Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

My Kinda Headstand

A man balances bottles on his forehead at the Carter Road promenade in Bandra

A force of nature

Age does not seem to affect ecologist Madhav Gadgil's drive, who turned 81 this week. On his birthday, he announced the release of his book, A Walk Up The Hill: Living With People And Nature, based on his experiences during his research for framing a policy for management of natural resources. Gadgil's Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel report contributed to the Western Ghats being declared an eco-sensitive zone. "I am delighted at the opportunity of communicating my love for mother earth, my faith in Indian democracy and in the good sense of the people," Gadgil says. The book, published by Penguin, released simultaneously in eight languages in August.

Scribe tribe is not happy

When journalists who break stories, become the story, like it happened with the recent web series Scoop, there is bound to be more than usual interest among media professionals. Mumbai's journalists, most of whom have worked with, know of, or are friends with the seniors journalists who have inspired key characters in Hansal Menta's directorial offering, spent the last week dissecting every scene and frame. While the unanimous agreement was that our ilk has been shown in a more authentic light than giggle-worthy efforts of the past (Madhur Bhandarkar's Page 3, no!), they argue that not every journalist is compromised, agenda-chasing and saying cheers after sundown because he managed to run down a woman colleague in the newsroom. Some of the city's crime journalists in particular, say they found the brazen glorification of Zeeshan Ayyub's character, based after a former senior crime journalist-author-editor unwarranted. They had taken umbrage when he, following the acquittal of Jigna Vora (whose life inspired the series' heroine Jagruti Pathak's journey) in 2018 in the J Dey murder case, wrote an article referring to crime reporters as police stenographers. Some hacks say the aggressive press coverage following Vora's arrest should not be viewed as turning against one's own. Our job is to report on the biggest story of the day, and everyone was only doing their job; Jigna would've done the same, some argue. Meanwhile, one journalist posted a long review of the show, listing minute ‘flaws', including that a particular officer was a Deputy Commissioner at the time, and not Additional Commissioner as the series depicts. Mehta had clarified in interviews that the show was based on Vora's book, and that he had chosen to present a dramatised version by taking fictional liberties.
Even so, it has made perfect fodder for a heated discussion over rum and peanuts at the Press Club.

Mallakhamb touches the Himalayas

Nepal's capital Kathmandu witnessed an impressive display of talent and training from Dadar recently. To make things clear, the indigenous sport of mallakhamb made its way to Kathmandu. Coach Uday Deshpande, who teaches the traditional sport at Shivaji Park, held a mallakhamb workshop for participants from different countries for the third South Asian Yoga Sports Championship in Kathmandu, which ended on Saturday. Mallakhamb and yoga are said to be sporty siblings, as the former is described as ‘yoga on a pole or rope'. The Kathmandu workshop came after a mallakhamb workshop at Siem Reap in Cambodia. With its earthy, indigenous roots flying across the globe, mallakhamb makes the world go ga ga!

Ocean queen

Mumbai-based environmental activist Elsie Gabriel has become the recipient of a rare honour. A certified diver, Gabriel is also the founder of Young Environmentalists Programme and the national coordinator of the Oceans Climate Reality Project India. One of her key efforts has been towards spreading awareness on ocean plastics and researching on ocean communities. Last week she was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. The WDHOF, founded in 1999, recognises women divers who have made outstanding contributions to the exploration, understanding, safety and enjoyment of the underwater world. Here's more power to Indian women working towards creating a sustainable blue planet.

Lots of inspiration, but not many runs!

India's Rahul Dravid reaches his double century during Day Four of the fourth and final Test against England at The Oval in London on September 8, 2002. Pic/GETTY IMAGES

While we waited for an Indian centurion in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval, our in-house cricket nut reckoned there was no shortage of inspiration for the current batters to score one at the London venue. Their captain Rohit Sharma carved a three-figure score when India last played a Test at the Surrey ground in 2021. And head coach Rahul Dravid smashed a double century there in that glorious summer in 2002. Dravid also scored 146 as opener in 2011 albeit in vain, as England under Andrew Strauss, claimed a massive win. There were other Indian greats present at The Oval who have Test centuries to their name there - Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble. Kumble got the only century of his decorated career in 2007 while in 1990, Shastri (187) and Kapil (110) took hundreds of Graham Gooch's England attack. The most memorable of Indian three-figure scores at The Oval came from the blade of Gavaskar in 1979. His 221 was a masterly effort as India fell nine short while chasing 438 for victory. Some broad blades that!