Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Hersquos not sitting on the fenceA man trying to catch a bus displays his acrobatic skills outside Churchgate railway terminus on ThursdayCopy thatThe original art work by Tristan Eaton right the mural at the restaurantCitybased art gallery Method has highlighted a glaring instance of plagiarism by the architectural firm Seza The art in question was lifted from the artist Tristan Eaton and recreated at an upcoming restaurant named Vandal in Powai In their post the gallerists mentioned reaching out to Eaton for confirmation that the piece had been replicated without his consent ldquoUnfortunately therersquos a normalisation of plagiarism in India whether in art music film or another creative field An ecosystem like this doesnrsquot allow for the original expression of ideas and we desperately need that to happen in the Indian contextrdquo shared Methodrsquos founder and curator Sahil AroraA trunk callOne of the devastating fallouts of Cyclone Tauktae recently was the number of trees that were uprooted when the storm hit the city But what many people donrsquot realise is that an uprooted tree is not one that has been lost forever Thatrsquos the message that photojournalistcumenvironment enthusiast Sanjiv Valsan is hoping to spread along with NGO Vata Foundation They are calling on Mumbaikars to send details of trees that have fallen in their area so that these can be trimmed down to the trunk and planted back in the same spot or at another suitable place ldquoYou have to send your name exact address the GPS location of the tree that has fallen photos of the condition of the leaves and roots and identify the speciesrdquo he shared Send an email to marcpeoplepatternscom with these specific details if yoursquore keen to save Mumbairsquos greeneryBandra cafe does a good turnJaved and Jennifer MallickIn April Jennifer Mallick who runs The Village Shop an organic cafe in Bandra along with her husband Javed received a call from her NRI friend Suguna Bachoti ldquoShe told me that she was really upset about the pandemic situation in India and wanted to contribute funds to help those in need with cooked mealsrdquo Mallick told this diarist That set the ball rolling for an initiative called The Good Plate which the Mallicks started It involves packing and delivering meal boxes to street kids frontline workers at vaccine centres and elderly people without home help But they have funds left only for one more week So visit thevillageproject_ on Instagram to keep the fire burningPoetic birthdayThe Kerala Literature Festival KLF will celebrate the 75th birthday of its director K Satchidanandan today with an online poetry event It features 50 poets from nine countries including Taslima Nasrin Speaking about the role that poetry can play to make sense of these turbulent times Satchidanandan told this diarist ldquoIt has come to serve as an invisible bridge that creates a feeling of togetherness and comforts us with a feeling of empathy and intimacyrdquo Log on to the KLF page on Facebook You will end up verse for it pun intended Starting a helpful chapterHerersquos how book lovers can help out with a good cause A Covid19 relief fundraiser and giveaway has been put together by two book reviewers Delhibased Devangi Saraf and Bengalurubased Krutika Puranik in collaboration with publishers including Pan Macmillan Bloomsbury and Juggernaut with all proceeds being given to charity ldquoThose wishing to participate have to make a donation starting from 150 and present us with the receipt The more they donate the higher their chance to win a book of their choice directly from a publisher of their choice on our listrdquo said Saraf below ldquoThis was an emergency response because organisations need funds urgentlyrdquo said Puranik inset The duo will be collecting funds till May 30 on their Instagram handles askthebookbug and unordinaryescapes