18 August,2026 07:24 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Shadab Khan
Bats hang among the trees as a bird takes flight at Five Gardens, Matunga
Children perform Dharavi Dreams. Pic courtesy/@tddp_in
For the young performers of The Dharavi Dream Project, the next stop is likely to be Jodhpur, Rajasthan, where they will stage their hip-hop musical theatre production, Dharavi Dreams, sharing stories of resilience across four shows.
Dolly Rateshwar
En route to Jodhpur, co-founder Dolly Rateshwar shared with this diarist, "The play, Dharavi Dreams, is their way of expressing their emotions and how these young artistes have a never-give-up attitude. They're all excited and in sync with their research about the Blue City, and this gives them a chance to explore - it's education outside the classroom."
Jiddu Krishnamurti, Krishna Reddy
Art often finds its way through an inspiration or a muse. For artist Krishna Reddy, one such influence was Jiddu Krishnamurti, who was also his early teacher.
The ongoing exhibition, The Many and the One by Krishna Reddy. Pics courtesy/JNAF, @rhoskote
As part of the ongoing exhibition Krishna Reddy: The Many and the One, poet and cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote will explore this connection, looking at how Krishnamurti's ideas on beauty, identity, and freedom found their way into Reddy's artistic thinking.
Ranjit Hoskote
The conversation will also trace Reddy's journey across genres, cultures and continents, and the experiences that shaped his distinctive approach to artistic practice over the years at Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation (JNAF) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya on August 19.
(Left) The old banner of Warden Book House, Tardeo; (right) the new brown banner of the book house. Pics/Special Arrangement
If you are wondering why, you don't spot Warden Book House, the popular bookshop at Breach Candy anymore, it's because they have moved house. On enquiry, this diarist discovered they are now at Commerce Centre, Tardeo Road, under the same Warden Book House banner, but with a new thrust as against general books and magazines that they sold at Breach Candy. The father and son duo of Ketan and Karan Shah say that this is the only bookshop in India specialising in Mind, Body and Spirit books and card decks; Karan being a professional tarot card reader. We are sure, going by their love for books apart from treating it as a business, success is on the cards.
They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and it is definitely true for Seher Hashmi. The mental health activist shares a deep connection to social causes through mother, activist Shabnam Hashmi, and her late uncle, playwright and director, Safdar Hashmi.
Seher Hashmi rides through the city on a previous expedition. Pic courtesy/@perfectlyimperfectseher
A fashion stylist and mental health activist, Hashmi's latest ride, Beyond the Horizon: A Ride for Resilience, will stretch from Delhi to Kanyakumari, passing through Mumbai and Pune along the way and back. She will campaign for youth outreach and grassroot mobilisation to tackle mental health stigma through the campaign. The 30-year-old will cover more than 7000 kms across 11 states during the journey that kicks off in Delhi on August 20.
A survivor herself, Hashmi's 15-year-long journey of healing saw her battle Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and depression. "My purpose is to start a conversation about mental health. I will be meeting students, educators, and communities because I believe that these conversations belong everywhere, and not just in therapy rooms," revealed Hashmi on her social media post.
