The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Atul Kamble
Seen on the spot
A Chital (spotted deer) crosses a buggy on a road in Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli East
Nyra’s Nerul WPL moment
Nyra Prasanna at the WPL opener at DY Patil Stadium in Nerul last week. Pic/Special Arrangement
We often hope that the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Jemimah Rodrigues touch the right chords with young girls to either follow the women’s game closely or play it. Now here’s an example of that coming to fruition. Nyra Prasanna, eight, was at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) opening game last week when Mumbai Indians clashed with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, armed with a poster that reflected her following of the teams. Nyra has cricket keenness in her blood. Father Prasanna is a commentator and presenter while her late grandpa Chandrashekhar (also known as CP Sant) was a famous name to grace the air waves and the pages of a Marathi daily. CP Sant was one of the few journalists to cover India’s 1983 World Cup triumph. Nyra was also at the Women’s World Cup final with her poster. Future cricketer or commentator? Nyra’s field of dreams is wide!
India in melodies
The choir performs at Abhivyakti Festival, Ahmedabad in November 2025. Pic courtesy/Pratidhwani Choir
One way to celebrate India is to recount the country’s journey over centuries, and there seems to be no better way to do it than through the medium of poetry. This is what Pratidhwani Art Studios will be doing this Republic Day at Rangshila Theatre, Andheri, where the Pratidhwani choir will present a special showcase titled, Choral Kavita - Desh Dhwani.
“The choir will use poems from iconic poets, from Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Ram Prasad Bismil, to Rabindranath Tagore, to portray themes of freedom, resistance, and hope, which have been integral to India for a very, very long time,” Shridhar Nagraj (left), founder-director, Pratidhwani shared with this diarist.
Diverse minds come together
SSKC Diwale Koliwada performs at a show. Pic courtesy/Aamhi Kalakaar Brass Bandwale on Youtube
Navi Mumbai has reason to rejoice. The Mindscape Festival is returning from January 16 to 18 in Nerul, after a long gap of six years since its last edition in 2020. This was due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this diarist was informed by Jinu Kurien, co-founder and curation team member. “It is an interdisciplinary ideas and arts festival anchored around a set of talks, performances, screenings, workshops, and exhibitions.
(From left) Robert Stephens, Pranav Joshi, and Natasha Sharma. File pic; Pics courtesy/Instagram
We will host discussions on urban futures with author Robert Stephens, city-building through the arts with Govandi Arts Festival curators Natasha Sharma and Parveen Shaikh, and food history as well, with content creator Pranav Joshi, amongst many others,” Kurien revealed to us. In addition, the brass band SSKC-Shree Sai Kala Circle, Diwale Koliwada will stage a performance. “They are important to the Koli community of Mumbai,” Kurien mentions, adding, “While we try to bring diverse voices together, this year, we also aim to connect communities.” We’re all ears.
Poetry set in motion, across cities
After six years of showing curious walkers around the city through her Bombay Poetry Crawl series dedicated to 20th century poets of Mumbai, writer Saranya Subramanian (below) is turning a new page. Absent People, Absent Places (Westland), Subramanian’s debut collection of poems in English will hit bookstores and e-stores on January 23. “The book consists of 42 poems, written over a span of three years, encapsulating themes such as depression, bodies, desire, politics, belonging, and even the concept of cities, drawing from my own experiences living in various cities, like Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai, among a few others,” she told us. The multilingual poet gave this diarist a peek into the thought behind the poignant title. “Many of my writings showcase the trajectory of the individual from self-erosion to self-acceptance, hence the choice of a title like this, to connote the idea of absence to presence [of the self],” she revealed.
A matter of concern
An injured pigeon rescued last year. Pic courtesy/Karan Solanki
Given the infamous use of manja (kite string) during Makar Sankranti, city-based NGO Aasha-The Hope for Animals Welfare Trust, with Samkit Group, will host a bird rescue camp from January 14 to 16 at Jawahar Nagar, Goregaon West.
Navin Solanki, founder, Aasha, said, “Mumbai often sees over 1000 bird injury cases around this time of the year; pigeons and black kites are a few species most affected.” Those who spot an injured bird can contact their helpline numbers: 9987929223 and 9076388362.
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