Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

Babies' day out

A woman carrying her child walks past a man selling posters of babies outside Dadar station

Let's talk business

Pooja Gupta, a participant, demonstrates her beauty and wellness kit

With a twist on the popular television series Shark Tank, Salaam Bombay Foundation and NMIMS School of Business Management (SBM) have spent the last year simplifying business jargon and entrepreneurship for teenagers from municipal schools through their initiative Dolphin Tanki. "Entrepreneurship exists beyond the top B-schools; in the inconspicuous bylanes of the city.

Mentors guide the young innovators

There are some brilliant students in these areas. The aim is to bring the right guidance to them," Gaurav Arora, senior vice-president, skills and sports, Salaam Bombay, told this diarist. Next weekend will witness the top 28 innovators mentored by MBA students from SBM, with their disruptive ideas across sectors like mass media, wellness, technology, and beauty, battle it out to land the best deal in the third edition of the entrepreneurial programme.

Hei Mumbai!

Smorrebrod, a Scandinavian open sandwich

For those who have good taste in films, and better taste in world cuisine, 3 Art House and short film club Shamiana organised a Scandinavian film and culinary showcase last Saturday. "We had a collection of Scandinavian classics ready to be screened, and wanted to pair it with a complementary culinary experience," an organising member told us, adding that the fare was put together by trusted home chefs from the city.

Cosplay before the big gig

A volunteer demonstrates a cosplay prop

Preparations for the annual gathering of the city's comic book fans next month, Comic Con Mumbai, kicked off last weekend with a cosplay workshop hosted by Medha Shrivastava, Jeet Molankar and Saurabh Singh Rawat. Comic Con India founder, Jatin Varma explained, "This is our annual tradition; the aim is to help fans that may be interested in cosplaying for the first time to enter the fold. The sessions attract those who wish to understand how pro-cosplayers work on their costumes." Describing it as a community, Varma shared, "It is also a space for Mumbai's cosplayers to connect with each other."

Women on top

The group performs at an event in Mumbai last month

For city-based hip-hop group Wild Wild Women, staying on top of their game doesn't end with dominating local circuits. The collective was invited to the qualifiers of the ongoing Red Bull Dance Your Style, an international dance competition on Saturday. Ahead of the competition's first-ever pit-stop in Mumbai, Pratika Prabhune, founding member, shared, "It's great to see India getting its due recognition. We will be performing our single, Gameflip. It speaks about women flipping the game in hip-hop."

Painting better futures

A wall painted by the foundation in Kalamboli (right) Deepak Vishwakarma paints the interiors of the new space

Create Together, a woman and child empowerment organisation, are aware of the importance of a conducive workspace. Deepak Vishwakarma (right), its founder is taking this facility to grassroots workers hailing from Kalamboli village near Navi Mumbai. Leading up to the inauguration of a new 550 sq ft space on March 10, Vishwakarma is calling for artists to visit the site and help beautify the space with their artistic touches. "We have been beautifying schools since 2017 but I recently realised that we must also help women and women-led businesses. I have been upcycling bags with a team of women from the village under our initiative Pari Hoon Main for five years now. Finally, they will have an office to work out of," he shared with this diarist over a call from Kalamboli.