Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Sea of calmThree women get photographed while practising yoga at Marine Drive on TuesdayBiryani bossesThe biryani like pulao is a multifaceted dish that can take on many different avatars And the folks behind online food platform Culinary Culture are now calling on home chefs food bloggers and other passionate foodies to come up with their own twist to the dish for a contest where the winner gets a cool 1 lakh All you have to do is recreate a hatke version of either rice dish take a scrumptious photograph write a caption that says why the twist is special to you and put it up on Instagram The eclectic jury includes chef Vineet Bhatia actor Huma Qureshi and photographer Atul Kasbekar Interested Pay a visit to culinarycultureco on InstagramBorivalirsquos IC Colony goes globalThe quaint Catholicdominated region of IC Colony in Borivali has got a unique symbol synonymous with its residents On Monday a 12foot lsquoImmaculate Conceptionrsquo globe was inaugurated by Fr Gerald Fernandes parish priest of IC church along with excorporator Abhishek Ghosalkar and his wife Tejasvee ldquoMost families in IC Colony have someone abroad mdash in the Gulf Europe the US etc This globe portrays IC Colonyrsquos global naturerdquo Ghosalkar told this diarist ldquoThis iron globe denotes the strength of the three virtues mdash goodness beauty and trust mdash on which every religion is basedrdquo added Fr GeraldGive a hoot about thisThe illegal trading of dusky eagle owls is common in IndiaWhatrsquos common to these owl species mdash rock eagle brown fish dusky eagle collared scops and mottled wood They are among those that are illegally traded the most in India according to conservation NGO TRAFFIC We are a country where superstitions about the bird reign supreme Tantriks for example prescribe the use of different body parts of an owl such as the skull claws egg shells and heart for various religious rituals This is one major reason behind the increasing scale of illegal owl trading Thus to highlight this menace and suggest ways to curb it TRAFFIC has joined hands with WWF India to organise a webinar today which is International Day of Owl Awareness where experts will address the subject These experts include WWF India CEO Ravi Singh Dr Saket Badola head TRAFFIC and Dr Dhananjai Mohan director Wildlife Institute of India ldquoThe webinar will highlight issues related to poaching and trafficking of owls for superstitious rituals in Indiardquo Badola informed Log on to either organisationrsquos Facebook page to catch it live at 1030 amA box full of storiesEducation platform Parag has launched its 2021 edition of the Parag Honour List Book Box an opencall initiative that awards NGOs home libraries schools and learning centres with a curated list of books that come in a set of 20 titles in both English and Hindi This year the applications will close on August 31 and selected names will receive their collections by the end of September Nikhil Shetty director of Upkram Educational Foundation the recipient of last yearrsquos box shared ldquoWe have used the books as part of our Jhola Library collection a mobile community library It involves engaging children in small groups with a focused reading hour storytelling readaloud activities and book talksrdquo Visit wwwparagreadsin to register your organisationRest in peace JaideepThe good ones sometimes leave way too soon Jaideep Khare mdash or lsquoJDrsquo mdash was a Punekar who used to manage seminal indie act Thermal and a Quarter TAAQ around a decade ago This week he died of a heart attack Khare was only 32 This diarist had met him in Mumbai mdash a city he would frequent over the weekends to meet friends mdash and is witness to the outpouring of grief from all quarters India and abroad over WhatsApp messages calls and social media ldquoBrutal bloody yearrdquo messaged TAAQ front man Bruce Lee Mani while others recalled his kind heart and warm persona But most had one common refrain while condoling his death mdash ldquoI am still processing the lossrdquo Thatrsquos how they unanimously described their emotions their feelings about JD one of the good ones who left before his time had come