<h2>Divine heights</h2>
<p>Sculptures resembling those from the bas relief at Persepolis&rsquo; Apadana Palace dating to the Archaemenid empire, watched over by the winged Farohar, on a building&rsquo;s facade in Lalbaug lend an air of antiquity to this otherwise gentrified cityscape.</p>
<h2>Reimagine the wheel on Elephanta</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jun/Wheelbarrow_e.jpg" alt="An artist paints on a wheelbarrow" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>An artist paints on a wheelbarrow (right) Jasmeet Kaur</em></strong></p>
<p>Elephanta Island&rsquo;s newest attraction comes courtesy of seven young artists from the city. Armed with paintbrushes, the team from 3Art House, Khar, transformed wheelbarrows into vibrant displays of environment-themed art over the last weekend. The wheelbarrows will be used by city-based NGO Ek Saath Foundation at an upcoming clean-up drive on the island. &ldquo;Since we were short on time, we sent our young artists, many of them students, to get the job done,&rdquo; shared (inset) Jasmeet Kaur, founder, 3 Art House. Pari Mhatre, one of the artists, revealed to us, &ldquo;We took inspiration from the Madhubani style for the motifs and blended it with truck art style. Working in Mumbai&rsquo;s unforgiving heat over the weekend was a challenge, but we&rsquo;re proud of how it came out.&rdquo; The handcarts will be displayed at Elephanta Island as a reminder to locals and tourists to keep it clean.</p>
<h2>By women, for women</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jun/Meher-Kaur_e.jpg" alt="Annika Agarwal and Meher Kaur" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Annika Agarwal and Meher Kaur</em></strong></p>
<p>Following Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28, researchers and Fulbright Scholars Annika Agarwal and Meher Kaur will present an open-for-all multimedia exhibit titled Navigating Menstruation, Sex, and Womanhood: Stories from Five Slums in Mumbai, at G5A today. Agarwal, who hails from New Jersey, has worked on a short film, which has been directed and shot by the girls and the women of the slums. Kaur, who was born and raised in Maryland, will present her research as a photo installation.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jun/Manasi-Kotrik_e.jpg" alt="A still from the participant-shot short film shows the slums of Dharavi" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A still from the participant-shot short film shows the slums of Dharavi</em></strong></p>
<p>&ldquo;I was keen to find out how menstruation sanitation works for the women in the slums. A statistic showed that nearly 100 women use the same community toilet daily,&rdquo; shared Agarwal, who after training women from the slums of Dharavi, Kandivali and Kalwa, handed them cameras for a week to record their own experiences. Kaur, on the other hand, worked in and around Khar East and Govandi. &ldquo;My research was based on finding a solution to making mobile [phone] health apps more accessible to women. It will be presented as an installation with anecdotes and photographs,&rdquo; she told this diarist. While Kaur invited 16 women to participate, Agarwal&rsquo;s film was made by 25 of them; four of whom will be present today between 6 pm and 8 pm at the Mahalaxmi venue to share their experience.</p>
<h2>Parkour with Akshay Kumar</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jun/Rishi-2_e.jpg" alt="Akshay Kumar with Rishi Prasad.  Pic Courtesy/Youtube" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Akshay Kumar with Rishi Prasad. &nbsp;Pic Courtesy/Youtube</em></strong></p>
<p>Best known for performing his own stunts, Akshay Kumar joined parkour coach and co-founder of Mumbai Movement Academy, Dr Rishi Prasad (inset) in his recent roof-jumping adventure. &ldquo;It was for an advertisement that was recently released,&rdquo; Prasad revealed. In the video, Prasad steals a woman&rsquo;s necklace, and the hero of the hour, Kumar, chases him from one roof to another.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jun/Rishi_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>&ldquo;I often take up projects where they require someone trained in parkour. The most popular one was with Hrithik Roshan for Vikram Vedha,&rdquo; Prasad told this diarist, adding that this time, they were looking for someone who could fit the role of the Joker. &ldquo;There is a small community of people who practise parkour in Mumbai. And from us, they felt that I fit the role well,&rdquo; he revealed, adding that Akshay Kumar lives up to his name of performing most of his stunts, &ldquo;He is also extremely involved with the script; he will suggest changes, and try to make scenes humorous in his own way.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Croaking good news</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jun/Bittu-Sahgal_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>After discontinuing print editions of the crowd-funded Sanctuary Asia magazine, editor Bittu Sahgal announced on World Environment Day that they will now resume printing. &ldquo;We kept publishing the magazine in its print avatar without missing a single issue, but during the pandemic we were only able to circulate it digitally. &nbsp;I was heartbroken not to be able to reach print copies to our loyal subscribers. I am feeling overjoyed today,&rdquo; he told this diarist.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/jun/Schneider_e.jpg" alt="Schneider&rsquo;s dwarf toad is featured on the cover. Pic Courtesy/Seshadri KS" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Schneider&rsquo;s dwarf toad is featured on the cover. Pic Courtesy/Seshadri KS</em></strong></p>
<p>The June edition features a cover story on amphibians that have begun heralding the arrival of the monsoon, among others revolving around wildlife and environment in India and abroad. Existing subscribers can write to subscriptions@sanctuaryasia.com to get a print version.</p><p>
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