Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Where there is a wheel there is a wayA boy performs tricks on a bike in Wadala on Friday while his friends take it lying downCould have wood have should haveThe Vanvadi forest near Nerul is a remarkable story about how a group of citizens came together to turn around an area where trees had been felled indiscriminately Nearly 25 years ago about two dozen people got together to pool in resources and buy 65 acres of the privately owned land in order to promote natural farming But their efforts soon went beyond that and they transformed the area into a lush green forest with water reserves that can be tapped intoThe first batch for the programme that is underway at VanvadiNow the brains behind the initiative have started a project called Vanvadi Forest Ecoversity Association where they are involving both urban citizens and tribal communities from the region to join forces to conserve the overall ecology of the area The programme involves 20 participants staying at the forest for three months learning about biodiversity watershed management natural farming and developing sustainable livelihoods among other things Dilip Jain inset one of the people who conceived the programme shared The biggest challenges we are facing are not the stock market but ecological loss The first batch of 20 people is already on site but there are weekend slots available for people who dont want to deepdive into the programme Log on to vanvadiorg to find out moreAnimal instinctIt is a fallacy to assume that stories involving animals are meant only for children The country has a rich oral tradition where tales featuring animals have had a longstanding impact on the societys psyche as is evident when we use words like ullu to admonish someone Storyteller Vikram Sridhar will now explore this subject at a workshop that the organisation Artkhoj is hosting tomorrow on ethology or the study of animal behaviour in Indian oral literature Everything is being converted into the text or visual medium but the oral tradition cant be replicated he said If youd like to know more log on to insiderin to sign up for the sessionRaising the bar in BandraChef Seefah Ketchaiyo and Karan Bane have had their hands full despite the pandemicinduced shuttering of their restaurant since March Apart from delivering their authentic ThaiJapanese fare across the city the duo has been working on a bar menu to complement their treats Were pleased to share that the Hill Road eatery will finally reopen for service from January 15 with a swanky bar Weve moved to the second floor in the same building You can expect signature Thai and Japanese cocktails like Ryou famous for substitute of rice wine and Isan Thai a twist to daiquiri with pandan and lemongrass Well also serve sakeacutes and Japanese beer later she shared adding therell be limited seating Cheers to thatSound victoryWe are living in an age when all you really need to make a film is a decent smartphone and the African Smartphone International Film Festival is an event that recognises such projects An Indian film So Sicily has just won the Best Original Score award for this years edition Donn Bhat Sahil Bhatia and electronic act Burudu were the names behind its winning music Their songs became the rhythm of the film director Jai Sharma in pic told this diaristWhen artistes play a double roleWhile some artistes stick to performing others graduate to becoming entrepreneurs Thats the subject of a new online talk series by the Kolkata Centre of Creativity KCC Titled Artist to Entrepreneur 20 the series will see live conversations with noted artistes The first talk on January 12 features Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam exponent Mallika Sarabhai in pic who manages the dance company Darpana KCC director Reena Dewan shared During the pandemic when the already minuscule funding resources in the arts dried out survival for artistes and arts managers became arduous We started the series to empower them with tools and knowledge to create their own economy and learning from experts