Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

Not child's play

On the occasion of Nag Panchami, an artist gives final touches to an idol while taking care of her child

Picture-perfect winners

A mural of Mahatma Gandhi at Andheri. Pic/Rane Ashish

A cargo plane as seen from Kurla, ready to take off from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Pic/Satej Shinde

Two kids seen having fun wearing tricoloured t-shirts at Gateway of India ahead of Independence Day. Pic/Sameer Markande

Visitors seen enjoying high tide at Marine Drive. Pic/Atul Kamble

Youngsters practicing power walking at Shivaji Park. Pic/Ashish Raje

Congratulations are in order for this newspaper as mid-day's photography team has come home winning 15 awards. Here's the full list: World Sports Photography Awards 2023: Atul Kamble (winner with two photos) and Ashish Raje (runner up with two photos); Andhra Pradesh Photojournalists Association's contest 2023, national level: Ashish Rane, Satej Shinde, Sameer Markande won with one photo each; and Thane Municipal Corporation And Thane Shahar Dainik Patrakar Sangh's photo contest 2023: Ashish Rane (two photos), Ashish Raje (two photos), and Satej Shinde and Atul Kamble one photo each.

It's thali good times

It's easy to miss Patil Canteen next to St Xavier's College if you don't know it has existed there since 1949! In 2016, this newspaper had featured the small eatery that's run by the Patil family. We were happy when we spotted a framed photo of the article that hung on the canteen's walls in a picture posted on the Hallu Hallu Insta page. "When I visited this canteen I spotted the article framed and hung on the wall, with a recommendation of the fish thali. So I decided to order it, but I arrived early. And so had to settle for the vegetarian thali," shared Aslam Saiyad, co-founder of the outfit that conducts walks across the city.

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Mangroves on our mind

Volunteers at the clean-up drive

Since August 15, 2020, Nerul-based resident Dharmesh Barai has been conducting cleanliness drives to clean up the mangroves between Nerul to Panvel. Barai, founder of Environment Life Foundation, conducts these drives every weekend. Last Sunday's drive was their 157th week, with a set-up that works entirely on volunteerism.

"I started with two friends back then, and now there are 35,000 people who have joined in some or the other way. They are from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nashik and even Odisha," says the founder. He points out that people have been pitching in from all sides. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has been helping to collect garbage that the volunteers collect from various access points of the mangroves. "I hope more people understand that we need to keep the city clean, especially the mangroves, as they help with stopping floods," he told this diarist.

A decade of drama

Students of the Drama School Mumbai during a performance

The Drama School Mumbai recently completed 10 years, and celebrations in order. "It is very satisfying to achieve this as an idea that started a decade ago, is now a reality. It's great to start a venture and last this long.

It reaffirms the belief that it is going to be a long-standing institute. We have survived in spite of the pandemic and we adapted. We have a long way to go," says Jehan Manekshaw, a trustee of the school.