The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Atul Kamble
Four is a crowd
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A family flouts traffic rules at Shivaji Park in Dadar, with a child crouching on the scooter’s deck.
A step towards happier and healthier strays
The drive will offer vaccination options for dogs and cats
Considering the high cost of vaccines, which limits their accessibility for the city’s strays, Project Meher, a Thane-based NGO, is conducting a vaccination drive. Through it, they are offering deworming and basic vaccines (including the seven-in-one canigen for dogs and three-in-one feligen for cats) for little to no cost. “Many dogs in the city are suffering from canine parvovirus and even succumbing to it. Our goal is to help improve these dogs’ health. We will be coordinating with feeders in various parts of the city and advising them about the correct method to bring these dogs and cats for vaccination, so that the animals experience the least amount of stress. We also have limited facilities for after-vaccine care,” explained Vineeta Kangutkar, who is coordinating the drive. The drive will be conducted across Powai, Andheri, and Bandra on January 14 and 15. Call them at 8369271469 for more details.
Covering a century
Part of the Mumbai GPO cover for the CSMVS centenary
This week marked a marquee moment for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as The Prince of Wales Museum. The city institution celebrated its 100-year anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion, the General Post Office of Mumbai created a cover that it will send to other post office headquarters across the country, to intimate them about the momentous date, 10.01. 2022. “It’s a commemorative document. It’s essentially a cover that notes down historic moments in history, which remains on the archives of the museum, too. It’s a collectible item for us that we can add to our own records,” said Renuka Muthuswami, lecturer at CSMVS.
Questions about Mumbai
How well do you know Mumbai? If you feel that you have your finger on the pulse of this historic city, and you are a college student, apply for a quiz that the Mumbai Research Centre (MRC), part of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai (in pic), is organising on the occasion of Republic Day on January 26. The preliminary round for it will be held a day before. “The quiz is open to kids from all across India, and the finale will have six lone-wolf participants,” shared MRC member Raamesh Gowri Raghavan. He clarified that it’s not a team quiz, and that 80 people have already registered for the prelims. So, if you feel like a worthy ‘lone wolf’ with adequate knowledge of the city we love, visit @asiaticsocietymumbai on Instagram to find out more.
Notes on Nissim
January 9 is an important date for keen followers of post-colonial literature in India. It was on the date, 18 years ago, when the country bid adieu to one of its most famous bards, Nissim Ezekiel. Recalling her father’s iconic poetry, his daughter Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca posted a few lines on social medial from one of his poems, At 62. Within my peace and poetry, the world of suffering is not explained away, though some of it has its own validity. I want my hands to learn how to heal myself and others, before I hear my last song. Recently, this diarist had reposted a link to a documentary on the now-shuttered Café Samovar, only to learn from Kavita that Ezekiel at one time wrote an art column for an English broadsheet and the charming space was one of his favourite addas. Safe to say that Mumbai is poorer without Ezekiel and Samovar.
Reel call from LA
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is one of the most popular platforms for innovative independent Indian cinema. Ahead of its programme in April 2022, IFFLA is accepting submissions for features and shorts for filmmakers from India or those of Indian descent, as well as films by international filmmakers with an Indian focus. Log on to filmfreeway.com/iffla
to apply by January 18.