Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Suresh Karkera

So much to catch up on

The frame seems to convey this as Helen and Waheeda Rehman chat with each other while Asha Parekh is ready for the shutterbugs at a photo exhibition that the three friends attended at a gallery in Byculla. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Mind on mangroves

After conducting nature-themed storytelling workshops across festivals this year, city-based children's author Katie Bagli has just released a new book on Mumbai's invaluable mangroves. It has been published by Godrej and Boyce and is meant for eight to 12-year-olds, available to read online for free.

Titled Many Secrets of Mangroves, it features illustrations by Nilakshi Bandodkar. It tells the story of a father and his two children who get lost in a stormy sea and find themselves on an island with alien trees (the mangroves).

An islander, Baua, offers them refuge in his home and together, they explore the mangroves and learn about their secrets. Speaking about her own discoveries in the process, Bagli told this diarist, "I took a walk among the mangroves at Vikhroli, and learnt of several facts such as mangroves can absorb far more carbon dioxide than land plants, and also about the fauna that make their homes in this habitat such as the jackal, glossy marsh snake, and the nocturnal mud lobsters that make their homes in mounds of mud with labyrinths inside."

A new tune for U2

We are only a week away from U2's performance in the city and to mark this, a streaming platform's in-house label has invited Indian artistes to reinterpret some of the band's most popular numbers.

This comes shortly after the launch of Ahimsa, by U2 and AR Rahman. A quintessentially Indian touch seems common with these tracks. So, while OX7GEN re-imagines the single, You're the best thing about me with their drum and bass beat, Lost stories does an EDM version of Love is bigger than anything in it's way.

Amaal Mallik has reproduced Beautiful day in Hindi and Karsh Kale picked Pride for his progressive version of it. "I remember the first time I saw the world premiere of the video for Pride in 1984 on MTV. I was instantly taken by the spirit of the song, and that spirit has stayed with me to this day. It was an honour to get a chance to reinterpret this revolutionary song for one of the greatest bands in the world," he told this diarist about his choice.

Deco dekho

British heritage consultant Jon Wright seems to have had a splendid time last week while walking through SoBo's architecturally picturesque streets, as is evident from his comment on Art Deco Mumbai's latest post. The city-based trust has been doing stellar work in documenting the Mumbai's Art Deco structures and sites. Recently, they helmed a tour for members of the Twentieth Century Society (C20), UK, guided by conservation architect, Vikas Dilawari.

Established in 1979, C20 seeks to safeguard the heritage of architecture and design in Great Britain and naturally, a trip to landmark locations along Marine Drive must have been enjoyable for them. "Absolutely wonderful tour from Art Deco Mumbai and from Vikas. Everybody had a fantastic time," Wright wrote, confirming our guess.

How to save an onion

The soaring price of onions seems to be restoring faith in humanity. Or at least that's what it seemed like when this diarist was walking down a busy street in Borivali over the weekend. A man was spotted wheeling a sack full of onions on his bicycle carrier. All of a sudden, they fell out of the sack. The world came to a stop. Cars and pedestrians on the busy location watched aghast as the expensive (R200 per kilo) veggies rolled over the road.

As the cycle rider halted to pick up his precious possession, observers lent him a hand. It was only after all the onions were back in the sack that the world went back to its business. But there were still a few who seemed to sigh about the plight of one onion that could not be saved.

A stamp under the hammer

Stamps have always been fascinating because, in a way, they preserve history. And in a day and age when most people don't use postal mail, these stamps have become more of a collector's item. One such 1854-issue from India sporting the famous four annas with an inverted head, estimated between £80,000 to £100,000, was sold for £82,000 in the UK recently.

One of most celebrated and iconic stamps of the 19th century, there had been no mention of it until 1874, when an example was exhibited at the Royal Philatelic Society. Since then, around 28 samples have been discovered, twenty-five being cut to the design of the stamp. The stamp will also be available for viewing at INPEX 2019, the PCI National Stamp Show and Philatelic Exhibition at the World Trade Centre in Cuffe Parade this month on.

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