<h2>For yours ears only</h2>
<p>Following tradition, a devotee whispers wishes in the ears of the Nandi at Babulnath temple in Gamdevi on occasion of Mahashivratri yesterday.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Art comes home to Govandi</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/Govandi_e.jpg" alt="A moment from the 2023 edition of the festival. PIC COURTESY/GAF" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A moment from the 2023 edition of the festival. PIC COURTESY/GAF</em></strong></p>
<p>After its inaugural edition in 2023, the Govandi Arts Festival will be back for a 2025 edition this November 12 to 16, confirmed co-curator Natasha Sharma (below). &ldquo;The first edition unearthed some exceptional talent in filmmaking, performing arts and writing. The two-year-gap was vital to nurture these artistes to their full potential,&rdquo; Sharma explained.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/Natasha-Sharma_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>The upcoming festival will have more room for creativity, quite literally, owing to three new community spaces the team launched earlier this year under the Ek Aasman Tale initiative. &ldquo;With a larger team this year, we are also working on a greening initiative to make Govandi&rsquo;s lane spotless and green. That way, the festive fervour will light up every corner of the neighbourhood,&rdquo; Sharma told us.</p>
<h2>United we recycle</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/College-collection_e.jpg" alt="A student contributes to the collection" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A student contributes to the collection</em></strong></p>
<p>The burden of our e-waste generation is high. For students of Royal College in Mira Road, it stands at 36.9 kg &mdash; the total weight of e-waste amassed through collections that began in the college in December last year. &ldquo;The students, staff and visiting groups for cultural events all contributed to the collection. We are partnering with local organisation The Recycling Company to ensure the waste is responsibly processed and reused,&rdquo; revealed student volunteer Anindita Mukherjee.</p>
<h2>These Padminis love a good race</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/Fiat-runway_e.jpg" alt="A moment from the race" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A moment from the race</em></strong></p>
<p>Motorheads made a beeline to the Aamby Valley airstrip on February 22 to catch a glimpse of lightning-fast rides at the Generation Speed showcase. But it was two unusual suspects who stole the show. A Fiat Premier Padmini duo from The Bombay Fiat Club took to the track, attracting all the eyes and cheers at the two-day event.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/Fiat-a_e.jpg" alt="Amol Bavare&rsquo;s Premier Padmini" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Amol Bavare&rsquo;s Premier Padmini</em></strong></p>
<p>Amol Bavare, a practising lawyer at the Bombay High Court, who raced his red Padmini, a family heirloom from the 1970s said, &ldquo;It had been 30 years since this track saw a Fiat race on it, let alone a Padmini. Amidst the exotic supercars and speedsters zooming past us and the smell of burning rubber filling the air, I believe these simple vintage cars stirred up some childhood memories in the spectators. Keeping a vintage car takes a lot of care. But what amazes me is that the vehicle still runs on its 1970s engine. If you push it, it might even take you to speeds of 120 km/h. That&rsquo;s the charm that can perhaps never be replicated.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Scripts of time</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/feb/Aksharik_e.jpg" alt="A moment from the play Aksharik" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A moment from the play Aksharik</em></strong></p>
<p>Ever wondered how regional scripts like Bengali, Devanagari, Odia or Malayalam found representation in the printing press? The answers lie with regional artists of the colonial era. Last week, Kolkata-based theatre group Aneek staged Aksharik, a play that explored the life of Bengali letter artist Panchanan Karmakar who developed the first typeface for Bengali and other regional languages. The play, based on Rajat Chakraborti&rsquo;s novel, Panchananer Haraf revives the forgotten lore of the artist. &ldquo;The play went on the floors in 2023, and we have been touring with it for a while now. When we were invited by the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Natya Parishad to put up a show in the city, we were surprised by the turnout considering the dialogues are all in Bengali,&rdquo; Soumen Chakraborty, actor who played Karmakar, told this diarist. The play reiterates the importance of one&rsquo;s mother tongue and highlights the work of the heroes behind it. &ldquo;There is a scene where we all come together, and use the hammer and chisel to create the rhythm for a song on stage. That has been one of the biggest highlights of our show,&rdquo; he summarised.</p><p>
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