Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

Ganesha on our mind

Devotees queue up at Siddhivinayak Temple on the occasion of Angaraki Sankashti in Prabhadevi.

Salute the handi

For chef Saransh Goila (below), the week marks eight years since he launched Goila Butter Chicken from a small mom-and-pop store near the Metro station in Andheri's DN Nagar back in 2016. "At that time, it was a small takeaway/delivery store. We had not envisioned that we would grow to where we are today. We don't have the original kitchen, but I couldn't help but visit the lane," Goila shared. Accompanying him was a special guest - the handi in which they would prepare the butter chicken. "The handi is a memento; a reminder of where we started and how far we have come," he shared.

Let's tango in July

(From left) Lorena Tarantino and Gianpiero Galdi in performance

While Mumbai is known for Bollywood, come July and some Italian flair is expected to flow into the city. International tango maestros Lorena Tarantino and Gianpiero Galdi will be dropping into the city for a one-day workshop in early July with the Bandra-based tango school, Abrazo Tango. "The duo are renowned maestros who have been travelling around the world. They will be holding classes across two cities - Mumbai and Hyderabad in July," shared Kruti Gandhi (right), founder of Abrazo Tango.

While Galdi started out as a prodigy in his teens, Tarantino has been a teacher at the University of Salerno. "More importantly, they are curious about India," Gandhi remarked, adding, "The class is a one-day session and stands out because it is open to anyone interested in learning the tango, whether they know how to dance or not. Both of them excel in the simple art of movement, and tango is all about moving to your heart's rhythm," she concluded.

Raising a stink about the water

The students listen as the educators explain at the session in Dharavi

While monsoon is a season of many joys for Mumbaikars, especially after a long summer, the waterlogging and stagnating water added to overflowing sewers can be a hotbed of diseases. Prevention of these water-borne diseases was the focus of the Ayika Foundation's first session of the Dharavi Curriculum Project. "We had been talking about climate action when we realised the risk that the flowing sewers often pose to people living in under-privileged neighbourhoods such as Dharavi," shared founder Litisha Bagadia. Collaborating with the Committed Communities Development Trust (CCDT), the foundation - run by the youth - offered to conduct a session on public health and sanitation. "We had to focus on the adolescent girls in the colony, since they are more vulnerable. There are close to 100 adolescent girls in Dharavi, and many of them are at risk because of poor sanitation and lack of facilities. Our efforts were to educate them on ways to counter the diseases caused by open sewers, ways to spot them and to avoid collection of debris using simple waste segregation techniques," Bagadia revealed. The session is the first of four such events that the Foundation hopes to undertake across the suburbs of Dharavi and Dahisar in July. "In fact, we are looking to create young community leaders who will take responsibility for their own neighbourhoods," she told this diarist.

Sketch and snack

George's sketch captures the variety of stalls in the neighbourhood

Suburban Sketchers, an artist collective from the Western suburbs is giving the term culinary arts a new meaning. The group's visit to Kandivali's Khau Galli in Mahavir Nagar last week captured Mumbai's love for street food in quick, five-minute sketches. "We had to be on the move constantly owing to the crowding in the area. Most of them were collegians who congregated in large groups," shared group member Sefi George, who used a fountain pen and her handy diary to sketch her observations. "The crowd might have been a challenge, but they were friendly. Many of them gave us company as we stood and sketched amidst the bustle," she revealed.

United for a greener earth

A moment from a potting session hosted by PPA India

While Mumbai's demands for eco-warriors only grows by the day, such warriors also need encouragement. Planet for Plants and Animals (PPA) India recently received appreciation from the United Nations Environment Programme for their World Environment Day activities along the theme of land restoration, building drought resilience and action against desertification this year. "The appreciation is a great boost of motivation and positive energy to strive for climate action," shared founder Saakshi Tekchandani.