Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Coasting Along the CoastA flock of seagulls take flight on a sunny morning at Girgaum ChowpattyMangoing placesGItagged Alphonso mangoesThe first shipment of this seasonrsquos first Alphonso mangoes from the Konkan region was exported to London this week Twentyone boxes containing a dozen mangoes each were delivered with the first box fetching a record price of pound51R5000 The other boxes were sold at pound30 R3000 each This transaction marks two firsts it is the first time that GItagged Alphonso mangoes have been sent overseas and that mango exports have begun in the month of February GItagging will help fetch fair prices for mango farmers and buyers while also ensuring that buyers receive authentic naturally ripened produce This diarist was informed that Ketul Patel from Fruit of Lebanon Western International Market UK was the lucky recipient of this seasonrsquos first pickingsTogether they canThe members of Sangeet Cooperative Housing Society in Nalasopara have shown what it means to take matters into your own hands Around 10 days ago the society approached a contractor to get a wall in their compound painted The price they were quoted was Rs 25000 It seemed like a high amount to the people in charge since the societyrsquos finances had taken a beating due to the pandemic So they asked their members if they would lend a hand in painting the wall themselves and were met with an enthusiastic responseChildren paint the wall at Sangeet Cooperative Housing SocietyPeople of all ages from senior citizens to children and of varying professions teachers businessmen government workers and lawyers among others got together to get the job done It took them just half a day to complete it at a total cost of only R2500 which included a complimentary meal Society secretary Nilesh Patel told this diarist ldquoWe had waived the maintenance fees for our members by about 40 per cent for some months during the pandemic They were happy about that and came forward to help out with the paintingrdquo He added that after painting the wall the members also volunteered to clean up the entire premises themselves Thatrsquos a job well done indeedHistory on trackMany of the relics of Indiarsquos first railway between Mumbai and Thane called the Great Indian Peninsula Railway GIPR continue to live on even today One such relic was an antique steam engine water pipe that was removed while upgrading the harbour line near Kurla sometime in 2000 The pipe which had served old steam engines for over a century was dumped in an engineering office next to the line near platform 8This diarist noticed it first in 2005 Two years ago Central Railway formerly GIPR shifted the pipe to Mumbai CSMT and last week it was repaired painted and is now dazzling at the openair museum in the station premises The pipe was made by the historic Patent Shaft Steel Works in Wednesbury West Midlands England which survived for over 140 years It was established in the late 1830s and lived on till the mid1990s With the pipe now being preserved its history will hopefully live on for another centuryThe Village movesOnce a popular haunt on Bandrarsquos Chimbai Road The Village Shop has a new address at Pali Hill beside Learnerrsquos Academy ldquoWe were informed by the BMC that our premises were not in compliance with their guidelines and subject to demolition We quickly looked for an alternative spot and have now resumed where we left offrdquo owner Jennifer Mallick shared with this diarist The cafeacute will continue to serve the same menu of organic glutenfree and veganfriendly fare as before