Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Nimesh Dave

Too hot to handle

A child covers his face to beat the heat on a sweltering day, while on his way to a temple in Borivali West on Tuesday

Making a green difference

Mausami Gupte (left) and her friend, Aishwarya Oak, at a plantation drive

Sometimes, it doesn't take government authorities, NGOs or large corporations with CSR goals to make a difference. All it takes is one citizen. Take Mausami Gupte, a 31-year-old from Thane who's a mechanical engineer by profession. She recently started a tree-plantation drive at the satellite city, where she called on people to take action in two different ways. One is to plant their own sapling in a pot and place it in their home balconies or window sills. The other is to donate '30 to her so that she can plant a sapling on their behalf on land that she's identified, in case they don't have space in their homes. "People can contact me through my Instagram handle if they want to take part," Gupte said. Visit @mausamigupte on the social media platform to help her in her green endeavour.

A Slyce of something new

There's something new coming up in the city from the stables of Zorawar Kalra's Massive Restaurants before this month ends. It's a gourmet brand called Slyce Pizza, which has been in the works for the past two years. Kalra shared that the idea is to bring the concept of a high-end pizza brand to people's homes, instead of them having to visit a fine-dine for the same. "We spent a lot of time conducting research, making sure that the dough travels well and working on the perfect box to deliver the pizza. But most importantly, it's about the ingredients - even the cheese is a combination of multiple types in different ratios to get the right texture and taste," Kalra told us.

Poster for equality

The Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film festival had a new segment this year called Wendell Rodricks Poster Design Contest, which had the late Goan designer's husband, Jérôme Marrel, as the judge. Kochi-based graphic designer Sreejith Mohan has won the Rs 25,000 cash prize for his effort (in pic). "The poster embodies the spirit of Kashish and also reflects the theme of this year's edition - Flights of freedom," shared festival director Sridhar Raghavan.

Song for the hour

March 26 is the day that Earth Hour will be celebrated across the world, when people will switch off their lights for 60 minutes in order to spread a message about conserving the environment and protecting the planet. And to mark the occasion, music composer Shantanu Moitra (below, in pic) has created the Earth Hour India anthem, called Humari prithvi, for which Mohit Chauhan has lent the vocals. "The ecological issues that I had at the back of my mind while composing this track was the acute water crisis facing mankind, especially India, and also the pollution we are creating that's puncturing the ozone layer," Moitra told this diarist. Visit WWF India's YouTube page to listen to the track.

Tenor reasons to celebrate

Those who are even remotely familiar with opera music would know that Andrea Bocelli is considered to be one of the greatest operatic tenors to be living today. But they would probably know less about Matteo, his son, who is also a musician, readying his debut album. Matteo will soon make his maiden visit to India, arriving in Mumbai for a musical project in collaboration with singers Sukriti and Prakriti Kakkar. Speaking about his plans in the city, Matteo revealed that he is keen to try out the food on offer, build connections and network with the movers and shakers in the local music industry, as well as visit historic landmarks that define Mumbai. Here's extending him a warm welcome.