Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Sameer Markande

Wheels in tandem

A cyclist goes around the bicycle sculpture outside Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation's head office at CBD Belapur

Cool shaadi with blingy sneakers

Wedding sneakers by @chaljooti

The wedding season is here and while all of us want to look like a million bucks as we strut our stuff, we clearly don't want to compromise on comfort. The dulhan too doesn't want to miss dancing away into the night for her high heels. Keeping track of popular sentiments and the wedding style quotient, @localsamosa on Instagram has curated a list of sites that make bridal sneakers. These sneakers look enticing and are comfy, too. But what prompted Abhishansa Mathur, founder of the handle, to come up with the list? She feels sneakers are far more comfortable on a busy day. "With a bit of bling, these win our hearts, and the trend is here to stay," Mathur added. Some of the handles that are there on her list are @tiesta.shoes, @the sareesneakers and @chaljooti, among others.

Shine a light on heritage

The restored lamps at Seksaria building on Marine Drive. Pic/Art Deco Mumbai

It is a big win for local culture and architecture when an iconic building that is part of the city's Art Deco heritage gets restored. Atul Kumar, founder, Art Deco Mumbai recently posted on Instagram about the restoration of the bespoke lamps at the Seksaria building's entrance. When this diarist reached out to Kumar, he said, "The Seksarias are the fourth-generation owners of the building on Marine Drive. Despite the building being a rented-out property, the owners have maintained it beautifully. They have followed the simple motto of restore and repair, instead of going for development or replacement. They have stuck with maintaining what the building has. The lamps on the compound wall had disintegrated over time, but the owner took great care to get exact replicas of the predecessors. The lamps have the same dimensions." Kumar further explained that restoration is a key part of preserving heritage architecture and it doesn't require any fancy imagination or thought. The process of conserving, he reminded us, builds a sense of nurturing the historicity of the precinct.

Challenge with a heart

Runners from Trailwalker Challenge 2021

Oxfam India has come up with the first edition of its annual Virtual Trailwalker Challenge that aims to fight off gender discrimination and inequalities. The initiative comes in light of National Girl Child Day celebrated on January 24. Participants are allowed to walk the distance of their choice - 100km, 50km or 25km over a span of 10 days. Amitabh Behar, CEO of the confederation, told us, "Reports in the last two years have shown a steep increase in domestic violence, disruption in education, loss of jobs, child early and forced marriage, cyber violence, and trafficking of women and girls. Oxfam India has been working throughout the pandemic to repair some of these fault lines via education and livelihood missions. The annual Virtual Trailwalker Challenge has been invaluable in mobilising resources and garnering support for them." Keen to make a chance? Register at virtualtrailwalker.oxfamindia.org. The walk will be hosted over two slots; between February 18 and 27, and March 4 and 13.

All you need is some self-love

This diarist is a staunch believer of self-care, and so, an event around self-love in a city bookstore got her excited. Reetu Walia, founder of Mumbai-based school, The School of Zero and a self-love coach is organising a workshop on February 13 to empower the youth in opting for a healthy and self-loving lifestyle. The day-long event that'll be hosted at Bandra's Title Waves will include several talks and activities. Walia shared, "I encourage everyone to attend the Self-Love Festival so that they can understand the real meaning of the concept; it is way beyond a hashtag on social media. It is a journey within. Through self-love, one can have a mindful relationship with oneself."