14 October,2021 07:44 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Free-wheeling: A child shows off his skills with a walker on a footpath at BKC as his parents look on. Pic/Shadab Khan
Heart for Art is an initiative by the NGO Akanksha to support underprivileged kids in pursuing education. During the pandemic, the children at the NGO used art to express their feelings and, in turn, created beautiful cards, frames, and canvases. Now, the NGO is offering an artwork with every donation, with the funds being used to purchase digital tablets, secure internet connectivity and ensure zero dropouts. "While we were inspired by the art, we also saw how much we need to do differently to integrate the kids back into schools. They will need to see tech as a part of their learning; they will need support to bridge learning gaps as well as fill socio-emotional voids. We can't do it without fundraising," shared Ruchika Gupta, senior director at Art for Akanksha.
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A Kandivali resident, who made headlines for celebrating his birthday with a jaw-dropping 550 cakes, is speaking out about his version of the incident which, he claims, was misrepresented on social media. "There were comments made about the number of people attending and the cakes. What people don't see is that the cakes were sent by 200 NGOs as a part of our initiative and were shared with homeless people. Not a single morsel was wasted. We also distributed food packets, as we have been doing for many years," Surya Raturi told man about town and our colleague from Gujarati Mid-day Prakash Bambhrolia.
Broti Bhattacharya, a graphic designer and co-founder at Define Design & Strategy, has paid homage to the city he fell in love with a decade ago by creating a unique map. It depicts easily-recognisable landmarks that have become synonymous with the neighbourhoods they inhabit - be it Bandra's Mount Mary Basilica, the Haji Ali Dargah, or even CST. "My creation was inspired by my love for travel and interest in landmarks. Whenever I visit a city, I sketch popular landmarks. I sought to combine these and pay homage to Mumbai, a city that has so many iconic colonial landmarks and one of the tallest skylines in the country. I have always been fascinated by the curious mix of the old and new when it comes to Mumbai's architecture," Bhattacharya told this diarist. Even the colour palette is inspired by the city's coast, while the font of the masthead is reminiscent of the lettering found behind taxis. Copies of the map will soon be available for purchase at Kulture Shop.
The Parsi community and the fitness industry were surprised about the news of fitness guru Kaizzad Capadia's demise. Capadia was the K-11 School of Fitness principal, and also ran its master trainer course at the school. "Early on Wednesday morning, he was experiencing some discomfort and was rushed to the hospital from his residence in Pune. However, he had already suffered a massive heart attack and passed away before he could be admitted. I knew him for over 30 years. He was a huge inspiration; his commitment to fitness was admirable," recalled Khushnoor S Jijina, a judo coach and MMA fighter. Parsi community chat groups mentioned how he "did the nation and community proud with his fitness achievements." There is a memorable line that senior fitness professional Ketan A. Ketan recalled, "Since I am taller than Kaizzad was, he would often look at me and say, I won't need to go over a wall, I will just go through it!"
The Ayushman Bharat health insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PM-JAY) initiative, has announced a health insurance scheme that will cover the expenses of gender affirmation surgery and support sex-change operations. The programme will provide five lakh rupees a year per family, for free treatment at all public hospitals. While the move is commendable, the real test lies in its implementation, shared LGBTQiA+ activist Urmi Jadhav (in pic). "It's important because we too are equal citizens. Many are in need of such policies but unsure about where to find options. Such information must be made easily available," Jadhav said.
