Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Wheel power

Team members of Karnataka and Gujarat in action at the Wheelchair Cricket Tournament at MIG Cricket Club ground in Bandra East

A paws-itive space in Malad

Design of the Malad centre by Noorein Kapoor. PIC COURTESY/@yodamumbai

Since 2010, Youth Organization in Defence of Animals (YODA) has been rescuing, treating, rehabilitating and re-homing stray and abandoned animals. While they operate out of centres in Khar, Mumbai, and Haryana, they are set to lend a hand to animals in and around Marve, Malad, soon. They will open a 10,000-sq ft facility in the suburb, in association with the civic body, co-founder and trustee Priya Agarwal Hebbar told this diarist.

"The Malad centre will primarily focus on sterilisation and vaccination, which can help reduce the rate of rabies and the general increase in stray population. Approximately 600 sterilisation and vaccination procedures can be carried out at the centre per month. Apart from this, rescue, ambulance and trauma services will also continue," she revealed. With the stray population on the rise and a spike in the rate of rabies and other concerning issues in the suburb and its surrounding areas like Andheri and Goregaon, animals in Malad, she added, need a centre like this. The facility will be fully functional by April-May. "We also have a separate adoption space, a hydrotherapy pool, and a nice area for people to interact with dogs and cats up for adoption," she said.

Reel learnings

A still from Akhari Hal (right) Nandini Sardesai and Dr Hemlata Bagla

From domestic violence to the lives of drag queens, young filmmakers are training their lens on subjects that matter. Take for instance, Roll. Take. Turn. 2023, a documentary film festival by KC College's mass media department. Mentored by educationist-former CBFC member, professor Nandini Sardesai, students showcased 10 hard-hitting films, with Akhari Hal, on farmer suicides in Aurangabad, emerging the winner. Professor Dr Hemlata Bagla, VC, HSNC University, shared that the fest is a platform to highlight issues of the marginalised. "The chief guest was actor Dalip Tahil. This is an annual feature of the course. It's a practical way for students to get involved, learn about contemporary issues," added Sardesai.

Art for food's sake

Koi by Smita Sahu at Izumi

There's another reason to visit Bandra's sushi haunt Izumi apart from the Japanese fare they offer. It's the only other place in the city where you can appreciate artist Smita Sahu's (inset) work, anytime, as opposed to pieces within private collections and art gallery shows. Recently, the restaurant celebrated her work on its walls on social media. Speaking about the project, Sahu told us, "Izumi's chef Nooresha [Kably] wanted to reflect her time in Japan through art. The photographs she showed me gave me much to draw from. I deal a lot with texture and patterns in my work, so I layered my style on things that are uniquely Japanese to create the pieces."

Get ready to bird in your backyard

Coppersmith Barbet

Wherever you are in Mumbai, the Coppersmith Barbet's call will follow you. When this diarist puts a face to the omnipresent tup-tup call, the disbelieving reactions of friends never fail to amuse. To encourage people to observe bird species in their backyards, Bengaluru-based @knowheretravelco hosts Know Your Bird, a global urban birding challenge till February 19.

Suman Sukumar and Nupur Bala

Founders Nupur Bala and Suman Sukumar shared that birding can be done anywhere, without expensive gear. "This is a citizen science movement where everyone can identify birds around them, not just rare ones. We encourage documenting the observations on the eBird application."