Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Sameer Markande

Bridging the gap

People cross a bridge over a highway near Sanpada Railway Station in Navi Mumbai.

Dharavi jams with Sheeran

Ed Sheeran interacts with the students. Pics Courtesy/@teddysphotos

As students at SHED Primary English School in Dharavi prepared to begin another day of classroom lectures, they were taken by surprise courtesy, a private concert by pop icon Ed Sheeran on Tuesday morning. Ahead of his Mumbai concert this Saturday, Sheeran reached the popular neighbourhood as soon as he touched down in the city yesterday.

"Smile Foundation [a Dharavi-based NGO] extended an invitation to Sheeran to visit the school a while back. It does so for any artiste who plans to come to Mumbai, but not many accept these invites. The school was equally surprised by his visit," shared Dharavi-based fan (inset) Preethi Perumal, who witnessed these scenes up-close, as her parent is a teacher in the same school. She added that the performer spent nearly 45 minutes in the school, visiting each class and offering guitar lessons to its students. "The children sang for him, and he returned the favour; there were many light-hearted conversations. I couldn't get a selfie with him but we shook hands. It was the most memorable moment for me. He is very humble for a star of his stature," she revealed.

Ready to launch

ISRO chairman S Somanath interacts with students

The chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) S Somanath revived one of the proudest moments for India from 2023 as he inaugurated the Chandrayaan-3 exhibit at Nehru Planetarium last Sunday. "We partnered with Tata Consulting Engineers, and this was a part of their flagship Vigyaan initiative," explained Arvind Paranjpye, director of Nehru Planetarium.

Chadrayaan-3 model

After interacting with children from socially backward communities, who were also engaged in workshops, the chairman inaugurated the exhibit that boasts of a moving model. "The rocket comes to its launch pad; it is launched and then, Chandrayaan-3 is shown landing on the lunar surface. This exhibit will be a permanent part of the planetarium," the director told this diarist.

Big win for mid-day at the races

The award-winning photograph. Pic/Sameer Markande

It was team mid-day galloping across the winning post. Racing correspondent Prakash Gosavi and senior photographer Sameer Markande from this paper won the top prize for reports and photographs of the HPSL Indian Derby run at the headquarters of Western India racing at the Mahalaxmi Race Course on the first Sunday of February. Cracking reportage and photos that spoke horsepower, were the highlights of our Derby coverage.

(Left) Sameer Markande and (right) Prakash Gosavi received the award from Dr Ram Shroff. Pic/Satej Shinde

The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) panel declared mid-day as the winners. Besides the on-point headline and eyeball-grabbing layout contributing to the all-round coverage, the paper's correspondent also tipped the 5 to 1 Derby winner Enabler as first choice. The duo got the prize at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse paddock last Sunday evening, where it was mid-day all the way. Or should that read neigh?

Celebrating women and livelihood

Migrant women labourers celebrate International Women's Day at Aarey Forest

Last weekend, nearly 50 unorganised women workers gathered at Aarey Forest to celebrate International Women's Day. The event was organised by Sakinaka-based Kamgar Sahayta Samiti, a collective under non-profit initiative Aajeevika Bureau. "These were migrant women labourers working in domestic sectors, construction sites and factories. The aim was to inform them about welfare programmes and highlight the benefits they can avail of," shared Swati Jadhav, an executive at Aajeevika Bureau. "We made them engage in many activities. Our theme this year was gender, work and well-being," Jadhav told us, adding that the discussions ranged from health and gender equity at work, to the need for education and their shared stories of migrating to Mumbai.