Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

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Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

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Mr Mugger wants to do chest bumps with me!

Visitors observe a fully-grown mugger crocodile through the underwater viewing gallery of Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo in Byculla.

Kolhapuri chappal goes the meme way

Omkar Patil’s illustrated spin on the recent Prada show. Pic Courtesy/Omi_Crayon on Instagram

Maharashtra’s Kolhapuri chappals continue to be the talking point after they were showcased at a recent fashion show by Prada in Italy. While the Internet is flooded with memes and jokes about the chappals, Mumbai artist Omkar Patil, known by his Instagram handle @omi_crayon, made a quirky animation by turning the models into Kolhapuri characters, matching the chappals. “Hailing from Kolhapur, I never imagined the chappals my grandfather and his generation wore daily would one day be seen on a fashion ramp. I feel this could’ve been such a cool collaboration with local artisans. But instead, the brand copied designs,” he sighed.

Building blocks of history

A few of the LEGO creations inspired by the exhibition at the museum (right) children and adults use LEGO bricks to design their own take on the furnitures. Pics Courtesy/Dr BDL Museum; Mrunal Shah

Museum exhibitions might not sound particularly exciting to kids, but Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum turned this idea on its head at last weekend’s workshop. Hosted in collaboration with Sunday Bricks, the museum invited children and adults to participate in a LEGO workshop conceptualised around the ongoing exhibition, Eckart Muthesius and Manik Bagh. “The idea was to help children engage and understand the exhibition, and use it as an inspiration for their creations,” shared Mrunal Shah, chief play promoter.

Mrunal Shah

He added that the exercise was not so much a workshop as a fun experiment to help children explore their own imagination. From the statuesque lamps, to spacious beds and bedrooms, children picked from their favourites to recreate on the LEGO blocks. “We gave the participants a basic guide or theme centred on the exhibition, but there were no rules as such. Many children were drawn to the red recliner, while another tried to recreate the spacious bedrooms with large beds,” Shah revealed.

The Booker jury is in session

Nilanjana Roy. Pic courtesy/Luc De Golbery

Author Nilanjana S Roy has joined the five-member jury of the International Booker Prize for 2026. With translated works from Indian regional languages making a mark in recent years, Roy shared that translation is a part of literature. Citing her own example as a reader proficient in Hindi, English and Bengali, she remarked, “I learned early that every language has its own richness and power, shadows and taboos, freedoms and pleasures. Younger readers are bolder, reading far more in translation than previous generations. If more readers discovered how wide the world really is, via the International Booker or by reading across multiple languages rather than a select few, they might have no room in their heads for narrow walls.”

Let’s walk over to Abbey Road

Students participate in a workshop at the London branch of the music school. Pic Courtesy/Abbey Road Institute

A touch of Strawberry Fields is set to arrive in Khar. London’s Abbey Road Institute will open its first campus in Asia in the neighbourhood come September. Hosted in the spaces of Bay Owl Studios, the institute will offer hands-on-training, mentorship from industry professionals and practical knowledge in music.

Director Varun Parikh shared, “Students will train in professional-grade classrooms, production suites and studios, mastering the techniques behind iconic recordings and refining their own creative voice. Through a five-day-a-week, complete with lectures, practicals, workshops and seven-days-a-week workstation access, we’ll ensure students acquire the skills and confidence to step into today’s music, film and advertising industries from day one.”