Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Travelling lightThe sun creates an interplay of light and shadows while motorists cross a train underpass in Andheri West on MondaySolving matters of the mindAnxiety surrounding the pandemic continues to be a huge concern and now Lucknowbased mental health firm Manoshakti has decided to step in with their recently launched Free Crisis Counselling initiative Here a team of 16 counsellors offer free phone therapy sessions from 10 am to 10 pm every day ldquoAs psychologists wersquove observed the widespread panic surrounding the pandemic Both caretakers and patients suffer from anxiety with nobody to voice their distress to Talking to a friend or a family member isnrsquot the same as talking to a professional Wersquore trained to handle high levels of peoplesrsquo distress Since itrsquos not a time to tell people to shell out money for therapy we started this freeofcost initiativerdquo its cofounder Nivedita Dogra who is also a counselling psychologist told us Call 8707828615 to avail of the serviceThis cop acts in good faithJarina Bagwan left and Sujata Patil share an iftaar meal PicPradeep DhivarThe accompanying photo shows what the idea of a secular India is truly about It depicts Assistant Commissioner of Police Sujata Patil sharing an iftaar meal with subinspector Jarina Bagwan after completing a round of patrolling in Jogeshwari East Patil despite being a practising Hindu has for the past 33 years been maintaining a fast during the month of Ramzan after she became interested in the custom while questioning the reasons why there are so many growing cases of HinduMuslim conflict Patil told this diarist ldquoI started reading the Quran and studying about Islam There is nothing that bars a Hindu person from keeping roza and I start my day around 4 am with some hot water and a cup of tea I find it to be really peaceful and it gives me a lot of happinessrdquo She added ldquoWe had completed our round in Jogeshwari with Jarina when she said that there were 10 minutes left for iftaar So we went to the police chowki grabbed a table and had a meal with watermelon snacks and juicerdquoCracking the codeThe Company Theatre TCT is a group that is known for pushing the boundaries of the art form and its new performance is characteristically edgy Itrsquos an interactive online piece titled Parables of Sinister Misdeeds Committed in this House which talks about various forms of oppression that take place in the world TCT founder Atul Kumar worked with around 30 different actors directors photographers and other artistes to create it The play is a conceptual piece where audience members enter a virtual museum with various rooms where they are required to constantly interact through activities like filling up forms ldquoThe play is in its final stages and we are now looking for a coder who can develop a code to launch it But for that we need financial partners who can hold our hand in the last phaserdquo Kumar said Get in touch with him on Facebook if you are a coder or know one who can fix things for himBooked for a winWhile the Valley of Words literary festival in Dehradun canrsquot take place on the ground as of yet the organisers have announced the long list for the book awards that are associated with it The event honours writers across four different categories mdash English fiction English nonfiction Hindi nonfiction and English translations of regional literature The nominees include Karuna Ezara Parikh in pic for The Heart Asks Pleasure First and Nabaneeta Dev Sen for Chandrabatirsquos Ramayan But who will eventually win Wait till November this year to find outBe a green warrior with this appVirhaen Khanna launches the appFor nature conservationists and dutiful citizens alike the Save Trees app comes as a muchneed tool to address concerns about treecutting which is a problem across the world and created a lot of furore in Mumbai when the Metro car shed was proposed in Aarey Colony in 2019 Launched a month ago by the New Delhi Nature Society we were happy to learn that this app helps connect citizens who spot trees being cut with officials who can help ldquoThe app is very userfriendly and can be used in any part of the world to connect people who want to report trees being cut with officials who might otherwise not know where the cutting is taking place Through the app a person on the road can take a picture and post it and the officials step inrdquo Verhaen Khanna its founder told this diarist