Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Train your sights

Two railway engineers take readings of the track at Prabhadevi station

Boman and the bachchas

Actor Boman Irani hugs a child at the hospital, as (extreme left) Dr Karan Gupta and (middle) Deepak S Bhatia look on

Young patients at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in Sion were in for a treat yesterday. Apart from being showered by all kinds of gifts that the kids - who are terminally ill - had wished for, jadoo ki jhappis awaited them from actor Boman Irani and wrestler-actor Sangram Singh, among others. The initiative was led by Karan Gupta Education Foundation along with Make-A-Wish Foundation and Anusha Srinivasan Iyer of Make Earth Green Again. The afternoon fiesta also saw them laughing along with a clown and clowning around on stage themselves. "There are medicines, and then there is hope. Children can wish for small things, or have big dreams. But, according to doctors, the interesting part is that the treatment process of these kids reflects a hopeful change after their wishes are fulfilled. So, this initiative is more than just about getting gifts - it's about finding hope. And I think there's nothing bigger than hope," shared Irani. As the actor unleashed his inner child with the kids, he added that it's important to always keep your childish side alive.

Keep it short

For Kunal Khanna, co-founder and director of ALT EFF film festival that kicks off in Panchgani on November 17, short films can sometimes capture more with less. Last week, the festival gave users a sneak peek of four of their most creative short films online. "The four films are creative, both from the perspective of the medium, and the delivery of the overall message," Khanna shared. The shorts are part of 55 entries from 25 different countries to be screened this year. "Short films capture the essence of an important message and deliver it in a succinct manner," he said. Apart from online screenings, they will hold live screenings across eight cities, including Mumbai, accompanied by panel discussions, workshops and other activities.

Listen to these ladies log

Viewers watch the analog expanded cinema piece by Harkat Studios

Earlier this year, while travelling across Europe, three women members of Mumbai's Harkat Studios fell asleep in a public park for four hours. "We were unable to get over how carefree we felt as women," recalled Sheba Alexander. The experience sowed the seeds for their expanded cinema performance, Ladies Log, which recently premiered at Alpavirama International Youth Film Festival, at NID, Ahmedabad. Expanded cinema refers to hybrid film-based performances that go beyond the screen. The all-women team of Alexander, Namrata Sanghani, Simran Ankolkar and Tanya Dixit turned the stage into a terrace with a clothesline, which became a DIY screen for 16mm analog projections. "The aim was to evoke what women experience in public spaces, beyond the idea of safety. Gradually, it flows into a utopian phase - what it would look like if women could occupy spaces whenever and however they liked. The piece was elevated by Tanya's soundscape," said Ankolkar, adding they will stage a show in the city in December. We'll be waiting for this ladies' special.

Trailing Dr Ali

The star of a weekend trail hosted by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) to mark legendary ornithologist Dr Salim Ali's birth anniversary on November 12 was a yellow-throated sparrow. "This species nudged him to become a birdman. As a tween, he had shot the bird down by mistake. It's why he titled his autobiography, The Fall of a Sparrow. We spotted this bird and 23 other species during our walk at BNHS's nature reserve in Goregaon," shared Raju Kasambe, assistant director, conservation education centre, BNHS.

The pavement for padyatras

The pavement, with the racecourse behind, has ample place for walking

Punters talk through their wallets goes the famous horse racing phrase. And, we may dare add, that Mumbai pedestrians talk through their twisted ankles. Sometimes, footpaths and the Mumbai racecourse may meet. The ‘status woe' of aamchi Mumbai footpaths means it is always a wow moment when we come across a pavement that is top of the charts. Like this strip opposite Famous Studio at Mahalaxmi, near the Nehru Science Centre. Broad and clean, the bus stops here are also well demarcated with ample space. A small track next to the pavement means one can also stand there safely to hail a cab. The area is traffic-dense and heavy Metro work near the Science Centre makes it more challenging. The icing on the walking cake (or should we call that cakewalk?) is the wall art a little down the road and of course, the green Mahalaxmi racecourse, emerald of SoBo, just next to this pavement. For a moment, you can almost forget you are in Mumbai. Well, almost, till the traffic noise deposits you back to earth.