<h2>Caw-t in the middle&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Two dogs flank a woman as a murder of crows surround them at Marine Drive on Monday.</p>
<h2>Raising the bar in Lower Parel</h2>
<p><img title=" The interiors of Ping&rsquo;s Caf&eacute; Orient" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-b_e.jpg" alt=" The interiors of Ping&rsquo;s Caf&eacute; Orient" width="1280" height="720" /><strong><em>The interiors of Ping&rsquo;s Caf&eacute; Orient</em></strong></p>
<p>From a speakeasy bar with a password-protected door to a caf&eacute; serving up the best of Southeast Asia, Lower Parel is set to get two new culinary hangouts. While Ping&rsquo;s Caf&eacute; Orient opened its doors yesterday, the bar, PCO, will launch on Thursday. &ldquo;Mumbai is such a special city to us; we&rsquo;ve been waiting for the right location. Over the past decade of having restaurants and bars in places that we now call home, such as Goa, Kolkata and Delhi, the location was very important to us; we wanted it to capture the essence of Mumbai but also be an extension of our brand. We&rsquo;re excited to welcome our guests. Both are very unique, and our focus is to deliver great hospitality, good food and delicious craft cocktails,&rdquo; said Radhika Dhariwal, co-founder of Passcode Hospitality, which is behind the brands.</p>
<h2>Universal praise</h2>
<p><img title="Universal praise" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-c_e.jpg" alt="Universal praise" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>The Indo-Israel Friendship Association, a pan-India body with a branch in Mumbai, is celebrating the win of Harnaaz Sandhu, Miss Universe 2021. Jagdish Shetty, Mumbai-based honorary secretary of the Association, said, &ldquo;This is a tribute to Indian womanhood. If we look at our ancient civilisations, we will see that women played an important role in all spheres of life. The goddess of education is Saraswati, the goddess of finance is Lakshmi, while our goddess of protection and power is Durga. We are exultant that the title has been won in Israel [in the city of Eilat]. Israel is an old and trustworthy friend of India. I term it a very good co-incidence that an Indian woman has won Miss Universe in Israel.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Reading into a crisis</h2>
<p><img title="People pore over books at the library during the pandemic" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-d_e.jpg" alt="People pore over books at the library during the pandemic" width="1280" height="720" /><strong><em>People pore over books at the library during the pandemic</em></strong></p>
<p>An institution in the city is facing a crisis and needs your help. The People&rsquo;s Free Reading Room and Library was established at Dhobi Talao in 1891 with the intention of giving a literary platform to Mumbaikars from all walks of life. But the pandemic has crippled its business with no new members registering in this period. The team behind the library has thus started a fundraiser to keep the space afloat, hoping to raise '60 lakh. &ldquo;The building was in a terrible state, and so we are getting repairs done. We have also made our collection more relevant to modern times,&rdquo; Harsha Parekh from the library told this diarist, adding that they are also adding digital resources. Those interested in lending a hand can&nbsp;<br />call 22010305.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Planet warriors</h2>
<p><img title="(From left) Tulsi Gowda, Subhajit Mukherjee and Avinash Pol from Paani Foundation" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-e_e.jpg" alt="(From left) Tulsi Gowda, Subhajit Mukherjee and Avinash Pol from Paani Foundation" width="1280" height="720" /><strong><em>(From left) Tulsi Gowda, Subhajit Mukherjee and Avinash Pol from Paani Foundation</em></strong></p>
<p>City-based Harmony Foundation organises The Mother Teresa Memorial Award annually, and the theme for this year was environmental sustainability. The awards were handed out at Mumbai&rsquo;s Raj Bhavan yesterday to Tulsi Gowda, Aadhya Joshi, Subhajit Mukherjee and Paani Foundation, all of whom have worked towards ensuring a cleaner planet. &ldquo;My work is related to tree plantation and we have planted over 54,000 trees in the MMR region over the past 10 years,&rdquo; Mukherjee informed this diarist.</p>
<h2>Let&rsquo;s hear it for Dolly</h2>
<p><img title="Let&rsquo;s hear it for Dolly" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/dos-fourteen-dec-f_e.jpg" alt="Let&rsquo;s hear it for Dolly" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Here&rsquo;s an event that&rsquo;s right up the alley of anyone who&rsquo;s interested in theatre. Veteran thespian Dolly Thakore will be in conversation with creative producer and theatre person Sameera Iyengar as part of a series called Beyond the Ordinary: Library Series with Asia Society this evening. Thakore recently released her memoir, Regrets, None. She will discuss the book with Iyengar and talk about the varied experiences she&rsquo;s had. &ldquo;My life is a no-holds-barred one, and I have no inhibitions about anything. I wrote the book to encourage young people to live life without complexes and prejudices. But I am not preaching to them; I am just giving them examples,&rdquo; Thakore told this diarist, adding, &ldquo;I am almost 79 years old and haven&rsquo;t had a day&rsquo;s boredom in my life, not even during the pandemic when I kept myself busy with Zoom plays.&rdquo;</p><p>
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