Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

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

A pre-loved idea for our strays

The past year has been difficult for our furry friends on the road. Taronish Bulsara, co-founder and president, World For All, an NGO working with street animals in Mumbai, shared that the pandemic has resulted in lesser contributions from donors, while the number of animals suffering has increased. “Apart from daily calls of rescues and treatment, during the lockdown, we began feeding 700 additional strays due to lack of alternatives for those who would rely on restaurants or kind strangers,” he explained. Every year, they host a flea market sale to raise funds for supporting strays. Now, amid the pandemic, they’re taking the fundraiser online by tieing up with pre-loved clothing platform Dolce Vee. The virtual thrift sale starting on September 5 will include pieces from the wardrobes of celebrities such as Amrita Puri, Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kemmu and Sophie Choudry. “Shoppers today are much more interested in seeing where their money goes, so there’s been a surge of interest in pre-loved shopping because of the environmental benefits. The virtual flea will have something for everyone,” noted Komal Hiranandani, founder, Dolce Vee.

A real lit list

The shortlist for this year’s edition of Neev Book Award has been announced across four categories — early years, emerging readers, junior readers and young adults. The list includes titles like The Big Thoughts of Little Luv by Karan Johar, The Miracle on Sunderbaag Street by Nandita DaCunha, The Torchbearers by AB Majumdar and more. “Over the years, the award has become a platform to showcase some of the best books for children in India, with Indian characters and settings that children are able to relate to. They can see aspects of their lives and their world reflected in what they read,” shared Kavita Gupta Sabharwal, 
co-founder of the festival. The winners will be announced by September-end. 

Mythology gets a zine

Roughly six years ago, when Neelkanth Mehta and Radhika Radia had taken up a course on comparative mythology at the University of Mumbai, there was very little additional information or workshops on the subject outside of the syllabus. That’s what prompted them to start Mythopia, a community that curates and shares information on lesser-known aspects of Indian mythology and ancient Indian culture. “Over time, we realised that there’s no magazine or newsletter on this subject that we know of. So, we felt that we owe it to the community to start an e-zine,” Radia said. Titled MythKatha, the e-zine will cover different perspectives on 
the subjects and look at sugges-tions and entries from enthusiasts. “There are a lot of subtle lessons in our mythology that we can tap into, and which we want to put out.”

Game on

Since the heydays of Super Mario and Pac-Man in the early 1980s, the gaming industry has evolved drastically in the past couple of decades, with gaming emerging as a popular career opportunity and attracting the attention of brands, influencers and social media. The Mythpat Podcast, a new series by Spotify Original, will strike a conversation around this world of gaming and the Internet culture with gamer and YouTuber Mithilesh Patankar, popularly known as Mythpat, as the host. The gamer will not just highlight the different aspects of gaming, but also share tips on becoming a better creator. 

“This collaboration is very thrilling for me. The gaming industry is often overlooked as being merely a mood-relaxing platform, but if you have a dedicated interest in gaming, it can be a legitimate career option. Through my podcast, I shall strive to convey this message as well as disclose all aspects associated with gaming with a fun twist,” Mythpat shared with us.

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