<h2>Pheta days ahead</h2>
<p>A man shows off his collection of saffron phetas to his son in Lalbaug</p>
<h2>Learn the ropes</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Aman-Verma_e.jpg" alt="Jump ropers perform at a previous showcase. PICS COURTESY/AMAN VARMA" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Jump ropers perform at a previous showcase. PICS COURTESY/AMAN VARMA</em></strong></p>
<p>This year&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/ganpati-festival-mumbai-students-to-raise-awareness-on-tb-addiction-through-street-plays-23649868" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Ganpati celebrations</a> at the Ekta Mitra Mandal in Kalyan will come with a twist, a rope twist to be precise. The welcoming committee will include six members performing a jump rope performance to the beats of a dhol pathak.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The Ganeshotsav is connected to our roots, so we decided to give the sport a desi twist. We have been rehearsing on the tracks of the dhol pathak&rsquo;s recordings, using methods like the Double Dutch technique. It could get more people interested in the sport,&rdquo; shared Aman Varma, jump rope coach, Rule The Ropes.</p>
<h2>Night trail with books</h2>
<p>What happens when bibliophiles show up at a bookstore after hours? Thanks to Read A Kitaab, a book club by Ekta Bhandari and Anurag Kothari (below) that has 33,000 members across the country, this diarist can answer that question. Last Friday night, 100 book readers &mdash; voracious, new-age, experimental and first times &ndash; packed into Bandra bookstore, Title Waves for Night At the Bookstore.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Readers-a_e.jpg" alt="Readers socialise and pore over books at last Friday&rsquo;s session in a Bandra bookstore. PICS COURTESY/READ A KITAAB" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Readers socialise and pore over books at last Friday&rsquo;s session in a Bandra bookstore. PICS COURTESY/READ A KITAAB</em></strong></p>
<p>Participants went on a <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/culture/article/Participate-in-a-treasure-hunt-across-South-Mumbai-17292175" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">treasure hunt</a>: A book that has won the Booker prize; a book you will never recommend to a friend; a debut novel for the author. The search helped teams bond in their collective. The lone downer was when we were encouraged to post our treasure hunt finds on social media, which was the last thing we wanted to do in a bookstore.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Anurag-Kothari_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Groups were sent off to indulge in pizza and cola that made us realise how much of a conversation-starter a book can be even for introverts in the room. The second half started with the task to solve a murder mystery and a few rounds of competitive book title dumb charades.</p>
<p>All in all, it was a great socialising event to meet like-minded folks, and return with good book reccos, and a 15 per cent discount on book purchases. We learnt that the duo will host the next edition on October 23.</p>
<h2>Take a bow, Bittu Sahgal</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Sarmaya_e.jpg" alt="Bittu Sahgal addresses the audience after the screening at a Fort venue. PIC COURTESY/SARMAYA ARTS FOUNDATION" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Bittu Sahgal addresses the audience after the screening at a Fort venue. PIC COURTESY/SARMAYA ARTS FOUNDATION</em></strong></p>
<p>At an <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/things-to-do/article/mumbai-mangroves-documentary-puts-spotlight-on-fight-to-save-citys-green-barriers-23649578" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">environment documentary</a> screening last week in Fort, this diarist was part of a concerned audience when veteran environmental activist Bittu Sahgal opened his address with three hardest words to say: &ldquo;I am sorry&rdquo;. Moved by director Aruna Jade&rsquo;s Last Mangroves of Mumbai, Sahgal was rendering his apology to a young school-going viewer in our midst.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There are only two parties in this world. Bachcha [children&rsquo;s] Party and Buddha [oldies&rsquo;] Party. And my party is colonising the resources that belong to yours,&rdquo; he explained before bowing down to the audience. The apology was sombre, but Sahgal&rsquo;s signature wit found its way in. &ldquo;We need more ICUs,&rdquo; he suggested. Intensive Conservation Units, of course.</p>
<h2>Page turners in Taiwan</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Amin-Sheikh_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Marol shone bright in Taiwan&rsquo;s Xindian district last weekend, thanks to Amin Sheikh (left), founder of the Bombay to Barcelona Library Cafe. Sheikh released the new Chinese translation of his book Life is Life: I Am Because of You, which chronicles his journey from living on the streets of Mumbai to founding the safe haven for youngsters.</p>
<p>This diarist was doubly delighted when Sheikh shared that the event was part of a large-scale nationwide campaign in Taiwan, to get youngsters back into the habit of reading and kicking the smartphone habit. We&rsquo;ll take a page out of that book.&nbsp;</p>

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