Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Bhool BhulaiyaaA woman makes her way through a maze of auto rickshaws that have come to a halt due to traffic at Kasturba RoadLook cricketing stars off the streetOur inhouse sports books scavenger was sold something interesting the other day The book Cricket Stars by Percy Mason gave him the impression of a compilation related to the willow game and astrology And he was right He shares some gems that appear on the back cover of this 1987 book put together by Indianborn Australiasettled MasonHere it goeshellipDon Bradman scored 334 304 254 244 and 232 in England yet it was in Australia in the month of January that he scored eight 100sOnly two of the 1743 Test cricketers were born on 29 FebruaryIn 51 Tests Jeff Thomson took 200 wickets Alec Bedser got 236 Imran Khan has taken 264 wicketsAG Ganteaume with a Test batting average of 112 played in only one Test match for the West IndiesSunil Gavaskar has played Test cricket during all 12 calendar months December sees most runs come from his batCricketing Stars ldquois the most comprehensive cricket records book with unusual statisticsmdashbatting bowling and wicket keeping performances according to Zodiac signs highlights and lowlightsrdquo say the publishersUnfortunately the book is out of print and itrsquos unlikely to be revised so for now Mr Scavenger is happy with pre1987 Stars pun intendedLove your clan donrsquot cut the girlsThe DilemmaWhat if healthy conversations about contentious issues were possible and encouraged In the Gujarati short film The Dilemma a Bohra couple engages in one such conversation with an invisible narrator debating the practice of female genital mutilation in their community as they struggle with the decision pertaining to their own daughter ldquoBut itrsquos done to maintain hygienerdquo says the mother and the narrator says ldquoIsnrsquot it done to reduce sexual pleasurerdquo The lady now looking sheepish answers ldquoNo no it increases it actuallyrdquo and the narrator says ldquoNo thatrsquos the misconception people are made to believerdquo We liked the way the film made by WeSpeakOut a survivorsled organisation working to end Female Genital Mutilation FGM tries to present a controversial sensitive subject in a balanced dignified manner ldquoThrough this film we speak directly to our intended audiencemdashmembers of the community We want them to know that you can love your community and still choose not to cut your girlsrdquo WeSpeakOut founder and FGM survivor Masooma Ranalvi told this diarist ldquoThe film has organically received over 5000 views with so many people writing in to tell us that the film resonated with them But some have said they need a farman permission to watchrdquo she addedCelebrating the lsquosistersrsquoWhere desiJapanese bonds bloomDil garden garden ho gaya As India and Japan are ready to forge new bonds next year In 2025 Yokohama City Japan will celebrate 60 years of its sistercity relationship with Mumbai The Consulate General of Japan in Mumbai posted on X about the Consul General YAGI Kojirsquos visit to the Japanese Garden at the Veermata Jijabai Udyan Garden Byculla zoo recently Not many know that this garden was donated by Yokohama to Mumbai back in 1985 The garden was not only conceptualized and designed but also built by Japanese experts and workers Superintendent of Gardens BMC Jitendra Pardeshi said ldquoThe water body and wooden structure are typical Japanese elementsrdquo Well looks like the Raj Kapoor linesmdashMera joota hai Japani can be extended to Mera garden hai Japani tooHelping street vendors one umbrella at a timeMethod Art Gallery has launched a public art project The Umbrella Art Project This monsoon get ready to spot designer umbrellas on the streets of Mumbai as the art gallery has collaborated with five artists to create unique designs For every umbrella that is sold a street vendor will be given a big umbrella for freeSahil AroraThe communitydriven project has been a work in progress for the last six months ldquoThe idea came to us four years agordquo says Sahil Arora founder of Method Art Gallery The five artists brought together for the project include Ashna Malik Kunel Gaur Aniruddh Mehta from Big Fat Zahra Baldiwala from Ruining Magazines and Sid G from Toosid ldquoWe simply wanted to add some colour to the streets And street vendors too need umbrellasrdquo says Arora about the aim of the projectEach umbrella features a digital print on a pongee canopy stitched onto a fibre frame The handles have a sturdy grip and are coated with rubber Each artistrsquos umbrella is available in a limited stockndash100 each As the response to the project has been quite enthusiastic prebooking has ended You can purchase one at methodindia at R4750Prague embraces Mumbairsquos spoken wordSimar SinghSpoken word artistes from Mumbaibased platform UnErasemdashHelly Shah Taranjit Kaur and Simar Singhmdash won three awards at Prague Fringe Festival The awards were titled The Inspiration Award and Pick of The Fringe Speaking to this diarist over the phone from Prague Singh said that Europe by and large is not used to the culture of oral historyldquoThe culture of oral history telling or spoken word is known in the US and the UK but Europe isnrsquot exposed much to itrdquo says Singh ldquoIt was first time touring for Helly Taranjit and I But it was not just the format of the spoken word we wanted to spread we wanted to make sure that we represented our country wellSo it was an hour of our stories of love growing up family friendship and societyrdquo he said