Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Playing with fire

A vegetable vendor cleans a heap of green chillies in style at Market Road in Borivali West.

Spotlight on our green lungs

Boas Schwarz documents top a Warli artist

After documenting the saiga antelopes of Kazakhstan and the reindeers of North Siberia, celebrated German filmmaker Boas Schwarz's gaze has now fallen on the green lungs of Mumbai. Oases - Mumbai's Wild Heart, a new feature documentary will offer viewers around the world a peek into the diverse flora and fauna at Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The film also explores the urban wildlife rescue efforts in and around the park, the co-ordinator for the project revealed. Pawan Sharma, wildlife warden, Maharashtra Forest Department, shared, "The team was surprised to see how the Government, NGOs, and even common citizens join forces to rescue wild animals all across the city. We gave the filmmaker a tour of the park and introduced him to the network of volunteers that make this mammoth task possible."

A rescued crocodile

Music-call on campus

A duo performs at the 2023 edition

Come Saturday, and students at St Xavier's College will welcome the new academic year on a musical note. The college's 1973-established student-run Indian Music Group (IMG) is all set to host its annual student-artiste concert, Aaroh. "We had 75 applicants this year. After a vigorous selection round, 19 students will perform at the concert," shared Ishwarie Karanjikar, an executive for IMG. Adding that the concert is open for all and simply requires an RSVP, Karanjikar revealed that there is a brilliant line-up of performances to look forward to. "These will include dance performances like Kathak, Odissi and Bharatanatyam, among others. Another interesting performance is a jugalbandi of tabla and beatboxing," she revealed.

Get creative on the clock

If you thought braving through the July rains in the city was an ordeal, wait till you hear what Ritam Bhatnagar, founder of India Film Project, has to say. "Every weekend in August will be a new challenge," he shared, referring to the 50-hour writing, performing arts, and design challenge series that kicks off this weekend. "We will declare the theme at the beginning of the challenge and participants will have 50 hours to conceptualise, produce, and submit their entries," he explained, adding that creative minds from more than 42 countries will participate in the challenge this year. Those with a knack for chasing deadlines can log on to @ifp.festival.

Dosti in Pune

A participant poses with his block printed tote bag at a Mumbai session

This International Friendship Day, city-based senior citizen companionship programme Goodfellows is kindling a new friendship across the Sahyadris. A Pune chapter of the community will kick off programming with its inaugural meet-up on Saturday in Pune's Sangamwadi. "We have been running pilot tests to gauge how the city's senior citizens like to spend time. We noticed how the old-timers in Pune love to be independent and spend time on their own sometimes. Our format, however, remains the same. We will organise events and workshops where each senior citizen will have a goodfellow [volunteer] to accompany them," revealed Niki Thakur, co-founder. Those interested, can head to @goodfellowsindia for details.

All the way to Seoul

The invitation is placed at the Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul; (right) Shital Sikarwar

Trust a Mumbaikar to go the extra mile to extend a warm invitation. Ahead of the K-Town Korean Festival in Mumbai later this year, an invitation in the form of a standee has made its way across seas to Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. "This is your special secret invite… where culture meets community," the poster reads. "We were in Seoul to finalise a few contracts with performing artistes, and we took the opportunity to place our invitation at the square," Shital Sikarwar (inset), organiser, revealed. While the dates for fest are still being finalised, Sikarwar assured us it will be worth the wait, with a star-studded roster of A-list Korean artistes and new experience zones for music, food, and art.