<h2>Of all the pretty horses</h2>
A couple makes sure to take a selfie to document their horse ride at <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-gets-second-viewing-deck-at-girgaon-chowpatty-23223301" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Dadar Chowpatty</a>.
<h2>Of Kasavu meeting Louboutin</h2>
<img title="Her installation, Sathya, at the Paris exhibit" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-b_e.jpg" alt="Her installation, Sathya, at the Paris exhibit" width="1280" height="720" />Her installation, Sathya, at the Paris exhibit
<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-s-dadar-station-redevelopment-finally-begins-after-years-of-delays-23607536" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Mumbai</a>-based conceptual artist Lakshmi Madhavan is taking her textile practice based on the kasavu handloom heritage to new international heights, with her signature weaves on exhibit in a Paris showcase conceived by Christian Louboutin, no less. The historic exhibition brings Indian and French artists and designers into dialogue through textiles, and is on at the Galerie des Gobelins et Mobilier National till January 4, 2026.
<img title="Lakshmi Madhavan with one of her artworks" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-c_e.jpg" alt="Lakshmi Madhavan with one of her artworks" width="1280" height="720" />Lakshmi Madhavan with one of her artworks
One of two works on display is an installation, Sathya, in which Madhavan wraps loom shuttles with thread and hair &mdash; hers and her son&rsquo;s &mdash; in a commentary on weavers&rsquo; lineage and generational memory. The second piece, a kasavu panel titled Hanging by a Thread II, explores the weave from Kerala as a charged material shaped by caste, gender, and labour. &ldquo;My practice is rooted in kasavu as both material and method&mdash;a way of thinking through labour, lineage, and belonging. Working in long-term collaboration with the Balaramapuram weaving community, I seek to make visible the bodies, gestures, and inherited knowledge that sustain this cloth but are often erased once it enters public life,&rdquo; she says. &nbsp;Three of Madhavan&rsquo;s weaves have also been acquitted by the Asian Art Museum in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/health-and-fitness/article/us-medical-miracle-san-francisco-woman-gives-birth-in-a-waymo-self-driving-taxi-23607261" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">San Francisco</a>, and are on display in the museum&rsquo;s first-ever permanent Kerala section. She also has a showcase on (Looming Bodies) at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale till March 31, 2026.&nbsp;
<h2>Santa spotted in Bandra (W)</h2>
<img title="The shiny letter box" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-d_e.jpg" alt="The shiny letter box" width="1280" height="720" />The shiny letter box
Ho Ho Ho! &lsquo;Tis the season to be jolly. Santa Claus has made a stopover at Bandra (W) where a letter box for kids to post their Santa communication stands ready for the season. A resident informed, &ldquo;this is installed at the DeLima Apartments on St Andrews Road at <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-now-bandra-residents-seek-relief-from-two-wheeler-pain-23594902" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Bandra</a> (W) right till December 24.&rdquo; The circular/letter alongside the post box stated.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This is jolly old Santa Claus. Guess what? I&rsquo;ve found the PERFECT spot for my special red-and-gold Letter Box again this year! Come skipping, hopping, or dancing over to drop your beautiful letters straight to me! Write your wishes, dreams, and doodles, fold them with love, and pop them in my box!&rdquo; An interesting aspect is a drum next to the letter box where everyone is encouraged to drop in their pre-loved toys and clothes.&nbsp;
<h2>Death of a cricketer revisited</h2>
<img title="Terry O&rsquo;Connell and the late Martin Bedkober. Pic Courtesy/ cricket.com.au" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-e_e.jpg" alt="Terry O&rsquo;Connell and the late Martin Bedkober. Pic Courtesy/ cricket.com.au" width="1280" height="720" />Terry O&rsquo;Connell and the late Martin Bedkober. Pic Courtesy/ cricket.com.au
For years, cricket lovers, especially those from Australia, have known what happened to grade cricketer Martin Bedkober without actually hearing the story of his death in great detail.
On December 13, 1975, Sydney&rsquo;s Bedkober, representing Toombul club in Brisbane was struck on his heart. No amount of on-ground rescue work could save Bedkober&rsquo;s life.&nbsp;
In 2014, Australian batsman Phil Hughes lost his life after being struck below his left ear from a delivery bowled by Sean Abbott.
<img title="A news report in the January 1976 issue of the Australian Cricket magazine" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-f_e.jpg" alt="A news report in the January 1976 issue of the Australian Cricket magazine" width="1280" height="720" />A news report in the January 1976 issue of the Australian Cricket magazine
Now, 50 years on, cricket.com.au has a large feature on that incident and interviewed the man who bowled that fatal ball to Bedkober &mdash; Terry O&rsquo;Connell, 75. Bedkober was a flat mate of Australian cricket stars Jeff Thomson and Ian Davis. Thomson &nbsp;recalled being shattered when he received the of his friend&rsquo;s death during the December 12-16 <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/opinion/article/if-its-fine-in-australia-why-criticise-india-23604444" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Perth Test</a> against the West Indies.
Bedkober&rsquo;s girlfriend was at the club match and so were O&rsquo;Connell&rsquo;s parents.
&ldquo;The thing that haunts me, is that&hellip; this was a trap that we set &hellip; I deliberately bowled the one short to hit him. I meant to hit him, but I didn&rsquo;t want to do that damage. It&rsquo;s an accident, I know. But deep in my mind, I deliberately did it,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Connell is quoted as saying.&nbsp;
He&rsquo;s lived with this guilt for 50 years and his torture will probably never end. Some sad life this.
<h2>Women with colours</h2>
<img title="Art by Moon Sutradhar. Pic Courtesy/Zubaan Books" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-g_e.jpg" alt="Art by Moon Sutradhar. Pic Courtesy/Zubaan Books" width="1280" height="720" />Art by Moon Sutradhar. &nbsp;Pic Courtesy/Zubaan Books
In 2006, Zubaan initiated Poster Women, a project, conceptualised to visually map the history of the women&rsquo;s movement. They worked closely with over 160 organisations and individuals to source 1100+ posters which today form an open archive.&nbsp;
In 2026, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Poster Women collection, Zubaan in collaborating with Takshila Education Society to hosted multiple exhibitions at Arthshila Santiniketan, Goa, and Ahmedabad.
Bidisha Mahanta, Executive Director at Zubaan, says, &ldquo;The poster collection contains 1200+ posters from the 1970s onwards, documenting women&rsquo;s resistance against violence, domestic abuse, loss of land, struggle for reproductive rights and so much more. In the 40 submissions encompassing around 60-70 posters, we also see the recurring themes of invisibilised labour, increasing (and digital/online forms of) violence against women, queer, trans folks, issues of communalism, etc. In some ways, we have moved forward in visibilising marginalised communities but in so many ways, we are still where we started, albeit with more layers added to it.&rdquo;

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

Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier |  The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Mumbai weather update: City sees pleasant winter morning, but air quality remains unhealthy

 The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce: A couple makes sure to take a selfie to document their horse ride at Dadar Chowpatty

Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Of all the pretty horses

Of Kasavu meeting Louboutin

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