Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Atul Kamble

Mumbai's real mardanis
A lady police personnel gives an interview for the Mumbai Police Twitter handle at Carter Road as part of an initiative to felicitate the city's policewomen ahead of Women's Day.

SRK's female fans and their many struggles

Next year will mark 30 years since Shah Rukh Khan made his foray into the Hindi film industry. Close on the heels of the milestone, a New Delhi-based economist Shrayana Bhattacharya will be releasing Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh (HarperCollins India), which is about the actor, and yet not. Bhattacharya will use the Shah Rukh Khan fandom to explore the struggles of Indian women. The stories will illustrate how the Bollywood superstar's films, songs, interviews and characters - the stalkers and the lovers alike - spurred a feminine conversation on inequality within families, workplaces and modern romances. "Since 2006, I've met and interviewed working women... This introduced me to Shah Rukh fangirls from diverse communities and taught me more about women's experiences of the economy," shares the author.

To the one who got away

After launching HealthifyMe, a health and fitness app, its founder and CEO Tushar Vashisht will foray into music with a Hindi single, titled Kahaani. The song, which launches today, will mark the beginning of a string of releases set for this year. Kahani is jointly composed, produced and arranged by Vashist, and guitarist and bassist Raghu Ramasubramanian. "Kahani is part of an EP that I'm working on. The song is about love lost and found. It's about the one who got away and the one who didn't. In the short life we have, each one of us has a story to tell - all of us have a tryst with love - some stay unrequited, while others get lucky. This song is about that story of love, nostalgia, and hope.

Raise a toast to Nari Contractor today

Former cricketer Nari Contractor at his Cusrow Baug residence in Colaba. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Nari Contractor turns 87 today. And, although, India's oldest living Mumbai-based Test captain won't encourage any fuss over his birthday, he needs to be celebrated. His contribution to Indian cricket goes beyond the grit and determination he exhibited as a batsman. By the way, when he carried on batting despite breaking two ribs in the Lord's Test of 1959, Keith Miller, the legendary Australian cricketer wrote that he deserved the Victoria Cross for his bravery against pacers Fred Trueman and Brian Statham. Contractor, it shouldn't be forgotten, captained India to its first-ever series win - against Ted Dexter's MCC - in 1961-62. A little over 30 years later, he got involved in a fast bowlers scheme in Mumbai followed by the BCCI's talent spotting programme. Live it up, Nari.

Teen helps tennis ball boys

Aditya Iyer, a Class 10 student from Dhirubhai Ambani International School is organising a tennis tournament for ball boys at Tuff Tennis Academy, Juhu, on today, under the aegis of Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association. Iyer has been wanting to provide a platform for ball boys, who come from economically challenged backgrounds, and hopes to support their families. With a determination to make a change, within 14 days, he raised Rs 20,000 as prize money for the participants. Iyer tells us, "I have been playing tennis since I was seven years old and it has been an integral part of my growing years. One of the important but over-looked part of the tennis coaching ecosystem are these ball boys. They do all the sundry work on courts so that the matches and practice sessions are smooth for the players. I discussed this with my parents and thought of initiating something small and immediate to bring back some enthusiasm to motivate them and to take the sport more seriously to improve their livelihoods."Aditya has been raising money on the crowdfunding website Impact Guru.

Building period positive homes

Navya Naveli Nanda is setting millennial goals. Project Naveli, started by her to work in the sphere of women empowerment and gender inclusion, has joined hands with Pune-based NGO Mukul Madhav Foundation for a great cause. The two organisations will be constructing safer resting homes for menstruating women in Gadchiroli. This unique campaign, helmed by Schbang for Good, also aims to install sewing kits in these homes so these tribal women can make eco-friendly sanitary towels. Speaking to this diarist, Nanda says, "For far too long, women from the Gond tribe of Gadchiroli have been at the receiving end of discrimination, abandonment and pain. These period huts not only threaten their physical well-being, but also their safety and dignity. As we celebrate Women's Day in 2021, we can't leave behind these women, fighting for the basics. Therefore, we are coming together with Mukul Madhav Foundation to build period positive homes, which would replace what is locally called a Goakar."