03 July,2025 07:36 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Shadab Khan
A man carries a huge bundle of clothes on Sandhurst Road bridge, reflecting the everyday challenges that most Mumbaikars experience
The initiative's poster at Taloja Hill Forest. Pic courtesy/INaturewatch
To preserve the vanishing nature trails across Navi Mumbai, environmentalist V Shubhalaxmi started an initiative called Trailblazers at Taloja Hill Forest, last Tuesday. Through this initiative, people can adopt a nature trail for a minimum of six months and help maintain a 500-metre stretch of the trail.
She explained the vision behind the initiative, "As cities expand, the need to integrate accessible wild spaces while conserving their ecology becomes ever more important. Most existing trails here are nothing more than dirt paths with occasional signage, leading to environmental degradation and chaotic visitor movement. This project seeks to change that."
An Oriental Garden Lizard spotted in Bhandup. Pic courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
In order to highlight the importance of lizards, an oft-neglected species, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) is organising I Love Lizards, a month-long national art competition for children. Young artists can send portraits of lizards that they spot in their neighbourhoods, homes or gardens to lizardsarelovely@gmail.com.
Manoj Chaudhari (inset), assistant curator of Natural History at CSMVS, said, "Through this initiative, the museum aims to help children aged six to 15, observe lizards more closely, appreciate their beauty, and understand their importance in maintaining our home ecosystem. The jury includes Nature Walk, Pune trustee, Anuj Khare, and mid-day's assistant editor, Ranjeet Jadhav.
Dashavatara, acrylic on canvas, Arpitha Reddy
That filmmaker Muzaffar Ali is an artist was self-evident with his magnum opus, Umrao Jaan. A remastered version of the 1982 classic, and a book on its making, was released last weekend with the filmmaker in attendance. It seems that was a preview. Ali will be part of a group exhibition of 25 artists titled Voices that will open at the Jehangir Art Gallery on July 16. "He [Muzaffar Ali] is a reader, author, filmmaker and artist, and has been painting for over 50 years," shared art historian Uma Nair, who curated the presentation by Bespoke Gallery, Ahmedabad.
Hoshruba, acrylic and oil on canvas, Muzaffar Ali. Pics Courtesy/Bespoke Gallery
Ali's work Hoshruba will be among three pieces on display. Describing the exhibition that spans styles, mediums and artistic traditions, Nair said, "The idea was to put together a set of voices from across India."
Muzaffar Ali; (right) Uma Nair
From the Gond creations of Bhajju Sham, nephew and student of Jangarh Singh Shyam, to sculptures by Arzan Khambatta and Harsha Durugadda, the showcase also includes the Dashavtara mural by Arpitha Reddy. "She is a rare artist who has trained in the temple mural traditions of Guruvayoor and taken it forward," revealed Nair.
A moment from a previous session. Pic courtesy/Juhu Reads
Juhu Reads considers itself as more than just a reading community. In collaboration with Connect For and Kshitij Foundation, the community is holding a paper and cloth bag-making session for underprivileged children. Prashant Pundir (inset), the co-curator of the community, told this diarist, "Juhu Reads has always been about goodness before it's been about reading. We believe in the quiet power of community and the child-like faith of children. If we can come together to make even a small difference in their lives, it's worth everything." The session will be conducted on July 5. If you'd like to know more, check out @juhureads on Instagram.
