<h2>Jet blue days</h2>
<p>A group performs a flyboarding act off the coast at <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-citizens-unite-to-clean-juhu-beach-collect-nearly-two-tonnes-of-plastic-waste-post-diwali-2025-celebrations-23600776" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Juhu Beach</a>. The watersport involves a jet ski (left) that propels the board (right) above water&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Museum after dark</h2>
<p><img src="http://admin.mid-day.com/images/2026/jan/Night-museum_e.jpg" alt="Visitors at the museum last Friday. PICS COURTESY/CSMVS " width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Visitors at the museum last Friday. PICS COURTESY/CSMVS&nbsp;</em></strong></p>
<p>We are relishing the idea if a sequel to Ben Stiller&rsquo;s popular children&rsquo;s comedy, Night At the Museum could be set at<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/things-to-do/article/interactive-workshop-helps-children-discover-mumbais-geological-history-through-touch-and-play-23610415" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya </a>(CSMVS). &nbsp;That&rsquo;s because the museum will keep the doors of its ground floor open to visitors after dark on Fridays. &ldquo;We have decided to keep the museum open till 8 pm every Friday, to welcome people who wish to enjoy the new gallery, Networks of the Past afterhours. Walking into a museum, filled with beautiful and extremely significant historical objects can be a magical encounter; and the experience is doubly rewarding when the building itself is such an elegant precinct to walk into,&rdquo; revealed Joyoti Roy, assistant director, projects and public relations.</p>
<h2>When food meets identity</h2>
<p><img src="http://admin.mid-day.com/images/2026/jan/Suvir-Saran_e.jpg" alt="PIC COURTESY/AHAD MEMON" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>PIC COURTESY/AHAD MEMON</em></strong></p>
<p>Tell My Mother I Like Boys (Penguin Random House India) is celebrated chef Suvir Saran&rsquo;s (below) way of telling it as it should be told. The January release explores themes of food, love, and the desire to belong. Saran&rsquo;s memoir chronicles his life from India to New York, portraying the kitchen as a space of safety as well as trials. Saran, whose restaurant, Devi became the first Indian restaurant in North America to earn a Michelin star, showcases cooking as a process involving memory, survival, and the making of one&rsquo;s identity.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Hit the road</h2>
<p><img src="http://admin.mid-day.com/images/2026/jan/SV-Road-Walk_e.jpg" alt="A moment from the 2025 SV Road Walk. PIC COURTESY/WALKING PROJECT" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A moment from the 2025 SV Road Walk. PIC COURTESY/WALKING PROJECT</em></strong></p>
<p>Mumbaikars who have been vocal about the state of <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-new-shortcut-road-at-kapadia-nagar-aims-to-ease-traffic-but-confuses-commuters-23610395" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mumbai&rsquo;s roads </a>will have the opportunity to walk the talk soon. Last weekend, city-based group Walking Project concluded a planning meeting leading up to the SV Road Walk 2026 on January 11, which will see members of the group cover the full extent of SV Road from Borivli to Bandra.</p>
<p><img src="http://admin.mid-day.com/images/2026/jan/Vedant-Mhatre_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>&ldquo;We look at important markers like walkway height, footpath width, accessibility, signboard placements, hawking, an intersection design,&rdquo; said Vedant Mhatre, programme manager. Just how bad could one of the city&rsquo;s most vital arterial roads be, one might wonder. &ldquo;According to mandated guidelines, the footpath along <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-fire-breaks-out-at-high-rise-building-in-andheri-west-no-injuries-reported-23610463?home-breakingnews" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">SV Road </a>must be at least five metres wide. Our observations show that in many spots, the width is as narrow as two metres,&rdquo; Mhatre revealed to us. Mumbai&rsquo;s perennial roadworks might play spoilsport, but the group is determined to match its previous record of 30 walkers this year. To join the walk, log on to @walkingprojectindia on Instagram.</p>
<h2>Savitribai Phule&rsquo;s imprint in Vasai</h2>
<p><img src="http://admin.mid-day.com/images/2026/jan/Saloli-village_e.jpg" alt="Students receive notebooks and stationery as part of the initiative in Vasai. PIC COURTESY/NANHE HAATH foundation, Wikimedia Commons" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Students receive notebooks and stationery as part of the initiative in Vasai. PIC COURTESY/NANHE HAATH foundation, Wikimedia Commons</em></strong></p>
<p>Savitribai Phule&rsquo;s birth anniversary on January 3 ushered in a timely change for three<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/62-unsafe-classrooms-in-29-zilla-parishad-schools-razed-in-maharashtras-palghar-district-23594349" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> Zilla Parishad Schools</a> in Vasai. Under NGO Nanhe Haath Foundation, children from the Saloli, Churnai and Vasai Gaon received stationery packages and a promise of quality education to kickstart 2026. Founder Sanjay Vaishnav, who has been heading the Siksha Sanjeevan initiative shared with this diarist, &ldquo;We observed how the only incentive for many students who attended these Zilla Parishad schools was the daily mid-day meal, and not education. Lack of teaching tools and instructors were major obstacles in the way.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="http://admin.mid-day.com/images/2026/jan/Savitribai_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>To that end, seven volunteers &mdash; most of them collegians from Vasai &mdash; have pledged to visit the schools regularly, and conduct classes for the underserved students. The group hopes the students will be in starkly better conditions this time next year, on the track to pursue higher education. We&rsquo;ll have our eyes on this crucial initiative.</p>
<h2>Cooking for old times&rsquo; sake</h2>
<p><img src="http://admin.mid-day.com/images/2026/jan/Oldies-cooking_e.jpg" alt="Residents of the assisted living  facility in Andheri whip up a meal. PIC COURTESY/@SAHABHAAV" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Residents of the assisted living &nbsp;facility in Andheri whip up a meal. PIC COURTESY/@SAHABHAAV</em></strong></p>
<p>There were compliments galore for the chefs at a senior citizens&rsquo; funfair at Amboli Naka on Sunday. Members of senior care organisation Happy2Age and assisted living facility Sahabhaav joined hands to dish out lip-smacking bites all evening at an Andheri venue. &ldquo;Our resident seniors have developed quite the knack for cooking over the course of our regular workshops. It was time they introduced the city to it,&rdquo; said Sugandhi Baliga, co-founder of Happy2Age. &ldquo;My mother is 83, but she was determined to put up a stall offering South Indian fare,&rdquo; she added. The fun and games left the members with many memorable memories, this diarist learned. &ldquo;The interactions, encouragement and validation go a long way,&rdquo; the co-founder shared.</p>

Dossier: CSMVS will stay open until 8 pm every Friday, letting visitors explore the new Networks of the Past gallery after dark for a magical experience

Mumbai Diary | Monday Dossier: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj museum extends Friday hours until 8 pm

Mumbai weather update: City AQI at 127; haze persists, IMD forecasts partly cloudy weather

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Jet blue days

Museum after dark

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