Mumbai Diary: Monday musings

Dress circle and dressing downAll good things must come to an end And so it was on Sunday the last and final day of Lakme Fashion Week SummerResort 2015 at Palladium Hotel And if its Sunday you can be sure that everyone would be in their Sunday best Actually it could have been any other day for it was the case of save the best for lastWere not talking about the designers collections on the ramp but the clothes worn by the multitude of guests in the house The celebrity guests of course were there to support their respective designers donning outfits gifted or otherwise from them Who are you wearing That was the question posed to them by the journalists and style and fashion bloggersThey answered and then they were clicked by the photographers or recorded by the electronic media Guests who were informally attired all through the week turned up all spruced up their Tshirts giving way to formal shirts all buttoned up jeans put into the closet and the neatly creased trousers taken out sneakers given a run for the wellpolished shoes either black or brown So much for the menAs for the women it was time to take trouble to dress up no longer the streetstyle clothes however chic and street smart they may look but designer wear and gowns fit for a red carpet event anywhere across the world Of course there were the defaulters the notcareadamn folk who dress as they feel like in their grungy casual informal and often messy look badly in need for a stylist or a proper dressing down definitely not fit for a red carpet but rather ripe to be swept under the carpet It was also the time for the clickcrazy crowd and the ubiquitous selfie You saw people active on their mobile phones right through the fashion showAnd random people did not think twice of asking a celebrity be it a model TV star Bollywood actor or socialite to pose with them for that quickflash pic that they perhaps shared with the world on Facebook that same day Well today is today and tomorrow is another day Marcellus BaptistaRope over troubled watersWe have heard of ropeways serving as bridges in remote areas and even schoolchildren taking such shaky routes every day But its happening even closer to home just off Karjat in factBut its all in a days work for residents of Bendse village in Karjat taluka PicShrikant KhuperkarThis makeshift ropeway across the Ulhas river has been made by villagers of Bendse in Karjat taluka To reach Karjat station they have to spend some R 4050 whereas the ropeway takes them in about five minutes to Bhivpuri station which is just after Karjat going towards CSTVillage youngster Rupesh Marade in the blue shirt says that he works in Virar in a private firm and has become accustomed to using the ropeway to cross the river In a long and convoluted commute this is just one more twist in the tale96 going on 19Aaji was so excited about the release that she found it tough to sleep last night chuckled Vijaya Bopardikar 96yearold author Susheela Pathaks grand daughterinlaw moments after Great Grandmas Kitchen Secrets was released at popular Bandra bookstore Title Waves on Saturday eveningSusheela Pathak with actor Sachin Pilgaonkar Sarita Joshi Tinu Anand and Juhi BabbarSoni at the book release event PicPradeep DhivarJampacked with family and friends who showed up to cheer the eversmiling Pathak we couldnt help but notice how the nonagenarian patiently sat through the twohour event Adding stardust to the proceedings was actor Sachin Pilgaonkar who regaled the audience with his anecdotes and runins with cooking also touching upon the importance of holding on to ones roots with traditional cuisinesTheatre icon Sarita Joshi and actor Tinu Anand as well as celebrity couple Juhi Babbar and Anoop Soni also turned up to support Susheela Pathaks labour of love Originally written in Marathi Panajikadoon Khadyapadarthancha Khajina the English translation was done in record time we learnt With a quick kandapohe cooking session by Sachin from Pathaks justreleased book the event made for a fitting tribute to a keeper of culinary treasures SaluteAppsolutely keeping in touchThe Navi Mumbai mayor recently launched a smartphone application which will keep members of the Christian community in touch with happenings and issues The app has been brought out by Jayakar Ellis citybased founder of news tabloid The Christian Observer TCOCandle CarefulColaba witnessed a peace march on Saturday March 21 evening organized by the alumni of Covent of Jesus and Mary CJM school to condemn the recent gangrape of a nun in a remote district of West Bengal As the marchers wound their way from Radio Club towards the school grounds just 15 km away they were given candles to hold as a symbolic expression of hope amidst the gloomA little bit of the crowd at the entrance led to some crowding and a young lady almost had her hair burnt by another candle holder who brought the flame too close There was a bit of a shout and somebody said take care take care startling the poor girl who was unaware that a centimeter here or there and her hair would have been on fire Whew close one thatThe power of tree speech at AareyIf all the people protesting the hacking of trees at Aarey Colony were not enough the trees themselves are speaking up now A letter from a Mahua tree has been sent to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pleading against the planned felling of more trees in the areaRespected SirI am 30 years old and I grow just off the Aarey Colony bus stop I was brought to Aarey as a sapling A herdsman dug up a pit put me in and left me in the loving hands of Mother Nature As I fed on the rays of the sun the drops of rain and the company of my family I grew I made friends with the birds the cows and the famously shy leopardI made friends with humans Yes men and women some of whom came for morning walks and others who tilled the land and milked the cows I found playmates in children who made swings out of my branches and squealed with joy as they swung around At Aarey I found homeThis glorious life was enjoyed for a while until people with loud music big cars and plastic bags came rushing in Just like that my peaceful abode was ruined Most of my family was cut down to make way for development My friends were crushed under the wheels of urbanisation And it has been painful to watch helplessly Sir Ive suffered And now Ive heard that my pain is only about to get worse Ive heard that men in brown uniforms with an axe in hand and bulldozers at their disposal are out to get me to make space for a couple of parking lotsSir I need you to step in and stop this Ive heard that India celebrates a festival called Raksha Bandhan And that a man promises to protect his sister come what may as she seals this promise by tying a Rakhi on the mans wrist I know Sir that its not time for the festival But its certainly time for a Rakhi Because I need your protection I pray that youll make the promise to save Aarey and me I pray that youll keep that promise I pray that you as the Chief Minister of this great city and state will see how important Aarey really is I pray youll save Mumbais lungs And my lifeAnd the CM we hear has indeed received a rakhi from Mahua the treeWe hope this plea does not fall on deaf ears