Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

On the pony express

Kids enjoy a horse ride near Carter Road in Bandra.

Cacao times

Craft chocolate and artisanal cheese pairing workshop at a previous fest

This diarist is tempted to pop a chocolate in her mouth as she shares news about the upcoming, one-of-its-kind, Indian Cacao And Craft Chocolate Festival that is scheduled for February 18 and 19. Helmed by Patricia Cosma - a bean-to-bar chocolate connoisseur and Ketaki Churi - a chocolatier from Mumbai, the festival will not only feature an array of craft chocolates, but will also offer a platform for small cacao businesses and farmers. "After Bengaluru, this will be our first festival in the city. There will be 16 chocolate brands, several key speakers at various workshops, including my craft chocolate and artisanal cheese pairing workshop, and a panel discussion," Cosma said.

Patricia Cosma

Martha gives her thumbs up

Martha Cooper with ZERO

"Why are they drawing on a wall?" This diarist recalls her grandmother's innocent query while watching graffiti artists at work. But we know better than graffiti being just a drawing, and as Mumbai-based graffiti artist Alchemy says, a revolution for artistic freedom. And what better way to celebrate Mumbai's graffiti art than being captured by the lens of Martha Cooper, an American photojournalist and a pioneer of this revolution. Cooper recently took a tour of Mumbai with city-based graffiti artist, ZERO. Posting a picture of her in action on his social media, Alchemy told us, "Getting featured on Cooper's Instagram will help Mumbai's graffiti scene to come into the mainstream." ZERO added, "Graffiti plays a huge financial, emotional and social role in my life, and to see her express the same passion and enthusiasm after many years in the profession, was inspiring."

Alchemy's Instagram post

Heirloom keepers

Advaeita and Nupur Mathur

Browning handwritten pages with leaves borrowed from newspapers, this writer recalls the image of her mum scrapbooking memories through food, for her children. Editor Chinmayee Manjunath and founder of Nivaala, Shruti Taneja capture this picture through Relish, a project where they help families create an heirloom recipe book. Having wrapped up their first book with the Mathur family, Manjunath shared that often, women are keepers and creators of recipes, and that preserving their notes is a beautiful way to celebrate them. "Publishing a book can be daunting. We simplify the process so anyone can create a family heirloom book," she concluded.

Chinmayee Manjunath

Wings for a story and a poem

Pic courtesy/Mangrove Foundation

Celebrating the season of flamingos, Mangrove Foundation is inviting articles and poems on these beautiful migratory birds for the upcoming special issue of their quarterly newsletter, Sonneretia. "The idea of the newsletter is to communicate the major activities and programmes of the Mangrove Foundation to the public," Manas Manjrekar, deputy director, research & capacity building, Mangrove Foundation, told us. Since March and April witness a high number of flamingo sightings in the city, the next issue that will be released on April 1, is a flamingo special. "Last year, NMMC along with Delhi Public School organised a flamingo fest. This year, readers can mail their articles and poems," he signed off.

Manas Manjrekar

Sounding the city

Rupali Gupte

Today, Borivali's School of Environment and Architecture will host Soundings, a discussion with architects and artist collectives to reflect on the built environment in contemporary times. Rupali Gupte, director, shared, "The session aims to look at how artists and architects are going beyond their individual practices, and coming together through new solidarities to address new ways to look at the built environment." This free and public discussion will cover issues like social and spatial justice and environmental concerns.