Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

Not tyred of playing
A group of boys have fun at Aarey Milk Colony on Monday.

Time for a change

Representation pic

The pandemic has been rough for most working professionals. But as vaccine development and production has accelerated, it's got people thinking about their career growth. In a recent survey, an employment portal has revealed that more than three in four professionals will consider changing jobs or look out for a new role in the next 12 months. The survey also highlighted the top 15 career trends, with freelance content taking the cake. Despite Indians worrying about too many recruitment stages (38 per cent) and extensive documentation (32 per cent), they remain resilient; 64 per cent state that they are confident about their future progress while two in five people view networking events and online learning as being key to getting a job this year. Well, we hope these plans materialise.

Not just another manic Monday

A student with a ‘speed v/s vision' placard

It may have seemed like yet another manic Monday morning at Prabhadevi, but there was a slight twist in that busy tale. A group of RA Podar college students with neon-green reflective jackets were spotted standing at the corner of Sayani Road, near the under-construction Prabhadevi Metro Station. They were holding placards reminding drivers and riders that roads are not Formula One tracks.

The awareness drive takes place with social distancing

Some of the messages from the banners read: ‘As your speed increases, your vision decreases' and ‘a five per cent cut in average speed can result in a 30 per cent reduction in the number of fatal crashes'. Rohit Dalvi, executive community impact department of the non-profit United Way Mumbai, under whose aegis this Slow Down Awareness Drive is taking place, told this diarist, "We have introduced this initiative at Girgaum-Chowpatty, Haji Ali and are now at Prabhadevi, as this is a high-traffic, accident-prone spot." Masked youngsters, all distanced and disciplined showed there can be powerful statements even in silence.

Dining with the stars

Mizu, an Asian eatery in Bandra, seems to have found a high-profile celebrity as a fan, considering that actor Ranveer Singh dropped in there twice over the course of one week recently. He had wife Deepika Padukone for company the first time around, and a bunch of his male friends accompanied him on the second visit. Co-owner Lakhan Jethani shared that he had the seafood items on the menu, including hamachi smoked ponzu and torched salmon nigiri, apart from tucking into chicken baos and gyozas. "We left him a corner to eat the food, since he had come over just for the meal," Jethani told this diarist. Well, from the looks of it, it's a meal that he seems to have thoroughly enjoyed.

Ghatam goodness

A still from the online performance featuring Sukanya Ramgopal and her students

Seeing an ensemble of ghatam artistes perform is a rare sight. But virtuoso Sukanya Ramgopal and five of her students will come together for an online fundraiser in support of the non-profit India Foundation for the Arts. About the show being streamed between February 12 and 14, Menaka Rodriguez, head of resource mobilisation and outreach said, "It's an exclusive recording and the funds go towards supporting arts projects." Head to indiaifa.org to tune in.

Detailing a decade

To celebrate 10 years of designing with a focus on hand embroidery and mirror work, Mumbai designer Arpita Mehta has chosen an unlikely medium - a coffee table book with a cover jacket that is in tune with her signature technique. The 250-pager, titled The Mirror, has been written by Kinjal Vora and assembled by graphic designer Tarana Sheth Sabharwal. It includes photographs and anecdotes featuring celebrities including Sonam Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Ananya Panday and Kiara Advani who have donned her creations. Mehta said that the book "was the perfect opportunity to stop and reflect. It has brought all our beautiful campaigns and hard work back to life."