Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

No birds in handAmidst the debated ban on feeding pigeons in the city a boy chases an elusive pigeon at Bandra Talao KabutarkhanaWe can hiphopChemburbased rappers at a previous panMumbai hiphop showcase Pic courtesyAngad LokhandeYou probably wouldnrsquot bet on Chembur as the next hiphop hotspot in Mumbai Colour us surprised because a firstofitskind rappersrsquo meet is set to take over the suburbrsquos streets on August 9 ldquoWe are a nearly 30member strong community There was a time when the community was buzzing with interest but unfortunately many of our artistes shelved their passion for hiphop to chase steady office jobs This is a revival of sorts in that senserdquo member Angad Lokhande told us To learn more about the ambitious groupThe pleasurersquos ours MulundThe hoarding featuring middayrsquos report dated August 5 is placed outside the East exit of Mulund railway station PIC COURTESYRAJENDRA B AKLEKARCall it a small world middayrsquos deputy city editor Rajendra B Aklekar bumped into himself on his morning walk in Mulund on Wednesday Following Aklekarrsquos detailed report in this newspaper on local residentsrsquo visit to the BMC Headquarters to fasttrack the completion of an EastWest Foot Over Bridge FOB at Mulund railway station the report popped up on a hoarding at the East exit of the station ldquoI was strolling past the area when I saw the citizensrsquo token of appreciationrdquo Aklekar said Residents had earlier thanked midday after Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar promptly ordered the release of funds for the bridge that is being built by Central Railwayrsquos Mumbai division and the BMC This bit of happy news comes as the cherry on top of the 19 impact stories midday reported in the month of July In other words like wersquove always said if itrsquos in Mumbai itrsquos in middayIn green companyShmes Ansari with the visitors in Mahim PICS COURTESYSHMES ANSARIA tourist group comprising Italian English and Ghanaian nature enthusiasts was caught red handed at Maharashtra Nature Park in Mahim last Sunday ldquoWe were rubbing teak leaves to see how they release red dyeing agentsrdquo said Shmes Ansari a citybased naturalist who answered the call of duty when the group sought his help in understanding the flora and fauna of the park ldquoIt was a complete coincidence I happened to be at the park when I crossed paths with the group who was visiting as an exchange programme I gladly showed them around the sprawling park with a focus on the trees and the snakes that peep out in the monsoon One of them was so intrigued that he wished to send his son who is studying ecology on a field trip to Mumbai Wersquod love to see that Therersquos enough in Mumbairsquos woods for everyonerdquo Ansari told this diaristKutch kaleidoscopeThe audience gathered at the Nehru Centre Library on August 2 was witness to a story that traversed two decades The talk centred on Dr Mariam Dossalrsquos book Flowers of the Sun The People and Land of Kutch c1740 to 2020 was the result of two decades of research into the people culture food and influences of the Kutch civilisation ldquoIt began when I first visited Kutch in the 1990s with my aunt looking for details about my great grandfather a Khoja merchant from Kerardquo Dr Dossal sharedDr DossalIn 2002 she truly began work on the research project about the region to highlight lsquothe composite and syncretic nature of the region and Indiarsquo she said Arati Desai librarian and documentation officer Nehru Centre LIbrary added ldquoThe library has evolved as a public library in the true sense of the word and the talk on the book was part of our outreach to help take the book to readers Our aim is to encourage people to participate in more such works that are out of the boxrdquoMusic masterySonja Greiner left secretary general of ECA with Ria Master PIC COURTESYRIA MASTERMarine Linesbased early childhood music educator Ria Master is humming a happy tune this month Master recently became the first Indian participant in the YOUNG programme by the International Federation for Choral Music and the European Choral Association in Munich Germany On the back of praise from her mentors and peers she told this diarist ldquoIt was wonderful to be one of the eight selected candidates I learnt a great deal about choral management through handson training Irsquom looking forward to putting it into practicerdquo