Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

Warning signs

Workers dismantle a large hoarding near Kalanagar in Bandra.

You vroom, girl

A moment from a biking session

For Bhavika Mistry (inset), founder of Enfield Wali, it was the need to drive a change that led her to set up biking classes for women in 2023. A resident of Koparkhairane, Mistry shared, "People often think of the Royal Enfield as a bike for strong, muscular men. It is a myth that women cannot handle it, and it is almost taboo for them to do so. I wanted to show it is not." With a session scheduled at Mulund this weekend, Mistry pointed out, "It is a myth that you need previous biking experience to be able to handle heavy bikes. It is a matter of balance. If you have ridden a cycle or a scooter, it is just as simple to handle an Enfield," she remarked. The venture is also planning their first session in Pune on May 25.

Kathak in Kano

Swapnil Bhise (left) and Aditi Bhagwat at a performance

Music and dance, they say unites us all. For Aditi Bhagwat, her recent trip to Nigeria was proof. The kathak exponent travelled to the state of Kano in Nigeria for a performance that showcased the art form and Indian culture. "The performance was on May 11; I had to incorporate a number of contemporary themes in the dance. Since it was a cosmopolitan audience made up of Lebanese, Indians, Nigerians and citizens from other nations, I had to find a way to inculcate elements that convey aspects of Indian culture," Bhagwat recalled. One of the ideas was to utilise the common kathak mode of ginti ki tihai, a repetition of numerical count of steps, made famous by the late Pandit Birju Maharaj. "My tabla player, Swapnil Bhise, and I decided to incorporate numbers in the Hausa dialect of Kano, just to make it interactive," she shared. Easier said than done; Bhagwat admitted the syllables did not naturally fit into the style. "The numbers are Daya [1], Biyu [2], Uku [3], Uduu [4] and Biyar [5]. If you notice, they don't follow the same rhythm as the Hindi numbers. But we got the audience to learn the tihai and sing along. The next day, we also made a short video with the locals which was fun," the dancer explained.

Can't find a shadow

The No Shadow show at Nehru Science Centre on Wednesday

The zero was hero on Wednesday (May 15), as Mumbai's Nehru Science Centre (NSC) at Worli celebrated Zero Shadow Day. This intriguing-sounding event featured a popular science lecture on Zero Shadow Day awareness by Umesh Kumar Rustagi, director, NSC. Participants observed zero shadow of the object kept under the sun. They also enjoyed observing the sunspots through telescopes, and attended a Science on a Sphere show, where they learned about the sun and the solar system. Zero Shadow Day is an astronomical event that occurs twice a year in tropical regions when the sun is directly overhead at noon. During this phenomenon, vertical objects cast no shadow as the sun's rays align perfectly with them. It only happens between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. In Mumbai, Zero Shadow Day typically occurs around May and July, the Centre shared.

Look ma! I can spot stars

Children try the VR equipment at an earlier edition of the fair

The stars will descend on the campus of Orchids: The International School in Thane today. As part of their three-day Astro fair-Go Cosmo, the school will host a series of events from virtual reality experiences, workshops on astronomy and gravitational gyms among other experiences. "The events are open to everyone; from nursery-going kids, to adults," shared Sangita Gajbhare (below), principal of the school. She added that the fair is part of the school's continued efforts to raise awareness about the study of the stars. "We often hold space camps for children, and also educate them to explore the magic and beauty of space. We want them to show their creativity in space science," she signed off.