Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Mind the gapLast April Project Mumbai a nonprofit had set up a free helpline to offer mental health support to people experiencing Covidrelated anxiety and grief ldquoWe received more than 17000 calls from 24 states Since many of our callers are students grappling with academic and personal stresses we are setting up a dedicated division for adolescentsrdquo shared Devika Kapoor officerincharge Dial 18001024040 for helpBandra cooks for a worthy causeChef Seefah Ketchaiyo and Raveena TauraniAlthough the FampB industry has been struggling for more than a year now itrsquos inspiring to see chefs and eateries step up to serve meals that heal Seven eateries have teamed up to form Bandra Restaurant Community for COVID Relief to deliver meals to positive patients and frontline workers in need of nutritional support in the suburb The collective includes Seeds of Life PackAPav Seefah Bombay Salad Co Supper Earth Cafe and YogisattvaRaveena Taurani founder and chef of Yogisattva told this diarist that the monthlong initiative will kick off from May 3 ldquoAll I wanted to do was help If yoursquore living alone or if your parents or grandparents are old and live by themselves you may not have the energy to cook especially if you are fighting the infection yourself We wanted to offer some relief from the stress of your next mealrdquo she added Chef Seefah Ketchaiyo whorsquos part of the team shared that when Taurani reached out to her getting onboard was a nobrainer ldquoWersquoll do as much as we can to support people in this situation and itrsquos good to see everyone come togetherrdquo she noted If you know someone in need of healthy meals or want to lend a hand with the initiative log on to raveenataurani on InstagramCelebrating the Raja of Indian artApril 29 marked the 173rd birth anniversary of eminent artist Raja Ravi Varma ldquoHe was one of the first painters in British India to blend European realism and traditional Indian art His portrayals of mythological characters have influenced Indian literature and filmsrdquo shared Nivedita Poddar founder of Art Fervour Beyond museums and auction houses his paintings have taken on a life of their own on social media through memes they have made his art relatable and accessible Recognising this theyrsquove created a meme generator for Raja Ravi Varma memes Check it out on memecreatorartfervourHail animal welfare advocacyPeople For Animals a nonprofit has launched the Ahimsa Fellowship Program to offer training to youth keen on animal welfare advocacy This yearlong fellowship focuses on experiential training and guidance to help animal welfare advocates to communicate with and assist authorities ldquoWe found that while sheltering was the main focus of most organisations working efficiently with the system was lacking Interacting with the administration and being familiar with laws requires a certain degree of training We hope this fellowship will motivate people with such interests to pursue itrdquo Gauri Maulekhi a trustee and member secretary of People For Animals saidReaching for Bhojpuri heightsA documentary film by director Simit Bhagat In Search of Bidesia has recently bagged the Best Documentary Film Award at the Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival in the UK The film centres on Bidesia a form of Bhojpuri folk music which expresses the life history pain and struggles of migrant workers ldquoThe film is about the journey of five musicians from UP and Bihar each is singing a different form of folk music I realised that if I didnrsquot record these songs theyrsquod be forgotten because there are no written recordsrdquo Bhagat said