Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Kirti Surve Parade

Blast from the past

A fleet of electric Victoria carriages takes tourists for a spin on Marine Drive

Umbrella of vision

Members of Nethra assemble umbrellas at the Vikhroli centre

This monsoon is set to be a win-win for everyone. A charity sale organised by the National Association of Disabled's Enterprises (NADE) and co-working space Dextrus, will put umbrellas assembled by a team of 30 visually impaired individuals on sale today. "Under our initiative Nethra, the NADE has been working on providing employment to the differently-abled since 2018. We import the parts from different regions of India and other Asian countries, and assemble it here at our Vikhroli space," shared KN Radhakrishnan Nair, its founder. He added, "We work all year round to produce these umbrellas. Last year, our sales dipped because the monsoon in Mumbai was short and underwhelming. We hope things get better this year." For more details, log on to idscs.online.

Put your design caps on

A moment from a previous game circle

Say a prayer, roll the dice, and hope for your favourite font. A board game centred on logo design has got its players doing exactly that. Babel Fissh, the brainchild of IIT Bombay Industrial Design Centre School of Design alumnus Aditi Babel (inset) is all set to make its debut in Mumbai at a game circle this weekend.

The octahedral dice are thrown to reveal prompts for the logo designers

"Contrary to popular belief, designing is not an unplanned and ambiguous process. It follows a certain process that you can master with practice. The game offers you this practice without making it seem monotonous," Babel shared. A usual round of the game puts one player in the client's shoes while the others play as designers. The client rolls six handcrafted octahedral dice that decide the font, colours, and styles.

The designers have two minutes to ace the logo. "It's a great way for beginners and experts to get their creative juices flowing. I plan to design another game soon that will focus on other fundamentals of design," she revealed. Those interested, can head to @babelfissh.

Make a big splash this monsoon

A participant at a swim-athon organised by the community earlier this year

Nature finds its way, they say. We may add that Mumbai's swimmers, and nature always seem to find a way. After a recent clampdown on open sea swimming activities, the Mumbai Sea Swimmers community is gearing to host the inaugural Mumbai Swimming Championship on June 9 in Andheri. "The idea is to keep the spirit of swimming alive among the growing community in the city," shared Mehul Ved, co-founder. Co-organised by sports enthusiast Kapil Arora, the highlight of the evening is an hour-long freestyle swimming routine. "We aim to provide an equal opportunity to amateurs and experts. The freestyle hour will be a great display of varying styles and levels of expertise," he noted. Those keen to participate, can log on to @mumbaiseaswimmers.

Inking a new hotspot in Versova

As summer is in its final stage, a new café is set to open its doors in Versova this monsoon. Titled Ink n Brew, it will bring together the love of tattoos, vinyl and coffee, shared co-founder Ruchika Sharma. Founded with husband Tarun, the space is a nod to their mutual love for tattoos. "I have been fond of arts since I was in school, and much later I got quite a few myself. I became a certified tattoo artist. The love for coffee comes from my husband. The third element is a common love for music and vinyl records. It will be a unique experience for customers who can discover art, music and brews in one space," she said. Set to open doors in the second week of June, the café will look to cultivate the cultured coffee lover in the city, she said.