Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

Good-i vibes only

Shoppers throng a market in Dadar in search of the perfect Gudi for Gudi Padwa

On the frontlines

Cover for the book on mammals of Ladakh. PIC COURTESY/BNHS

The takeaway that stands out in any environment-related discourse is the need for humans, from all walks of life, to work in tandem. The commandant of Command Hospital, Pune, Major General Bhupesh Goyal's recent visit at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) quarters in Hornbill House paved the way for biodiversity preservation through collaborative assistance. Kishor Rithe, secretary, BNHS, told this diarist, "The society has been working with the Indian Armed Forces since long. Goyal explained how the Indian Army has played a vital role in eco-restoration through plantation drives, water harvesting and protection of biodiversity on Army campuses." The event also witnessed the launch of a booklet series on the birds, mammals and plants of Ladakh for the Indian Army staff in the region.

Also Read: Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Spilling the honey

Shikha Talsania (right) in a moment from the rehearsal

Weekends are too important to be planned at the last minute, and the good folks at Aadyam, the theatre initiative, know this. They've released tickets for their latest launch, an adaptation of the 1997 play, As Bees In Honey Drown by Douglas Carter Beane, set to premiere mid-April. Sharing a peek into the creative process of adapting the original, actor-director Akarsh Khurana (below) tells us, "Since the story is set in 1990s New York, the language and context is very American.

The play's director Anahita Uberoi, wanted to adapt it to an Indian context, place it in today's Bombay, and make it contemporary. This is a wonderfully-told tale with a tight-knit structure but we did re-contextualise it to a different time and place, rethought the characters' backgrounds, and made it more Indian in terms of references and lingo while ensuring the essence is intact." In between rehearsals, actor Shikha Talsania who plays Alexa, reveals, "She's a thrilling character. Almost like a queen bee trapping all the other bees in sweet sticky honey and watching them drown."

When art wins

Ladies First - a wall art festival that concluded at Marol Art village yesterday saw some beautiful murals being painted on the walls that depicted several key issues related to women. Taking the festival a step forward, organisers, Wicked Broz, launched the online Ladies First contest. "The festival was conducted in four cities across the country, but we received messages from other states and cities as well, expressing their desire to participate in the festival. Hence, we opened the contest online and have received a good response since then," Omkar Dhareshwar of Wicked Broz told us. Ten winners who post paintings on the theme online will win prizes. The deadline for submissions is March 26.

Music for diversity

Ricky Kej at the weekend concert. Pic/Satej Shinde

Last weekend, a crowd of 5,000-odd people gathered at the Gateway of India to watch Grammy Award-winner Ricky Kej perform a live gig. Nishant Parashar, founder of the organising platform, engage4more, told this diarist, "We chose the Gateway as the venue for its capacity and visibility. Although half of the capacity was filled by invite, the event saw a wide variety of listeners. Kej, who launched the National Gallery of Modern Art Amrit Mahotsav anthem at the concert, also witnessed a skipping group, Skipper Crew, perform at the event. Thankfully for Kej and the audience, rain didn't play spoilsport.

The business of bat and ball

Cricket and corporates make a cocktail you can say cheers to. That is exactly what Saran Sports, Mumbai's sports event management company did at the recent 25th edition of the Corporate Cricket 7s (CC7s) championship. As Sanjiv Mehta, CEO & MD, Hindustan Unilever inaugurated the championship at a Lower Parel sports ground, the championship runs every weekend till May, it was memories and milestones for its founder Sanjiv Saran Mehra. He said, "My journey began in 1997. Top corporates, who played a decent game as students, always wanted to return to the game. Corporate cricket gave them that chance." Saran laughed as he said, "Cricket is a great leveller. You will have a junior tell a CEO, ‘This is where you stand to field,' and the CEO has to do so." As the event marks its silver anniversary, Saran pointed to Mehta's where the bizwiz cited similarities between business and the game. One of Mehta's remarks was, like in business, so in cricket, "You have to raise your game each day." And here's to the biz of bat ‘n' ball.