Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

High-pitch arena

The terraces of buildings in Lalbaug become makeshift cricket venues for enthusiasts.

Message in a bottle

The creative showing us that alcohol and driving should never mix

In a world where attention spans are all in a jiffy, it is about making a maximum statement in minimum time. So, at the Bandra East traffic junction, this installation showing drunk driving = crash is particularly powerful. It was propped above a Mumbai traffic police stand and has, we think, even more resonance as Pune's Porsche tragedy takes horrifying twists ‘n' turns every day. It is a stop, stare ‘n' think-before-you-drink moment for pedestrians and drivers accessing the busy space, with a service road too buzzing behind. We look forward to more such creatives, maybe focussing on underage driving too.

Kick off for charity

Footballers at an earlier tournament

Game for some charity? In that case, Ayika Foundation's upcoming tournament in Santacruz could be your gig. The youth-oriented foundation will host the Ayika Cup in an effort to spread awareness and raise funds for climate change and animal welfare. "The tournament aims to combine purpose with fun - climate action with sports," shared co-founder Litisha Bagadia.

Founders Litisha Bagadia and Siya Joshi

The matches, featuring over 12 teams, will begin on June 1, and will collate funds for an animal rescue and welfare centre in Masjid Bunder. "The idea emerged because we wanted the youth to be consciously involved in climate care without it sounding preachy or just another project for school. We wanted to step out of traditional methods. As the founding members of the organisation are all aged between 16 and 19 years, we knew how much we enjoy sports. We had held a short tournament last year, and it proved to be our biggest draw. So, we decided to up the ante," co-founder Siya Joshi remarked.

Last dance in pink

Flamingos at Thane Creek. Pic Courtesy/Nikhil Jani

Over the weekend, bird enthusiasts gathered in large numbers at various wetlands across the city to witness the final wave of pink, until the flamingos return back in November. "While 80 per cent of the birds migrate back to their home countries, the remaining continue to stay in Mumbai," explained Preeti Bhardwaj (inset), from Mumbai Musafir, a community that hosted flamingo boat safaris every weekend.

"On an average, we spot 3,000 to 4,000 flamingos each week at Thane Creek. Although the numbers looked good, the disheartening accident which cost the lives of 39 flamingos should serve as a reminder for us to safeguard them if we want a promising season next year," she told this diarist.

Marching for pride in Vasai-Virar

A moment from the march at Vasai

After their first pride march in Vasai last year, the LGBTQiA+ community will take another step forward with their first Virar pride march on June 8. These marches are the primary objectives for which the Vasai Virar Pride March community was founded, Nakshatra Bagwe, the organiser, told us. "The initiative was launched with the purpose of raising awareness in the Palghar district. The first objective, as always, is visibility for members of the community," he remarked.

Nakshatra Bagwe

The march will be a peaceful walk that will pass through the main stretch alongside Viva College and the Gokul township. "We did recce other routes, but thought this one would help us to engage more people, in particular the youth," Bagwe shared. While the marches will consider the community presence outside the urban metropolis of Mumbai, Bagwe said, "Over time, we hope to organise more marches across talukas and regions in Palghar to enable people's awareness about the community."