Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Undercover dutiesUmbrellas came to the rescue as the constabulary force of Mumbai Police continued duties amidst erratic rainfall in ChunabhattiSounds from BaliMayur Jumani in Bali right Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki PicAFPWhile an extended vacation in Bali might sound like a daydream Andheribased musician Mayur Jumani is itching to fly out of the seaside getaway Following the volcanic eruption in Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki Jumani is one of the many tourists tackling flight cancellations ldquoI am in Bali to record live sounds for my upcoming project Sounds from the Sea I have captured sounds of waves streams and even manta rays swimming in the sea I canrsquot wait to get back and put it togetherrdquo he told us from Bali As for any signs of travel anxiety Jumani promptly revealed ldquoWell Irsquom just chilling by the pool What else can you dordquolsquoI must visit BNHS somedayrsquoMaruti Chitampalli left and Kishor Rithe in Solapur PIC COURTESYKISHOR RITHEIndiarsquos forests lost an enduring unabashed voice with the passing of veteran wildlife conservationist and author Maruti Chitampalli The 93yearold Padma Shri awardee breathed his last at his residence in Solapur on Wednesday Reminiscing about his time with Chitampalli Bombay Natural History Society BNHS director Kishor Rithe recalled old ties between Chitampalli and Mumbairsquos own Bird Man Dr Salim Ali Chitampalli had first written to Dr Ali in the early 1960s seeking guidance in ornithologyFrom left Dr Salim Ali Dr Abhishek Satam FILE PICSIn 2023 Rithe visited his residence in Solapur with copies of their correspondence ldquoHe was elated to see the letters once again He expressed how happy he was to see a young naturalist heading the BNHS lsquoI must come to BNHS somedayrsquo he told me But considering his health I knew that this would not be possiblerdquo Rithe shared While many young Mumbaibased naturalistsrsquo hopes to meet Chitampalli will remain unfulfilled those like zoo biologist Dr Abhishek Satam of the Mumbai Zoo will carry his ideology forward ldquoChitampalli ji maintained a fine balance between his duties at the Forest Department and onfield with young naturalists His life itself is a lessonrdquo he sharedThatrsquos bananasThe young monkey during recovery right The rescued monkey meets his partner on Day 100 PIC COURTESYRAWWItrsquos a century to remember for Shoora a onedayold bonnet macaque rescued from a Bhandup residential complex Shoora recently concluded a miraculous 100day recovery under the wings of the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare ldquoHer mother was found dead possibly due to electrocution Shoorarsquos journey wasnrsquot a walk in the park After multiple foster mothers abandoned her we finally integrated her with rescued monkeys her own agerdquo shared founder Pawan Sharma A video set to Ed Sheeranrsquos new vlogstyle music video Sapphire now memorialises the bonnet macaquersquos journey online ldquoThe overpopulation of monkeys has become a menace during the monsoon Bamboo scaffolding has mushroomed across the city and people still throw caution to the wind and feed these wild animals We need a serious awareness and policy overhaul to tackle the menacerdquo Sharma addedDelicious jugalbandis in MalaysiaVarun Rajasekharan of TAL FRY PIC COURTESYYeashu Yuvraj on InstagramSarawak Cultural Village in Malaysia will be in for an Indian classical spread this weekend Mumbaibased The Indian Performing Right Society IPRS recently revealed HindustaniCarnatic fusion collective TAL FRYrsquos debut at the popular Rainforest World Music Festival June 2022 ldquoWe believe this is just the beginning of a new era where Indian music in all its diversity finds the recognition it truly deserves on the world stagerdquo shared Rakesh Nigam CEO IPRS Wersquore told the threeday long festival will include craftdisplays workshops and even traditional Malaysian fare But our eyes understandably are on the deliciously named TAL FRYA win at AnnecyA moment from the animated short film Pic CourtesyStudio Eeksaurus YoutubeSuresh Eriyat is a happy man His animated short Desi Oon won the Jury award at the recently concluded Annecy International Animation Film Festival Based on the life of the pastoral artisan community across India the film dives into the journey of Indian wool ldquoWe started a conversation about the film in 2022 with the Centre for Pastoralism It has now been selected to be archived at the Museum of Modern Art so it is a delightrdquo Eriyat told this diarist