiative by Gram Panchayats from Tansa Valley. "Our street plays/ living theatricals aim at making the adults aware via kids, because they have a larger impact on the environment," said Vicky Patil, programme officer.

Lekin queue?

The queue near Dombivli railway station. Pic courtesy/Twitter

The Walking Project, a grassroots advocacy campaign, recently tweeted about long queues outside Dombivli railway station, and how this problem is the direct result of a poor city infrastructure. Project officer, Vedant Mhatre voiced his concern, "Auto rickshaws ferry passengers to locations that are 1.5 to two kilometres away from the station because footpaths are not accessible to pedestrians. They are narrower than what is prescribed by the Indian Road Congress guidelines. They have broken tiles, and are occupied by shops, garbage and construction debris. As a result, they take advantage of the situation to charge extra fare. In the rainy season, these conditions might worsen."