<h2>Spot the watchdog</h2>
<p>An indie strolls past police personnel posted at the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/cjp-protest-around-1500-people-gathered-at-shivaji-park-to-protest-200-protesters-detained-says-mumbai-police-23641091?text-shots" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Shivaji Park </a>protest site on Tuesday</p>
<h2>It begins with one</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Dipna-Juhu_e.jpg" alt="Dipna Daryanani at Juhu Circle. PIC COURTESY/@provocauteure" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Dipna Daryanani at Juhu Circle. PIC COURTESY/@provocauteure</em></strong></p>
<p>It was a full circle moment, quite literally, for educator-artist Dipna Daryanani and theatremaker Tanvi Shah, who took to their home turf of Juhu to spread a timely message. Commuters and passers-by at <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/mumbai-food/article/mumbai-food-two-month-old-eatery-juhu-4-am-cravings-juhu-circle-lifestyle-18279153" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Juhu Circle</a> were greeted by a placard that read &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t be afraid to care&rsquo; by Daryanani and &lsquo;What question did you ask today as a citizen?&rsquo; by Shah. Daryanani told this diarist that the move was inspired by a senior citizen who would often stand at the same spot, with a message about love. In line with official restrictions imposed on gatherings, those who wish to take a leaf from the duo&rsquo;s book would do well to find their own corners to sow the seeds of change.</p>
<h2>Three cheers for old times&rsquo; sake</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Merlin-Dsouza_e.jpg" alt="Merlin Dsouza, Vivienne Pocha and Hamsika Iyer" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Merlin Dsouza, Vivienne Pocha and Hamsika Iyer</em></strong></p>
<p>Two&rsquo;s a company and three is a party for award-winning music director and pianist Merlin Dsouza. Ahead of an onstage comeback at a <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-crime-news/article/cjp-protest-over-150-protesters-detained-two-cases-registered-during-maharashtra-bandh-in-mumbai-23641277" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">BKC </a>venue this weekend with long-time collaborator and vocalist, Vivienne Pocha, she&rsquo;s looking forward to inviting vocalist Hamsika Iyer into the tribe. Listeners might recall the last time Dsouza and Pocha shared the stage as bandmates at Indiva, the all-women folk-fusion band. &ldquo;After our journey with Indiva, celebrating cultural diversity, it&rsquo;s now time to herald back timeless English and Hindi retro classics,&rdquo; she told this diarist. For the uninitiated, the trio has contributed to classics such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Ra.One, and countless popular jingles, between them. &ldquo;Coming back on stage feels like picking up a beautiful conversation with the audience,&rdquo; Pocha told this diarist. Now we&rsquo;re talking.</p>
<h2>Cut to the cheese, Capuano</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Capuano_e.jpg" alt="Vincenzo Capuano with his golden scissors; (left) Bellaria pizza" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Vincenzo Capuano with his golden scissors; (left) Bellaria pizza</em></strong></p>
<p>Pizzerias in the city might soon have tough, or should we say dough, competition. Naples-born World Champion of Pizza Vincenzo Capuano opened doors to his first restaurant in the city at a Lower Parel space on Tuesday. The third-generation chef has a few interesting surprises up his sleeve, including a pair of golden scissors. Experts like Capuano use the shiny snippers to cut pizzas without deflating or damaging the crust, we learnt. &ldquo;India has one of the most curious, food-forward dining communities in the world. Mumbai was always where this had to begin,&rdquo; reveals the pizzaiolo. That&rsquo;s Italian for a skilled pizza maker, by the way. Is there a term for skilled eaters?</p>
<h2>For readers&rsquo; eyes only</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Readers_e.jpg" alt="Shanta Gokhale. FILE PIC" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Shanta Gokhale. FILE PIC</em></strong></p>
<p>Remember the delight of wandering into a library for the first time? For the celebrated author, bibliophile and critic, Shanta Gokhale, it has been a lifetime of friendships with books. They all find a place in her latest title, Of Ancestors and Friends: A Life in Books (Speaking Tiger). The work carries a touch of nostalgia with the Sahitya Akademi awardee looking back on her reading life, and recalling books and writers she has loved and returned to often, from Shri Na Pendse to Kiran Nagarkar and UR Ananthamurthy, to Jane Austen and Jean Paul Sartre. Gokhale also fills the book with anecdotes of her own reading journey like finding dusty tomes, inscriptions in second-hand books. Now, that&rsquo;s a serious reader.</p>

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Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Spot the watchdog

It begins with one

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