Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

The valentines effectA couple gets into the mood during a photo shoot on the beach at Malad West on Saturday morningLook who is on airLast week Polish Ambassador to India Adam Burakowski was invited to Akaashvani for a radio interview This meeting turned out to be a nostalgic affair for the diplomat He took to social media to reveal that he worked at the Polish national radio broadcaster Polskie Radio for 11 years Obviously he misses the good old days Burakowski told this diarist ldquoWe can call it a Polish Akaashvani I was never a journalist there but I worked in the administration in departments dealing with international affairs I also represented Polskie Radio in the European Broadcasting Union and Euranetmdashan international radio project financed by the European Commission I believe in the mission of public broadcaster in reliable news quality music and culture I appreciate my time spent there So last week when I was invited to Akaashvani which I listen to quite frequently in my car I was excitedrdquoA pipe dreamMumbairsquos iconic Jehangir Art Gallery is set to reopen on February 16 nearly a year after the pandemic The opening show titled Faith and FuryndashUnveiling the Eccentric is by artist Bibhuti Adhikary On display will be one of his most celebrated works for which he has received a gold from India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records The Rolling Painting is a 5ft x 4ft installation using 594 PVC pipes ldquoThese rollers when rolled manually formed 12 different compositions and I brought all of these together under one theme nature The beauty of this painting lies in its serene wildlife wherein if one creature appears the other disappears It has been painted very carefully so as not to disturb the other compositionsrdquo shares BibhutiBooks A hospital for the mindMental health among children has been a topic of growing concern especially during the pandemic In these trying times books have proven to play an important part in ensuring childrenrsquosrsquo wellbeing Launched in 2005 by Tata Trusts Parag an initiative focuses on the development of childrenrsquos reading habits by providing them access to illustrated engaging storybooks in various regional languagesThe Parag Honour List 2021 released on Saturday features 35 titles in Hindi and English and was created after careful screening and multiple reviews ldquoThe PHL 2021 aims to enable access and awareness about outstanding Indian books for children and young adultsrdquo said Swaha Sahoo Head of the Parag Initiative at Tata Trusts Some of the books that made it to the list were Queen of Earth by Devika Rangachari and Friends Behind Walls by Harshikaa UdasiAnother feather added to Taranrsquos capMumbaibased authorjournalist Taran N Khan whose book Shadow City A Woman Walks Kabul Penguin Random House recently won the Tata Literature Live First Book Award NonFiction has bagged another coveted honour The book which documents the time Khan spent in Kabul when she arrived there in 2006mdashfive years after the Taliban government was overthrownmdashhas been shortlisted along with seven others for the prestigious 2021 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards in the Travel Book of the Year category The other nominees include Without Ever Reaching the Summit by Paolo Cognetti The Border by Erika Fatland and Travelling While Black by Nanjala Nyabola ldquoMy editor in the UK told me about the award shortlist and I was really happy to learn that Shadow City is up for this prestigious international honour and in such interesting company Itrsquos good to see women writers on the shortlist and writers from diverse backgrounds I am grateful that these stories from Kabul are finding readers at a time when the city is vanishing from the attention of the international mediardquo she told this diarist The winner will be announced in MarchHerersquos wishing Vishy the very bestGundappa Viswanath creams one through the offside during his century in the New Delhi Test against England on December 26 1981 PicGetty ImagesIt was Gundappa Viswanathrsquos 72nd birthday on Friday and our inhouse cricket nut stumbled upon a 1976 article on Vishy penned by brotherinlaw and fellow cricket great Sunil Gavaskar for Sportsweekrsquos World of Cricket magazine Under the headline VishyWashy Gavaskar revealed to his readers Vishyrsquos fondness for a filet steak with ldquolots of French friesrdquo and Chinese food which he especially relished in the company of his captain Ajit Wadekar while on his 1971 and 1974 tours to England ldquoHe likes to smell sweet too He buys a variety of aftershave lotions colognes and deodorants and liberally sprayshimself with these before stepping out for an eveningrdquo wrote Gavaskar Vishy we can assure you is a sweet man and if there is a teammate or opposing player who doesnrsquot have any admiration and respect for him we donrsquot know him Pardon the clicheacute but wersquoll have to saymdashgreat player and even greater human being