24 May,2026 07:55 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Ashish Raje
People sit and watch the sunset at Worli Seaface.
It is a moment when Fodnicha Bhaat meets Fish 'n' Chips. Maharashtra's "Unique Maharashtra" tourism campaign has found its mobile global stage: the streets of London. Ads are on London buses, making Maharashtrians nostalgic for home. There is a video of a Maharashtra Tourism advertisement on a London bus which shows the ad touching an emotional chord with the diaspora. One social media post says: "Kuthe pochla Maharashtra majha" ("Where has my Maharashtra reached!"), with a young man stating, "I was flooded with memories of home, its beauty, its warmth. This ad won my heart and made me want to go back." Minister of Tourism, Shambhuraj Desai said, "The response from the Maharashtrian people abroad has been deeply gratifying. Seeing Maharashtra Tourism ads light up global cities like London is proof that the state's cultural and tourism identity is earning recognition on the world stage. For international tourists, this is an invitation, come see what Maharashtra has to offer." We have ancient hill forts, sun-washed coastlines, sacred pilgrimage sites, the lush wilderness of the Sahyadris, the laid-back charm of the Konkan coast and the pulse of its modern cities. Like they say, especially apt in this case, "Bus. Rulayega kya pagle?"
Filmmaker and writer Bela Negi, who is based between Mumbai and Nainital, has come out with her debut, The Tree With Eyes and Other Stories. The book has just been released more than a month ago and is collection of stories that reflect the contemporary reality of rural Uttarakhand - the dilemma of a people caught between an old world that is slipping away and an uncertain future. "This complex social and emotional dynamic provides fertile ground for the storyteller in me," says Negi.
A graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, Negi, 54, has worked in cinema for over two decades, writing, directing, and editing across formats.
At a time when migration, and forest destruction is having real life effects, Negi's work seems critical to understand the challenges in regions that are not a part of the urban news conversation. "The stories explore how environmental loss, migration, and gender inequality reshape both people and place. A gangrenous wound mirrors a quarry consuming the forests, a ghost village exposes the emptiness of caste hierarchies, and nature shifts roles from companion to threat," she says. "Women, who sustain village life, are often constrained by social structures, yet each finds ways to reclaim agency and redefine herself. Migration runs like an undertow through the stories, shaping absence, memory, and the fragile bond between people and their homeland," she adds.
Well, we love short stories that feature untold ones.
Last week, we were in a musical mood. As this diarist drove down to Byculla, we noticed that most music playing in our headphones has been sung by women. And so, it was especially interesting to witness Spotify's latest EQUAL Day (first ever in India) - a programme that is designed to address inequalities within the industry. This one focused on the experiences of women within music.
We sat down for a panel titled "Building Safer Spaces in Music". Musicians and event organisers spoke about how we can make music infrastructure safer for women. They discussed the many issues women face - from not being able to drink water since there are no clean washrooms around to never drinking at events since there are no coasters for glasses, and we risk drinks getting spiked. We liked what panelist Anushka Nain said, "Safety isn't about absence of harm, but presence of ease."
The Daily Star newspaper in the United Kingdom recently did a feature on England's 1966 World Cup football triumph, whose 60th anniversary will be marked in July. A few interesting facts emerged from the feature. For example, did you know that the captain Bobby Moore had won his battle against testicular cancer before participating in the UK-hosted mega event? Or how the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from an exhibition held in London only to be found by a dog called Pickles in a hedge? Now comes some money talk. The England players got paid only £60 pounds (approx R128 per pound) per match but £1000 each for winning the trophy. The winner's medal of Alan Ball, the baby of the team at 21 sold for more than £200,000 at an auction while Geoff Hurst's No. 10 shirt went for £91,000 in 2000.
There'll be more such footballing facts and figures sprinkled in publications and social media feeds especially because this is World Cup football year (June 11 to July 19 in America, Mexico, and Canada).
Watch this space.
Film director Sudhanshu Rai's The Dreamers Storytelling series "brings the journeys of extraordinary icons and living legends to life through cinematic storytelling." He says that the idea is to show "how they actually went through different phases of life" and yet "still believed in themselves." He also adds that such narratives "give people hope," which is why "long format stories with emotional depth and honesty will always be favoured."
