Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Nimesh Dave

Girth of a legend
Varun Dhawan and Satish Kaushik share a hug as Kabir Bedi looks on, at a short film festival held at an Andheri multiplex yesterday.

Mapping Mumbai, with art
One of our favourite city guides and local discovery platforms, The City Story, is feeding our love for cartography with their city-based maps. The latest creation covers Bandra, the queen of the suburbs, and is choc-a-bloc with places to visit, things to eat and do. The pretty-in-pink map by Svabhu Kohli (his Instagram feed is a visual delight), features the suburb's different landmarks, from Cheap Jack to Otter's Club. Earlier this year, they also got artist Prashant Miranda, known for his lovely sketches of old Goan and Bandra houses, to create a map of Mumbai and London.

The sketch highlighted Mumbai's train lines and the fast-depleting pockets of green in the city. Although The City Story is yet to introduce an online store, these A3-sized maps can be bought from The Bagel Shop in Bandra, Filter at Kala Ghoda and Kultureshop.in. Juhi Pande, one of the three co-owners of the venture, adds that they are currently working on three more products that should be out in eight weeks.

Papon's in sync with Assam
Every musician turns to a muse for inspiration, and in the case of Papon, it looks like Assam is where he draws his creative energy from. After composing an anthem on the mighty Brahmaputra that runs through his native state, the singer-composer is out with a new Assamese album, Notun Puhor. Papon has been sharing the first look of his songs from the album, and is keen on striking a chord with his listeners, who have been invited to design the cover for Notun Puhor. The 41-year-old is known for his playback exploits in the film industry, but his repertoire also encompasses Indian Classical music, Borgeet and the Folk music of Assam, which he learnt from his parents - eminent Folk singers Khagen Mahanta and Archana Mahanta.

A river runs through this festival
Summer tends to bring with it acute water shortage. In such a scenarios and with World Environment Day around the corner, efforts to raise awareness about dying rivers globally, are a welcome move. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, together with Paryavaran Dakshata Mandal NGO & Vasundhara Club, are organising the Aapala Paryavaran Film Festival this weekend. It will screen short films on the Ganga and plastic pollution in the Narmada, among other issues. Look out for films like Miracle Park, PanchGanga, Crabs of Karwar and Diminishing Resources. Each of the screenings will be followed by a discussion with the directors. So, if you have questions about the state of the country's rivers, here's where you should be.

Manish Vyas

The millennial Good Samaritan
While the city is going gaga over students who have scored almost-100 per cent, 25-year-old Manish Vyas will travel all the way to Buriakhop in Sikkim and stay in the remote village for a month - all so that he can volunteer to teach underprivileged kids at the primary residential school, Sikkim Himalayan Academy. "It's the only school in Jorthang district that provides free education and hostel facilities to 100 kids.

Students at Sikkim Himalayan Academy

But it is in tremendous need of funds and equipment," says the chemical engineer-turned-consultant, who has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Ketto inviting Mumbaikars to contribute funds as well as sports equipment, clothing, stationery and electronics. He leaves this Friday with three friends, and will carry the donations with him. We hear he has also received contribution from a renowned senior film and theatre actor who doesn't wish to be idenitified. Here's to a millennial supporting a cause.

Hop over from Oz
What's an Australian restaurant if it doesn't serve kangaroo meat. Not much, think the guys behind Estella, which serves cuisine from Down Under. Recently, they introduced a new dish on their menu, Grilled Kangaroo Fillet. "Many people had asked us why it wasn't on the menu. Although not illegal to import, it's difficult to source on a regular basis. Now, we have managed to find a supplier who gives it to us once or twice a week from Oz," says chef Rohan D'Souza. The dish is doing so well, they're running out of the meat. If you're wondering what it tastes like, D'Souza says that it is similar to lamb.