Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Once in a supermoonThe supermoon sighted in Mumbai on December 4 forms a rare juxtaposition with the Statue of Progress atop Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj TerminusSkimmer for the winAward winners from left Venkatesh Charloo Rittwika Roychowdhury on behalf of Siddharth Agarwal Rumna Mukherjee Parveen Shaikh Dr Sonali Ghosh Dr Rajendra Singh Saroj Kumar Panda Sahil Bhisso Gaonkar with Sanctuary Nature Foundation founder Bittu Sahgal PIC COURTESYPARVEEN SHAIKHIndiarsquos finest environmentalists traded their usual day in the wild for a formal venue at the Sanctuary Wildlife Awards at NCPA last Friday Among awardees from across the nation Mumbaibased Dr Parveen Shaikhrsquos right cause for the Indian Skimmers soared high Over a chat with this diarist the avian ecologist credited her days at the cityrsquos Ramnarain Ruia College for sparking an interest in ornithologyldquoMy study in Zoology in college paved my path to the Bombay Natural History Society BNHS in 2012 where I discovered the need to protect the Skimmerrdquo she revealed For over a decade Shaikh has been leading efforts to save the migratory bird that lives on Indiarsquos riverbanks Other awardees included Dr Rajendra Singh who won the Lifetime Service Award for his work in water conservation and 19yearold Sahil Bhisso Gaonkar who bagged the muchanticipated Young Naturalist Award for his rescue efforts in GoaLetters to SantaThe postbox and dropbox right the letter template Pic CourtesyCarl Mascarenhas Jr on FacebookHave you been good this year dear reader A Christmas post box on St Andrewrsquos Road in Bandra will let you write directly to Santa Claus this year Placed outside De Lima Apartments near Bandra Gymkhana the bright redandgold post box is accompanied by a collection box for those who wish to donate preloved toys and clothes to lessprivileged children in the neighbourhood Those keen to post a letter and make a wish or play Santa for a good cause this Christmas can drop by the apartment complexrsquos main gate any time between December 12 and 24 After all itrsquos the season of givingIndigo blues on the guitarZayn Raza performs at CSMIA while waiting to board his flight to his hometown in Bihar PIC COURTESYZAYN RAZAWhen the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15 1912 a group of violinists is said to have played music to calm down anxious passengers for as long as they could We couldnrsquot help but remember those violinists when we heard about Mumbaibased musician Zayn Raza who brought a guitar to the proverbial gunfight between airline Indigo and furious passengers last week ldquoI was stuck for nearly four hours at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport CSMIA Slowly but surely my copassengers ran out of patience At the request of another passenger who spotted my guitar bag I pulled out the instrument and played a few familiar songs In an instant phones came out and people were swaying as they recorded my impromptu performancerdquo Raza told us Initially scheduled for 5 pm Razarsquos flight to his hometown in Bihar finally took off at 9 pm ldquoYou have to feel sorry for the ground staff I believe they were caught in a battle where they werenrsquot even the ones calling the shotsrdquo the musician addedLetrsquos toast to SofiaThe new Italianstyle bar in BandraSomething new is brewing behind the walls of Bandrarsquos Olive The FampB landmark now houses a new Italian styleaperitivo bar Call Me Sofia Conceptualised by restaurateur AD Singh right and guided by Italian chef Alessandro Piso it offers an Italian drinking culture through low ABV flavourforward cocktailsldquoShe is designed for closeness where the ambience the cocktails and the conversations blend to create evenings that feel magical meaningful and deeply personalrdquo shared AD SinghStep up for a good causeMembers at a previous public rally PIC COURTESYNav Divyang FoundationThakur Village in Kandivli East will host a special Walkathon on December 21 under the philosophy lsquoWalk so no onersquos left behindrsquo Organised by Nav Divyang Foundation a platform providing specialised education and therapy for neurodivergent people the walk draws awareness towards the needs of differentlyabled children ldquoMany people remain unaware of the true potential of differentlyabled and neurodiverse youngsters and the milestones they can achieve in their unique way This is our first Walkathon and it aims to celebrate and advocate for that human potentialrdquo Gopal Bhagwat founder of Nav Divyang Foundation shared Registrations close on December 10 so head to nav_divyang_foundation_2017 to book a spot