Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Cart before the horseA woman passes by a vegetable cart parked between horse statues at the entrance of a Ganpati pandal in GoraiSilver offerings for BappaRane KothareThe celebration for Ganesharsquos arrival in the city might have undergone many upgrades but a few faithful old traditions continue without any changes Dr Anita Rane Kothare head of department Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology St Xavierrsquos College Autonomous celebrated one such unique family tradition this yearA view of the miniature toys and animals in silver on display at the pandaldquoThis is the 25th year of our celebration We always create an ecofriendly baby Ganesha that we immerse in a pond on our own terracerdquo she shared But what makes it even more interesting is the presentation that accompanied it Dr Kotharersquos home is often decked with silver toys dating back over a centuryA collection of silver kitchen toys and fruits the ecofriendly baby Ganesha idol Pics CourtesyDr Anita Rane KothareldquoThey are traditional silver toys that are over 125 years old Every year one or two are added to the collection These toys have been passed down from generation to generation Initially our Ganesha was not immersed It was termed as Toy Ganesh or Khetla Ganesh The Pathare Prabhu community started this tradition as a support to Lokmanya Tilakrsquos call The family tradition with puja and immersion began after my marriage 25 years ago But we have kept the tradition of toys and porcelain So the porcelain is 150 years old like the old silver miniaturesrdquo she revealed Scrabble words on their mindSuyash Manchali of India left in a game against Pakistanrsquos Affan Salman at the 2024 WYSC in Sri Lanka Pic CourtesyRustom DebooA team of 12 Indian youngsters are headed to Kuala Lumpur to represent India at the 2025 World Youth Scrabble Championship WYSC that begins today Coached by Neeta Bhatia the team includes three Mumbai players and Delhiite Madhav Gopal Kamath 14 who is the current National Scrabble champion Ranked eighth globally and Indiarsquos youngest ever he is a strong contender Suyash Manchali the current under16 world champion who finished second at WYSC 2024 will also be part of the team Rustom Deboo secretary Scrabble Association of India said that Scrabble is stamping its presence as a mind sport across India For enthusiasts looking to sign up check out indianscrabblecom for detailsMusic knows no boundariesJonita Gandhi extreme right at the third day of the sessionIn an effort to amplify Indian music internationally the Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd IPRS joined hands with The Society of Composers Authors and Music Publishers of Canada SOCAN and SOCAN Foundation to host KOLAB IndoCanadian Songwriting Camp 2025 The exchange programme was held at The True School of Music Vijaybhoomi University Campus in Karjat from August 23 to 29 It saw 22 Indian and Canadian artistes who mentored the nextgeneration creators to compose original music that promotes cultural exchange ldquoWith creative guidance from mentors such as Mannan Shaah Bunty Bains and Mayur Puri along with a talented lineup of artistes including Jonita Gandhi Tesher and Vicky Dhillon the collaboration aims to bring Indian creators on the global stagerdquo Rakesh Nigam CEO IPRS told usRakesh NigamSounds in the airTrishina Kirpalani with console performs on the paragliding trip Pic CourtesyTrishina KirpalaniFor SoBobased Trishina Kirpalani aka TRYPS an invite to DJ in Himachal Pradesh earlier in June proved to be the start of an unlikely experiment While exploring this region Kirpalani took a paragliding trip with her DJ console in tow ldquoIt was supposed to be an entire party but the wind was not on our side So I did it by myself The console was strapped around my neck and support equipment held it together The more challenging part was the takeoff It was connected to a bike battery and I had to run with it all to get the momentum to take offrdquo she said If that were not enough this was the first time the 24yearold had ever attempted paragliding ldquoI had three test flights before I did the final one It was quite an experience and I already have plans to return in October to make another attemptrdquo she sharedSpidey surprisesThe new species of Hasarius Simon 1871 spider Pic CourtesyJatin JoshiThis weekend at an overnight camp by Bombay Natural History Society BNHS and Sanjay Gandhi National Park SGNP arachnophiles are in for a fun time Called In Search of Spiders the camp will be held at BNHSrsquos CEC site in Goregaon Many spider species remain unknown including Hasarius Simon 1871 which was recently discovered in Mumbai by PhD student Pranav Joshi Programme coordinator Shardul Bajikar informed us that the goal is to explore spider diversity during the monsoon Check out bombaynaturalhistorysociety to sign up