The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Satej Shinde
Spoilt for choice
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Leading up to Ganeshotsav, shoppers browse through vibrant torans at a streetside shop on SV Road in Borivali.
That’s the Gen-Z way!
Bhagyashree Limaye poses with a tiger at the zoo. PIC COURTESY/INSTAGRAM
Flipper the gleeful Humboldt penguin, and Anarkali the sexagenarian elephant might not be enough to impress the Gen-Zers today. Taking note, The Mumbai Zoo is now leaving it up to the professionals to get the job done. Actor and content creator Bhagyashree Limaye, was recently invited by Dr Abhishek Satam (inset), zoo biologist, Mumbai Zoo, to experience a day at the zoo. “We have tigers, gharials, penguins, and various species of birds at the zoo. Sadly, not many people know about this natural paradise in the city’s backyard. Internet personalities like Limaye know how to present our efforts in a way that draws younger audiences in. We’re looking forward to seeing young enthusiasts walk in through our doors soon,” Satam shared.
Lights, camera, roll
Harkat Studios’ 16mm Film Festival, an analogue film festival that explores celluloid films as a medium, is set to return on December 6. As the platform announces its dates, co-founder Karan Talwar informed this diarist that entries will be accepted till November 15. “This year, we are expanding on the idea of film as a medium. The films submitted don’t necessarily have to be motion pictures. They can be shown in various formats that follow all sorts of photochemical mediums,” Talwar explained. “This year, for example, the festival will be attended by Barcelona-based artiste, Luis Macias. He uses still pictures to showcase live films in motion,” he revealed.
Letters for the Velankanni feast
Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health. PIC COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
As Mumbai’s Mobai Gaothan Panchayat (MGP) celebrates Velankanni Mauli Sann, the East Indian community takes this annual festival as an opportunity to shed light on East Indian words, and their meanings on social media platforms. “Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni (Vailankanni) is one of the most important religious sites for Christians from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Lakhs visit Velankanni [in Tamil Nadu] during the annual festival from August 30 to September 8,” shared Sherline Barretto (inset), chief coordinator, MGP. “There are 10 days in total including the feast on September 8, which match the number for letters in the word, Velankanni. So, we picked an East Indian word which starts with each of these letters to give it a spiritual touch for reflection,” she added. For instance, V for varnuya, which means praise, and A for aghmit, which means holy.
Finnish lines in Belapur
Aamu Pulkkinen performs her song at the Belapur café
Spectators at a weekly open mic at Belapur’s Sailors’ Café were in for a Scandinavian surprise on Monday. Aamu Pulkkinen, a Finnish musician from Helsinki, dropped by to present her self-composed songs at the cosy library-café. “Pulkkinen told us that she had a few hours to kill in Mumbai before she headed back home, and was looking for open-mics in the city online, which finally led her to us,” shared Richard Jacob, founder. The artiste presented an original Finnish song about heartbreak to open her set. While we’re sure the emotion struck a chord with the audience either way, Pulkkinen obliged the audiences with an English translation soon after. “The goal of our open mics is to promote cross-cultural exchanges. But we never imagined it could’ve happened at this scale,” Jacob laughed. To watch the performance, head to @sailorscafebelapur.
Coming together for the cats
A cat scours a market in Chembur for food (right) strays are ethically trapped to be neutered
While this diarist will never be one to complain about a surplus of cats in the city, rescuers Mohona Chatterjee (inset) and Ishneet Ahluwalia share a pressing concern. Through their new initiative, Fixing Felines of Mumbai, the duo will collaborate with NGOs and housing societies to ethically neuter stray cats in the city.
“A sharp rise in the cat population can lead to snowballing effects like inadequate resources to sustain life and frequent brawls between groups. A controlled population translates to better quality of life for the cats as well as residents of the neighbourhood,” they revealed. The Chembur-based duo is currently looking for organisations and volunteers to help them in the Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) methodology. Those keen to join the efforts can reach out to @fixingfelinesofmumbai.
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