Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Kirti Surve Parade

Diehard dog lover

Two girls stop by to pet a sculpture of a dog near Ramnarain Ruia College in Matunga

Painting pals

Participants at the session last month

Artists looking for a change of canvas can head to arts and culture platform 3 Art House's Khar venue this Sunday. A community painting session will witness novices and experts paint murals and motifs on doors, walls, and shelves at the space. "We hosted a wall painting session last month to beautify the area around our studio which looked quite dull. With the monsoon already upon us, painting outside is difficult. We thought it would be fun to move things indoors, give a new lease of life to our interiors, and make new friends along the way," revealed Jasmeet Kaur, founder. The three-hour-long session will welcome volunteers with no prior experience or artistic flair with open arms, she told this diarist.

Bieber's Bambaiyya lessons

The video shows Justin Bieber indulging in street food. PICS COURTESY/INSTAGRAM

City-based content creator and musician Shayan Roy (inset) gave Beliebers a trippy surprise yesterday with a music video titled ‘If Justin Bieber Was From Mumbai'. Roy's comic spin to Bieber's single, Sorry, talks about throwing caution to the wind and eating out in the streets of Mumbai in the monsoon; like a true Mumbaikar. "You know I try but I don't do too well without pav bhaji," Roy sings in one of the verses.

"I thought of the hook line of the song and worked backwards to build the song around it. It took me less than 15 minutes to write it down and a day to produce the song. I try not to take myself too seriously and let my thoughts flow," Roy shared over a call. The song concludes with "Eating out has ravaged my body, is it too late for nimbu paani now?" - lines that Roy admits draw inspiration from experiences he'd rather not revisit.

Vasai's floral spin on going green

A unique idea is blooming in Dhyas Foundation, a Vasai-based environmental organisation focussed on recycling and reusing. Discarded flowers from temples and churches across Vasai and Virar are being dried, powdered, and recycled into incense sticks at the organisation's in-house facility. "It's a win-win for everyone. The flowers receive a dignified second life and it helps curb waste generation. We urge Vasai-Virar residents to join this movement," shared Kirti Shende, its founder. Another initiative by the foundation called Cutlery Bank allows large groups to rent cutlery for parties instead of opting for paper or plastic cutlery. Those interested, can log on to @dhyasfoundation.vasai.

Crusading for a safer forest

Participants prepare to set out on the snare hunting trail in SGNP

If you thought the animals of the jungle were the only ones wary of traps, think again. The naturalists of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) conducted a training exercise yesterday to look for makeshift snares used to trap small animals. "These snares are usually made of clutch wires from bikes. Every year, we set out with volunteers on an anti-snare camp to learn about, find and disengage them. We will have two more sessions this month," shared Shubham Hadkar, nature education and extension officer, SGNP.

Change of scenery

Pooja Vedvikhyat at the venue

This July, city-based acting coach and National School of Drama Delhi alumna Pooja Vedvikhyat will take her love for acting to the foothills of the Bahrot hills in Dahanu. An actors' retreat at Jungle Farm, a wellness space in the Barda Forest Range, will give actors the chance to hone their skills and reflect on their art. "An actor never stops learning. Making your way into the wilderness, away from the city, helps you cut the noise and tap into your psyche as an actor. The goal is to provide actors a space conducive to this. You can't have that in the city; there are a hundred distractions around you all the time," Vedvikhyat elaborated. Actors keen to sign up for this workshop with a difference that begins on July 6 can reach out to 9422978173 for queries.