13 October,2021 08:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Anurag Ahire
A kid holds on to its mother at a signal in Goregaon.
Aarohi Pandit and JRD Tata's 1932 flight. Pic/Instagram
To mark 75 years of India's Independence, Captain Aarohi Pandit will embark on a historic expedition on October 15 - she will take off from the Bhuj runway that was rebuilt by the women of Madhapar within 72 hours during the Indo-Pakistan War, refuel at Ahmedabad, and land at India's first civilian airport in Juhu. In doing so, she will recreate India's first commercial flight that was flown by JRD Tata in 1932. Further, Pandit will operate with similar aircraft limitations as the pioneer and half the fuel. "During the flight, I will use less than 60 litres of petrol for an estimated five hours of flying over 500 nautical miles. I won't use GPS, autopilot or computerised equipment. As a young pilot, I'm honoured to have this opportunity. I cannot imagine a better tribute in the Indian civil aviation world than to the father of Indian civil aviation.," Pandit told us.
Pic/Bryan B Paul
The India Biodiversity Portal has teamed up with a host of organisations including the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), to observe the National Dragonfly and Damselfly Count on October 16. For this purpose, they're inviting photo submissions from citizens that document species. The top 10 observers also stand to win prizes. "Dragonflies aren't given much importance because we don't know a lot about them. That is why this festival began," said Nikhil John, senior programme officer, WWF.
The folks at Mahalaxmi-based restaurant Masque have something new in store for vistors. A portion of the restaurant, located upstairs and previously kept aside as an extra dining space, has been transformed into The Living Room, a cocktail bar that will launch on October 15. "We wanted this to be a comfortable zone for people to come in and have a few drinks," said, Shyama Patel, the restaurant's communications manager.
Over the course of four weeks, the Dr Bhau Daji Lad (BDL) Museum will host the Festival for Video Art by Indian Contemporary Artists or VAICA, from November 20 to December 20. All viewers will have access to the videos that they can watch at their own pace. "I felt it was important to give a voice to young talent," shared honorary director at BDL, Tasneem Zakaria Mehta.
Karishma Siddiqui Roy presenting Ruku's sketch to Jit Bose (right) The script in Satyajit Ray's handwriting
Sometimes, life takes the most beautifully unexpected turns. Last weekend, we had written in this newspaper about Kolkata artist Karishma Siddique Roy who's started an Instagram series on Feluda, Satyajit Ray's iconic character, on her profile, @potteraits. We had also mentioned how she'd planned to meet Jit Bose who, as a child, had essayed the role of Ruku in the Ray film Joi Baba Felunath. Roy was going to give Bose, who lives in Chennai now, a sketch she had made of Ruku when he came down to Kolkata for Durga puja. But what she didn't know is that Bose also had a surprise gift in return - two pages of the film's script, which contain Ray's own handwriting. "What really touched me was the thoughtfulness behind the gesture," Roy shared about what we, too, feel is a heartwarming experience.
