Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

The life and times of Hamid AnsariThe final volume of Pranab Mukherjeersquos autobiography The Presidential Years 20122017 Rupa Publications created a flutter after it was launched recently seeing how it covered his experiences of working with two different Prime Ministers who are polar opposites of each other Following close on its heels we now have By Many a Happy Accident Recollections of a Life launched by the same publishing house Itrsquos the memoir of Mohammad Hamid Ansari the former VicePresident of the country and en ex Rajya Sabha chairman The title details how a series of circumstances took Ansari away from academia and thrust him into the public life ldquoThe book is an engaging account of the extraordinary life and inspiring work of a distinguished diplomat educationist public intellectual and writer who went on to become the VicePresident of India It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Indiarsquos relations with the world the functioning of Parliament and the conduct of public liferdquo shared Kapish Mehra managing director Rupa PublicationsSpotlight on animalsEven as we are in the midst of a pandemic that is posing a threat to human lives the battle that some other species face regarding their existence rages on in India An upcoming book will now highlight this issue Itrsquos called Wild and Wilful HarperCollins and consists of essays that awardwinning wildlife conservationist Neha Sinha whorsquos also a member of the Bombay Natural History Society has penned about 15 different species including mugger crocodiles and amur falconsGreat Indian bustards Pic courtesyFacebookldquoWhile some of these are so common that we might spot them in our gardens and verandahs like fluffytit butterflies there are also the more uncommon ones that are hanging by a thread including the great Indian bustardrdquo Sinha said about the title that launches on February 10Play traffic cop for a day in Navi MumbaiThe Navi Mumbai Traffic Police has launched a novel initiative called One Day with the Police where they are encouraging ordinary citizens to support police officers in their daily activities Navi Mumbai DCP Traffic Purshottam Kadam told this diarist ldquoThe people who are taking part will come to know how people violate traffic rules We hope that they will definitely follow the rules in the future Also the people who are watching civilians take on the role of the police will be similarly motivated to be on the right side of the lawrdquo Log on to trafficnmcom to registerHave no fearA bunch of friends got together two years ago and made a short film called Fattu which has now been selected for Festival Del Cinema di Cefalu in Italy The plot is about how the concept of fear makes people react differently to situations Mumbaibased actordirector Chitrangada Satarupa who helmed it told this diarist ldquoThe idea came to me from a story that my mother would narrate about a reallife incident involving a person she knew I am happy that some people in Italy found it enjoyablerdquoMeet a man serving meals on wheelsPankaj Nerurkar owner of Prabhadevi eatery Khadpersquos believes in making lemonade when life hands you lemons After being forced to shut the popular Malvani restaurant due to lockdown woes he started ferrying his fish thalis in his car If yoursquore in the Girgaum neighbourhood yoursquore bound to spot him dishing out Malvani delicacies from Nano Food stall opposite Majestic Shopping Centre ldquoWe know that people donrsquot have money right now and so wersquove priced the food accordingly without compromising on qualityrdquo he shared Drop by between 12 pm and 3 pm or 730 pm and 1030 pm to taste his fare and support this cool entrepreneur