Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Jim Sarbh

Wild child
It's hard not to like Jim Sarbh; what with his riveting on-screen and on-stage presence, his love for the arts, and an amazing sense of humour. And now we have one more reason to gush over him.

The actor recently spent almost a week volunteering with the elephants and sloth bears residing at the rescue and rehabilitation centres run by Wildlife SOS in Mathura and Agra. While there, Sarbh cleaned the bear enclosures, built structural enrichments, chopped fruits for the animals, assisted the staff in feeding and bathing the elephants, and even went for evening walks with the resident pachyderms.

Eat street UK
The head chef at London Taxi is on a unique journey. As the Lower Parel restobar gears up for its first anniversary celebrations, Chef Nagraj Bhat is touring Great Britain where he has reconnected with his mentor and Michelin star chef Daniel Woodhouse.

Chef Nagraj Bhat

The aim is to subsume the culinary aesthete in the country and design a new menu that will imbibe progressive cuisine. "The food scene in London is incredible. There are small pockets cooking delicious food here. The idea is to translate the food from these communities onto our menu and atune it to the Indian palate," Bhat told this diarist.

Going back to classical roots
Come Together is a series hosted by Lower Parel eatery and watering hole, Café Zoe where three musicians play classical music in a casual set-up. The idea is to acquaint young listeners with the genre of music without having to resort to fusion.

For its second edition, organisers have roped in violinist Manas Kumar, flutist Ashwin Srinivasan, and Swapnil Bhise on the tabla who will perform classical Hindustani tracks. We think it might just be a great way to get back to our roots.

Shop for a cause
A passion project started by two city-based animal lovers called Shop with Heart is organising a curated fashion sale that will feature clothing and accessories from popular high-end brands and from the Bollywood film Race.

Varsha Taurani

Proceeds will be donated to Humane Society International India to help rehabilitate the animals affected by the Kerala floods. "Animals are not able to voice their pain. So we want to be their voice," said Varsha Taurani, co-founder of the initiative.

Dadar beach gets a clean sweep
On April 1, Dadar resident Jay Shringapure waded through a sea of plastic on a mission to get rid of it. Eighteen months since, one can finally spot the sand on the shore of Dadar Beach. Although this was single-handedly achieved by Shringapure, he received support from fellow residents as well as the corporate sector.

"I started this alone and a friend asked me to post images on Facebook and Instagram. But after the Versova beach clean-up, our initiative has only gotten bigger. With Dadar being a central point, even corporates find it easier to come here," Shringapure said.

The future is female

Vipul Shah (left) and Arjun Kapoor accept defeat before Pareeniti Chopra as they fool around at an event on Tuesday in Juhu. Pic/Sameer Markande

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates