11 October,2026 07:34 AM IST | Mumbai | Team SMD
Pic/Satej Shinde
A crow looks for a tasty snack in fishmonger Raju Yadav's basket in Andheri East. Yadav deliberately keeps fish there for the birds.
It's that time of the year when we all spruce up our homes, and gleefully splurge on new décor items. For many at Sunday mid-day, the annual Diwali sale by the Women's Training Institute is a favourite, where we can pick up block-printed bedcovers, bags, and toys for Diwali presents, and fruit preserves for return gifts. All the products are handcrafted by women from disadvantaged circumstances who get trained in skills such as block printing, tailoring, embroidery at WIT so they can develop an independent source of income.
"It helps them sustain their family, educate their children. We've had women working with us whose children have now gone on to become engineers, which is so wonderful," says Gool Udwadia, honorary chairperson at WIT.
What could be better than Diwali shopping that lights up both your home and another's?
Mexican artist José Zendejas Foyo turns to abstraction to explore these shifting emotional states in âAmores' (Loves), his first solo exhibition in India. Presented by Anupa Mehta Contemporary Art (AMCA), in association with the Consulate General of Mexico in Mumbai, the show opens on October 8 and runs through November 18 at the gallery's Colaba space.
"My show âAmores' at Anupa Mehta Contemporary Art, Colaba, is about love in its many forms, and about what paintings can do with emotions that are difficult to name. Each painting carries the name of a particular kind of love - toxic, self-love, ephemeral, idealised, broken, and so forth. The title is only a starting point. What follows is colour - chromatic atmospheres that are not literal, but that guide the rhythm, depth, and composition of each piece. Although the series emerges from deep introspection, it also holds forms of love I have observed in others. I am interested in how certain affective vibrations - seduction, loss, calm, obsession - repeat across very different lives.
At that intersection, the work ceases to belong only to me. I would like audiences to meet it through their own emotional experience, and recognise something of themselves in it," José Zendejas Foyo.
Our in-house cricket nut has got hold of a 1948 paper clipping. It's a report by Australia batsman-turned-journalist Jack Fingleton, who played in the Bodyline series in 1932-33.
Fingleton was covering the 1948 Ashes in England and offered a great insight into how Bradman was dismissed in both innings of the opening Test at Trent Bridge of that series, by England's pace great Alec Bedser.
Over to Fingo, reporting from Nottingham: "There is a delectable story behind the dismissal of Bradman for a "duck" yesterday in Australia's second innings in the First Test here. Bowlers the world over have fraternal feelings for each other. Perhaps it is because of their hard lot on overprepared pitches. The other evening, [retired player Bill, who was in England] O'Reilly said to Bedser, âLook here, if you feel you must have a pop at Don on the legside, why don't you re-arrange your field?'
"O'Reilly showed Bedser how he would place a mid-on, two square-legs, and instead of a leg-slip a man posted finer to trap leg-glances. On Friday, Bradman was 130 not out at the close. The next day. after three balls, Bedser had him caught by this fine-leg close up. Yesterday, believe it or not, the same thing happened in exactly the same manner. O'Reilly is not being unkind to his country in this. All bowlers talk among themselves. After the first time, Bedser looked towards the Press pavilion, and smiled his thanks. Yesterday, he was in such a whirl that he forgot to look. But, Don will be looking for this the next time."
O'Reilly was a spin bowler who Don Bradman admired greatly. In 24 Tests, from 1931 to 1946, the leg-break bowler claimed 144 wickets at 22.60. O'Reilly was a free spirited Australian, always willing to offer advice to bowlers even though they belonged to the opposition team. That he was one former teammate who was critical of The Don is a different matter.
Bollywood music director Sneha Khanwalkar, known for her experimental compositions in Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), brings her distinctive sound to Delhi-based electronica artist Sijya's upcoming remix EP, Leather & Brass [Retrofitted], releasing on October 23 via One Little Independent Records.
The EP reimagines Sijya's original record through the interpretations of a group of femme producers she admires. "For the past few years, I've been obsessed with listening to femme producers and artistes, and this remix comp is an ode to that," she says.
"Khanwalkar is a legend. She's done amazing work blending authentic regional sounds with contemporary sounds, and I really wanted to hear her take on my music," says Sijya. Khanwalkar, in turn, calls Sijya "one of my favourite new indie minds, whose intelligence I find universal. Her sounds talk back to me. It goes beyond cool and makes me want to make music too."
The original Leather & Brass combines digital synthesis with distorted synthesiser sounds and atmospheric production. The remix EP offers fresh interpretations of Sijya's sonic world while celebrating women artistes.
Even though we've lived in Mumbai for half a decade, it's always a shock when October mornings aren't crisp with the winters right around the corner. And perhaps that's why 23-year-old biker Harsh Sagar chose to head off to Ladakh.
The hardest part of the journey started in Mumbai itself. "It took two hours just to cross 10 kilometres," he laughs. Mumbai traffic is inescapable, even when one is escaping the city. Despite the rocky start, Sagar was determined to make the most of the ride. After a few delays and itinerary changes, the 23-year-old, who works in public relations, made his way through Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana before heading into the mountains. Six days after leaving Mumbai, he reached Leh.
The journey had its share of challenges. "Many riders were also falling. I was just thinking, I don't want to fall," he recalls. Thankfully, he and his friends made it through without taking a tumble. Sagar had been dreaming of this ride for a while, but needed his parents' approval to take the plunge. Now back home, he says, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment for me."
