Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

Stretch for Shanti

Gujarati mid-day reporter Ruchita Shah (not in frame) guides her fellow passengers during a yoga session in the ladies' coach of a local train, on International Women's Day. Actor Suchita Trivedi (in white) joined the women to support the initiative titled ‘Ab se hoga, train main yoga'.

No smoke, all fire

Nitisha Agarwal; (right) Ayaana Chhabra making the stoves

Deonar-based Smokeless Cookstove Foundation (SCF) is a non-profit focused on curbing the problem of household air pollution. One of their goals is to train rural communities to make virtually zero-cost, efficient and improved cookstoves that have a considerably reduced smoke output. For their latest outreach drive, they're being joined by Ayaana Chhabra, a 12-year-old chef who has made mud-based smokeless chulhas at her own café at Hide-out Farm in Palghar, following the foundation's methodology. She will be travelling with the SCF team to Uttarakhand, where they will equip community trainers to create their own smokeless stoves. "The stoves use clean combustion technology to eliminate smoke. They are made out of materials you can find in your backyard and use firewood for fuel. The stoves help reduce firewood dependency and the time spent on collecting firewood - the requirement for firewood reduces by 50 per cent," shared Nitisha Agarwal, its founder and director.

Keep it fresh

SoBo will soon get a new eatery with a charming ambience. Nestled under the shade of a 100-year-old banyan tree, Bougain Villa is Lower Parel's all-day bistro and boulangerie. The spot will open this Friday to offer a dining experience complete with fine wines, in-house bakes and freshly brewed coffee. Director Prashant Chaudhri, who is also part of the team that runs the Asian restaurant chain Chin Chin Chu, said, "We wanted to bring back a classic European boulangerie and bistro." How does the food and drink fare on The Guide metre? Watch out for our review.

A green salute

Yesterday, the Women's Achievers Awards 2022 by Young Environmentalists Programme in association with MCGM saw over 20 women karmacharis being recognised for their contribution in preserving the Powai lake and its surrounding environment. "The Young Environmentalists Programme Trust has been hosting these awards for the last 15 years, recognising women in their field of expertise. This year, we hosted the awards ceremony near the Powai lake. This area is kept clean by waste collectors. They are true environmentalists, from whom we can learn lessons in how to preserve natural habitats within our city. They have insights to offer from their work on the ground, which will add to the efficacy of our endeavours," said Elsie Gabriel, founder of the trust and national coordinator, Oceans Climate Reality Project India.

Colaba's drawn to an artsy mural

Teja Gavankar

Sakshi Gallery will unveil a public mural on the façade of their Colaba outlet by artist Teja Gavankar on March 10. This is Gavankar's first public mural; her artworks are known to play between objective reality and subjective perception, and this is true in the case of the soon-to-be-revealed mural as well. "I worked on the perception by flattening the structure of multiple rooms, passages, or corners to accommodate multiple perspectives in this mural," she told this diarist. Sayali Mundye, curatorial associate, Sakshi Gallery, explained that Gavankar responded to the site and the area surrounding it to create what appears as a captivating but simple line drawing; however, as the viewer takes in the artwork, they experience the nuances and dimensions.

Drag for all

Gurleen Arora and Winne Chopra, co-founders of The Gay Gaze Bombay

The Gay Gaze Bombay has announced a new initiative titled Drag Kings Anonymous, which is envisioned as an explorative space for drag kings and butch/trans-masc identities. "We host a lot of queer events with a special focus on drag. We've noticed that, as of now, very few venues in the city showcase and promote drag, and those that do, typically feature drag queens. We hope to encourage more inclusivity in this space," explained co-founder Winne Chopra. They plan to host fortnightly online and offline meetings, which will include sessions on dysphoria and expression with a psychologist from the queer community. Further, participants will explore the performance aspect of drag, including looks, costume and make-up. To participate, send them a message at @ thegaygazebombay.