Mumbai Diary page: Thursday Theme

Mumbai Diary page, Thursday Theme, Kids, Kabaddi, St Xavier's football ground, Parel

Kabaddi catches on
Recently, this page featured a small item on a group of youngsters playing Kabaddi for a lark, on Juhu Beach. We find that the influence has wider reach, now. The recently-concluded Pro Kabaddi League fever seems to have caught up across all age groups in the country.

Kids take to Kabaddi at St Xavier's football ground in Parel. Pic/Suresh KK

Yesterday, a group of street kids did not need any fancy gear to play. The kids turned one corner of the St Xavier's ground, Parel into a mini Kabaddi ground. They drew four boundary lines and divided themselves into two teams. Removing their jerseys, they were all set to play, with one of them agreeing to become the referee.

After scoring a point, the young enthusiasts were seen emulating the famous ‘THIGH FIVE'. Such is the impact that the kids who enjoyed playing Cricket and Football are now attracted to playing the new ‘IT' thing Kabaddi. Coooool, is all we can say. May this game spread to the length and breath (pun intended and spelling error deliberate) of the country.

Mumbai bats for dolphins
Since, we now live in a global world and news and views cross borders and continents in a flash, thanks to social media, it is no surprise that citizens are expressing global concerns and outrage in different ways. On Saturday, December 6, SoBo's Marine Drive will witness an events where a clutch of citizens come to mark Japan Dolphin Day.

A Filipino activist holds a glass decorated with dolphins during a protest at the Japanese embassy in Manila, against the controversial six-month dolphin hunting, as it kicked off on September 1 in Taiji in Japan. The annual catch, in which people from the southwestern town corral hundreds of dolphins into a secluded bay and butcher them, was thrust into the global spotlight in 2010 when it became the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary ‘The Cove'. Pic/AFP

The event is an annual awareness initiative about ruthless Dolphin Drive Hunts in Taiji, Japan and elsewhere in the world. Each year from September 1 to March end, thousands of dolphins are lured into an ambush awaiting them on the shores of Taiji.

The majority of these dolphins are killed while some are sold into a life of captivity. Mumbai organisers Kresha Bajaj, Nishiki Bhavnani and Vanraj Zaveri are asking people to line up and support the initiative by making posters and banners.

Also, there is a dress code: Blue which organisers say is a sign of solidarity. The event is planned from 4.30 pm to 6 pm. Dolphin supporters, get set to raise awareness and make Marine Drive your Saturday evening address.

Ceiling breakdown
It is well-known that compared to the railway stations in Mumbai, the ones in Navi Mumbai are architecturally superior and a lot more pleasing to the eye.

Building a creative structure is not the same as maintaining it in the long run, though. Something that explains the reason why the Harbour Line stations on the other side of Vashi Creek are gradually losing their sheen.

For instance, on Sanpada's Platform No 4, the decorative glass ceiling which was originally meant to let in sunlight now lets in water. And the commuters who can't even stand on the platform underneath when it rains; don't really appreciate the overhead ‘creativity'. Isn't that so, you soaked hordes?