Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

The all-weather mumbaikar

Despite heavy rains lashing the city, a man goes about his work on a bicycle in Sion

This school is cool

The monsoon school will be held in a hybrid mode at the Bandra library

Come July 21, Sister Library in Bandra will kickstart the annual edition of their Monsoon School. Primarily aimed at young girls from lower income families, the theme this year is writing. "Monsoon is beautiful, but often, it becomes a barrier to many activities. In many countries, they have summer school. But in India, summer is the only time children get a break from academics.

Therefore, we introduced a monsoon school," shared founder Aqui Thami (right). The instructors include some well-known and critically acclaimed individuals like Natasha Ginwala, Kelly Jones, Kiran Rao, Natalie King, and Mikki Kendal, among others. The last day to sign up for this is July 15. Those interested can write to sisterlibrarayschool@gmail.com.

Steps of victory

Arif Chaudhary performs a stunt at the competition in Bengaluru

A four-time winner of RedBull BC One Cypher India, city-based Arif Chaudhary, AKA B-Boy Flying brought home the pan-India trophy for the fifth time last weekend. "The experience was incredible. Due to an injury, I couldn't take part last year. So, I was hungry for this win," Chaudhary told this diarist. He will now represent the country alongside Simran Ranga (winner in the B-Girls category) in the world finals in Rio de Janeiro on December 7, 2024. "Like any competitor, I participated to win. I have learned a lot from my performance and this competition this year. I have noted down points that need to be worked on before the finals. These include taking better care of my health, and working with the right physiotherapist. I want to perform better, and show the viewers a new, reformed me," he summed up.

Haathi mere saathi

The limited-edition print features Tara. Pic Courtesy/Siddharth Agarwal

With a rise in elephant-human conflicts in Assam, the Assam Forest Department and WWF-India started a project to radio-collar elephants to understand elephant behaviour. "Tara, an adult female elephant, was the first one to be collared," writes Siddharth Agarwal, founder of environment-centric Veditum India Foundation. And although the ones affected by elephant break-ins are given monetary relief for the essential goods damaged, they are not assisted for other items they may have spent years of their wages on. For instance, a television. "I have started a fund [Tara & the Trust Based Fund], with wildlife biologist Arjun Kamdar," he explained. The fund is managed by local residents and it will help repair or replace damaged non-essential goods. To initiate this, he has put up for sale a limited-edition archival print of Tara's photograph clicked by him. To contribute to this inclusive conservation experiment, head to bit.ly/taratrustfund.

Back to the drawing board

An illustration portrays how lifeless rocks near sea shores become home to a diverse range of wildlife (right) the Royal Bengal tiger, India's largest wild cat, with the country's smallest wild cat, the rusty-spotted cat

City-based marine biologist Gaurav Patil (inset) is setting sail on a new exploration. Known for his contributions to marine life research in the city, the ex-WWF and Coastal Conservation Foundation contributor will now turn to visual arts with digital illustrations and storytelling. "People hand you a roadmap for your career when you're starting out as a biology student.

The usual progression entails a bachelor's degree, followed by a master's in your field and the diving head first into academia. I did the same. But it's time to follow my own calling now," he told us. The 30-year-old will collaborate with city-based filmmakers, authors and designers to use his academic knowledge and create artistic, yet accurate visuals. "I am already working on a short film that draws inspiration from nature. All these years, I was making mini sketches in my diaries while out in the field. I'm thrilled to bring them to a bigger canvas," he revealed.