08 April,2026 08:35 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
PIC/Atul Kamble
Construction workers oversee metal works at a highrise building in Goregaon
Participants at a pre-festival activity at St Xaviers' College, Fort. Pic Courtesy/MAHF
Resilience takes a toll. For all its grit, life in the Maximum City can feel like a constant rush. Starting on May 6, the Mumbai Arts and Health Festival will add some âPause' to the proceedings. The free public festival will take place in public spaces across the city to bring together diverse stakeholders of evidence-based arts in medicine and community wellness.
"It explores the intersection of arts and public health. It is inspired by the Global South Arts and Health Movement, and is held in collaboration with the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship," shared festival chair, Devika Mehta (above). With a drum session at Carter Road next Sunday, the pre-event festivities are already underway. Readers can head over to the @mumbaiartsandhealthfestival for details.
Graffiti by Raj Pathare aka Mooz. Pics Courtesy/@mooz.one
Even those forgotten need to be celebrated. Last weekend, a group of graffiti artists made their way to Vikhroli to transform an abandoned building into something more colourful.
A graffiti by artist DKrypt. Pic Courtesy/@krypt.one
"Graffiti is always to improve a wall. A friend suggested the place, and six of us asked around the neighbourhood before adding some colour to it. It was our way of saying goodbye," shared Raj Pathare aka Mooz.
Natasha Sharma, co-founder of the Govandi Arts Festival has another feather in her cap. Come May, the changemaker will join a select few who receive the 2026 Dalai Lama Fellowship. Established in 2010 with support from the 14th Dalai Lama, the fellowship helps leaders develop self-awareness, mindfulness, and emotional intelligence in their ongoing efforts.
File Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
"Working on the grassroots level can often be all-consuming. It's extremely important to pause and reflect. I'm looking forward to meeting a refreshing batch of Fellows from Palestine, Iran, and Nigeria in Dharamsala next month," she told us. Back home, the Fellowship will help her steer the Ek Aasmaan Tale initiative in the lanes of Govandi to its next destination. We're all eyes.
A panel in Warli art style on the cycle of water. Pics courtesy/Neev; SKLTCOA
While citizens grumble about urban development that feels increasingly cumbersome, an interesting study by the architectural and design students of the Smt KL Tiwari College of Architecture (SKLTCOA) seeks to transfer traditional learning about sustainability and ecological design into urban pedagogy. The book, Zameen, Jal, Jangal, Janaawar, Jan (Neev), will be launched at the Goethe Institut on April 9, alongside resentations and a panel discussion.
Illustration and example of residential structure
"There were three batches of the students from 2023 to 2025, led by architect Pratik Dhanmer who documented life in Aarey Colony, Murbad village, and Veti villages. At the heart, we wanted to address the disconnect. India is largely rural in its ecological and cultural foundation, but architectural education and practice remains urban centric. We wanted to document traditional knowledge systems of sustainability to improve our teaching methods," shared editor Suha Khopatkar.
