Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Beak hourA flock of pigeons scurry for a bite near Bandra TalaoLetrsquos clean Carterrsquos beachA few residents of the city are getting their hands dirty for a good cause A small cleanup drive in the shore by Carterrsquos Road promenade started by Bandra residents Harold Fernandes and Bhavna Nandwani has grown in number over the past couple of weeks ldquoItrsquos a tidal beach thatrsquos been in total neglect with heaps of trash and construction debris dumped there along with encroachment We did quite a large cleanup last weekend and wersquore trying to see how we can make it a citizensrsquo movement Currently wersquore six people in the teamrdquo shared volunteer Ashwin Malwade adding that those who would like to pitch in can call 9867706945This Rose smells of victoryBombay Rose is an animated film that has had a successful run at festivals after premiering at the Venice Film Festival in 2019 Itrsquos notched up a number of awards too the latest of which is the Best Animated Feature Film honour at ASIFA India Awards of Excellence which originated in France and celebrates the art of animation The plot of the evocative film is based in Mumbai It follows the story of two flowersellers mdash a Hindu girl and Muslim boy mdash who fall in love on the streets of the city Director Gitanjali Rao told this diarist that she tried to explore what it means for two migrants to build a relationship in the city despite all the struggles they face and others trying to come in their way She added that a team of animators from citybased Paperboat Design Studio helped create the film using the framebyframe technique with computers which isnrsquot common in todayrsquos day and age ldquoThey are the ones who should really receive this awardrdquo she felt even though she wrote and directed itXrsquomas comes early to BandraTo lighten up the gloomy times with the spirit of Christmas Santa Claus is on his way to Bandra in an auto equipped with a chhatri and floaters No this isnrsquot our Christmas hangover His arrival marks the launch of the Christmas in July initiative thatrsquos aimed at homebound elderly folks and the financially vulnerable communities in Bandra The initiative is spearheaded by A Very Bandra Christmas a group of friends mdash Annabelle Ferro Leanne Manchanda Melody Laila ChrysEllen Peters Clement DeSylva and Nalini Sorenson mdash who got together last December to stage a series of virtual eventsThis time joined by Giselle and Ricardo Pereira and Stephen Viegas the team has put together two relief drives mdash Dal Chawal for the Dil and Bandra Bakes ldquoWe couldnrsquot wait for another December to celebrate the spirit of giving Wersquove curated ration bags for needy families for this wersquore looking for donors To spread cheer among the elderly folks living alone Bandrabased home bakers have volunteered to send baked goodiesrdquo said Laila To lend Santa a hand text 8433842093Loved by the worldNikhil Katara in a staging of the playLetters Of Love a theatrical reading of original love betters by Readings In The Shed has been included in the official selection of The Borderlight International Theatre Festival A biannual festival based out of Cleveland which is taking place virtually this year it will make available to attendees ondemand videos for 35 chosen performances ldquoWe stage Letters Of Love every year on February 14 This year was its third edition which was staged at NCPArsquos Experimental Theatre We read letters by famous people who are not necessarily authors or poets but reallife figures and share historical records of their love stories This year we presented letters between writers Zelda and F Scott Fitzgerald photographer Andre de Dienes and Marilyn Monroe letters that Frida Kahlo wrote to her lovers as well as private letters by Oscar Wilde and Kurt Vonnegutrdquo shared its creator Nikhil Katara Visit borderlightcleorg for more detailsFor a pristine Powai LakeFrom left Ronak Shah and Anuj VohraFor the past few years Hiranandani Gardens residents Anuj Vohra and Ronak Shah had been noticing a cover of greens cropping up on Powai Lake Today almost half the lake is covered with this plant mdash water hyacinth an invasive species thatrsquos not endemic to India explained Vohra ldquoIt sucks up water and oxygen and prevents sunlight from going down affecting the organisms living insiderdquo he said The duo has started a campaign Pristine Powai Lake Initiative inviting volunteers to help them pull out water hyacinths ldquoWersquove taken out 500600 kg of it but thatrsquos not even 01 per cent of the total coverrdquo he shared Theyrsquore at it every Thursday Friday and Saturday to join them call 9920320319