<h2>Trade talk</h2>
A visitor&rsquo;s T-shirt at <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-marine-drive-residents-seek-underground-cable-ducts-flag-safety-and-heritage-concerns-23651350" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Marine Drive</a> reflects a timely message amid unpredictable times in the stock market
<h2>Break from adulting</h2>
<img src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Art-session_1793551206_s.jpg" alt="A group enjoys an art session and The venue is decked up for the event. Pic courtesy/The Messy Art House " /> A group enjoys an art session and The venue is decked up for the event. Pic courtesy/The Messy Art House&nbsp;
Think art classes are only for children? The Messy Art House in Kemps Corner is making room for grown-ups too. Its Thursday Art Nights invite adults to put their phones aside and get their hands busy with clay, canvases and fun art projects. Beginners are welcome, with materials, techniques and ideas provided to get them started.
<img src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Upasna-Poddar_1793551234_s.jpg" alt="Upasna Poddar" /> Upasna Poddar
The studio also hosts private art and craft workshops for birthdays, friends get-togethers and team evenings. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not trying to make artists. You doodle; you get silly; you get clay under your nails, and paint on your clothes. Somewhere in there, you actually relax. Art is just an excuse. Letting go is the point,&rdquo; founder Upasna Poddar told this diarist.
<h2>A Bullet for Stephen Alter</h2>
<img src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Litfest_1793551260_s.jpg" alt="(Second from left) Stephen Alter during a panel discussion at the festival. Pics/Special Arrangement" /> (Second from left) Stephen Alter during a panel discussion at the festival. Pics/Special Arrangement
Stephen Alter might come across as a charming, genial septuagenarian passing down advice of conservation and philosophy at the panels of the Sikkim Literature Festival, but the man is a biker at heart. The prolific nature writer told this diarist that his next title in December, My Last Bullet, will revolve around his favourite rides and writes.
<img src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Stephen-Alter_1793551284_s.jpg" alt="Stephen Alter" width="1280" height="720" /> Stephen Alter
&ldquo;When I sold my first novel in 1977, I got 500 Pound, and spent it all on a Bullet. Now, at the age of 70, I am not going to be able to ride a motorcycle a lot. So, I recently purchased my last Bullet. I hope anyone who shares a love for the Royal Enfield reads it,&rdquo; he chuckled. Knowing his interest in classic Hindi films, Dev Anand and<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/amitabh-bachchan-takes-a-jibe-at-those-threatening-to-stop-writing-about-him-23657733" target="_blank" rel="none noopener"> Amitabh Bachchan films</a>, we can picture a young Mr Alter zooming down the lanes of Mussoorie. The Hindi film industry could have used another Alter on screen.&nbsp;
<h2>Local trains and lyrical tales</h2>
<img src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Local-poetry_1793551329_s.jpg" alt="Participants read poems at a previous session. Pics courtesy/Saranya Subramanian" /> Participants read poems at a previous session. Pics courtesy/Saranya Subramanian
The Ladies compartment has heard countless conversations, witnessed everyday dramas and carried women from different backgrounds. Now, it is getting its own poetic tribute. The Ladies Local Poetry Crawl, hosted by actress and theatre practitioner Apurva Kadam, will feature poems by female poets on the wild, tumultuous and mundane realities of life in the ladies compartment.
<img src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Apurva-Kadam_1793551375_s.jpg" alt="Apurva Kadam and Saranya Subramanian" width="1280" height="720" /> Apurva Kadam and Saranya Subramanian
Readings in Marathi and English will be accompanied by translations. &ldquo;The ladies compartment is such a gendered yet liberating space. It is one place in the city where women from so many walks of life come together,&rdquo; said Saranya Subramanian, founder of The Bombay Poetry Crawl. The <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-passengers-face-overcrowding-and-confusion-as-delayed-local-trains-trigger-chaos-at-dadar-station-23657109" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">hour-long train journey begins at Dadar station</a> on November 8. Check @The Bombay poetry crawl for more details.
<h2>How serendipitous!</h2>
<img src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Serendipity_1793551426_s.jpg" alt="The Great Exhibition Road Festival will be a part of the showcase. Pics courtesy/southkenculturequarter; File pic" /> The Great Exhibition Road Festival will be a part of the showcase. Pics courtesy/southkenculturequarter; File pic
Come June 2027, the Serendipity Arts Festival will spread its wings and take flight to Europe for a debut London edition. We already know it&rsquo;s going to be one to remember because two heavyweights from Mumbai&rsquo;s art and music scene are part of the festival&rsquo;s decorated all-women curatorial team.
<img src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Nancy-Adajania_1793551458_s.jpg" alt="Sneha Khanwalkar and Nancy Adajania" /> Sneha Khanwalkar and Nancy Adajania
Musician Sneha Khanwalkar and art critic Nancy Adajania will join the team in bringing out the best in music, dance, culinary arts, and new media voices to the museums, caf&eacute;s, and streets of the capital city. We&rsquo;re all eyes for this cultural takeover.

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Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

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Break from adulting

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