Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Ready for a long waitWith vaccines being rolled out for the 1844 age group a young woman who was among the lucky few to get an appointment for Saturday keeps herself busy with a book while waiting for her first shot at Seven Hills Hospital Andheri EastBaking for a causeTwelveyearold home baker Saachi Pasari a student of Hill Spring International School is using her baking skills to make a difference Pasari who runs the Instagram handle les_reve_creameux has been delivering goodies across the city over the last one year This time around she is baking for charity Pasari has curated a menu of cookie cakes and cupcakes which you can order over the next two weekends All proceeds from the sale will be going to Hemkunt Foundation to sponsor oxygen cylinders ldquoI thought of using my baking skills to help those in need of resources to fight COVID I will be dedicating all my time towards doing a bake sale today and on May 8 and 9rdquo Pasari has already managed to raise Rs 150000 You can send her a DM to book your cakeHanitarsquos spreading the loveSingersongwriter Hanita Bhambari has been busy this lockdownmdashtrying to raise spirits She has been sharing playlists that help with every moodmdashlike ldquoSongs to help you feel a little less alonerdquo which includes Champagne Supernova by Oasis and ldquoHanitarsquos daily indie playlistrdquo She has also been doing sweet posts that say itrsquos okay to not be okaymdashlike ldquoitrsquos okay to cry postrdquo The singer who has built an audience by releasing music consistently in the pandemic is making sure her users can look up to her for more than just music And we love thatWhen Australia had Darling Sleep and othersPeter Sleep and Rick DarlingTired of seeing batsmen blasting fours and sixes from Indian Premier League teams Herersquos a blast from the past It doesnrsquot concern edgeoftheseat action but names The 197980 Australian cricket team to India led by the handsome Kim Hughes had some interesting names Letrsquos start with some love because there was a Darling in the squad Rick opened the batting in some games There was Graeme Wood too playing in the first two of the six Tests Walking in to bat in the middle order was Border the future alltime great Allan Legspinner Sleep Peter and Hogg Rodney were able South Australians Sri Lankanborn Whatmore was a peculiar name as well and although Dav didnrsquot top the run charts he coached Sri Lanka to their 1996 World Cup win Australiarsquos tour party also had a Wright Kevin kept wickets Wersquove saved the most interesting name for lastGraeme Porterwho didnrsquot end up carrying his team on his shoulders simply because he didnrsquot get an opportunity in any of the Tests The punsters in the media sure must have had many a field dayA right to walk your petsRhea Rao with Hulk and Apoorv Kushwaha with RioThe pandemic has brought to the fore a number of problems One of them is the plight of pets stuck in microcontainment zones because the local administration will not allow owners to take them out to answer naturersquos call Rhea Rao pet owner and resident of Chembur said ldquoHonestly we are a very small group of pet parents and animal lovers fighting unreasonable battles on a daily basisrdquo Apoorv Kushwaha another pet parent highlighted the issue when he recently wrote a letter to MP Maneka Gandhi to get clarity on SOPs for pet owners residing in microcontainmentcontainment zones Fortunately he has received a response from the government that categorically states that the Animal Welfare Board of India makes provisions to allow pets owners to take their pets out provided the person walking is not COVID19 positive Cheers to thatFrom artists to friendsHarekrushna Nayak a Dastkari Haat Samiti artist succumbed to the virus two days ago and died While he may appear to us to be an ordinary man he had a special relationship with photographer Chirodeep Chaudhari Chaudhari met Nayak while working on a Kotpad textile assignment in Odisha ldquoBefore joining the Dastkari Haat Samiti Harekrushna was a weaver but after an accident one of his legs was rendered inoperable and he was soon out of work He then decided to work with bamboo filaments to create various figures Nayak was a master of the craft and his collection included Hindu gods and goddesses as well as animals and birds I was so impressed by his work that I asked him to make a Gandhi out of these bamboo filaments so that I could add it to my already extensive Gandhi collection lsquoIrsquove never made onersquo he repliedlsquoBut I assure you that I will make one for yoursquordquo When Chaudhuri walked into the Bangalore International Centre in January 2020 for his talk about collecting Gandhi figurines he noticed the bright yellow near lifesize figures of Gandhi Nayak was sitting next to it on the floor surrounded by his creations He stood up and they exchanged handshakes and inquired about each otherrsquos health Then he said ldquoSir aap jaane ke pehle milke jaiyega ldquoAap se baat karni haiyeh sab aap ke wajah se ho raha hairdquo ldquoIt wasnrsquot really me I was only a catalyst The Gandhi figure he created for me in September 2017 drew the attention of the good people at Dastkari Haat Samiti who invited him to the Dilli Haat Bazaar a few months later Irsquove heard he had a successful year that yearrdquo says Chaudhari Nayakrsquos family is suffering financially as a result of his death Chaudhuri immediately agreed to assist in raising funds You too can come forward and help You can DM Chaudhuri chirodeepchaudhuri