Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Me tarzan, you jane

This dynamic duo displays their athletic prowess at a playground in Chembur.

All walk and play

Picture this: your neighbourhood, but with a giant marsh right in the middle. Would you claim the land and build something? Or walk right over it? The game project Once There Was A Lake gives you the chance to decide its fate. The game was introduced by Bengaluru-based theatre group Indian Ensemble and India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) and today, the creators of the game will guide you through it via an interactive virtual session, along with other elements including folk stories, recordings, oral histories and more. "Through our Project 560 initiative, we had given a grant to Chanakya Vyas, the creator of the game, to build this. Because of the lockdown, the game had to be shifted to an online version, a free website for people to access and play on," said Menaka Rodriguez, head of mobilisation and research at IFA.

Going north

Culinary expert Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal is bringing the warmth and comfort of time-tested recipes right to your kitchen with her Uttarakhand Culinary Experience initiative, a fundraiser that aims to make a difference during the pandemic. Participants will be sent a curated spice kit and can attend a virtual culinary workshop helmed by Ghildiyal on July 9 and 10. In doing so, Ghildiyal hopes to celebrate the flavours and recipes that are unique to this region. "The pandemic has had a negative impact and a lot of help is needed.

I also wanted to create a more holistic experience than just make people watch someone cook over Zoom. Uttarakhandi fare needs to be cooked with certain spices that are intrinsic to the flavour profile here," shared Ghildiyal. Accordingly, at the workshop, Ghildiyal will teach traditional fare such as jakhiya, a dish made with baby potatoes, and bhaang wala khatta meetha kaddu, which uses toasted bhaang or hemp seeds. If you'd like to sign up and make a difference, log on to @rushinamg on Instagram. Registrations are open till June 28.

Art goes viral

City-based gallery Kulture Shop has collaborated with Indernet 2021, an annual art and design event, to chronicle the impact of Covid-19 at the intersection of art, the Internet and Indian culture. "The exhibition features works by 13 Indian artists who have expressed the unfolding global pandemic and its impression on the collective cultural psyche," explained Kunal Anand, the gallery's co-founder. Manoj Kurien Kallupurackal, creative director of Indernet, added, "This year, we hosted a hybrid event - a physical exhibition with a digital component. We have live-streamed digital content. This evolution from last year's online event reflects our synergistic adaptation to a post-pandemic world."

More ways to find and express love

To mark Pride Month, OkCupid, a dating app, has adopted a more inclusive approach by releasing over 60 identities that LGBTQi+ users can choose from. The identities, which have been developed in consultation with community experts including the Human Rights Campaign, include bear, bottom, butch, femme, hard femme, high femme, otter, boi and versatile, among others.

Wishing you well, Mr Boyce

This newspaper had carried a report about Khushrow Minoo Boyce who underwent an arm surgery, on June 21. The 61-year-old's left arm was severely injured after a parapet wall of a row house in the Grand Paradi society at Kemps Corner broke and fell on him as he was riding a scooter.

He has yet another, which will be the third surgery today at the Breach Candy Hospital. Several WhatsApp chats offering their best wishes, were floating around for the Cusrow Baug resident, who has a lot of goodwill. Get well soon, Mr Boyce, your supporters say, and we hope you hear their voice.