Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Take a Leaf from their playbookA man offers his goat a leafy snack as the trio takes respite from the sizzling summer sunAn urban oasisStart India has recently unveiled their latest project at Worli Dairy The vibrant mural was painted by street artist and illustrator Afzan Pirzade ldquoIt was a conscious move to place this mural in one of the most built areas of Mumbai While most people think of the city as a concrete jungle there exists within it immense natural heritage that we must acknowledge and protect From leopards to flamingos hibiscus to palms the rich universe of Mumbairsquos ecosystem will bloom in the heart of the cityrdquo he told usSo long Speedy UncleBarkha SP and Bahar DuttThat this unforgiving virus has been snatching away young and old is now a harsh reality that the living have to deal with And yesterday it took away Satya Prakash Dutt father of awardwinning journalists Barkha and Bahar Dutt in a New Delhi hospital Speedy to his friends close family and former colleagues this onetime engineer with Air India was a diehard Meccano model maker With his engineering brain and blessed with oodles of patience his retirement days were spent at home as he created the most expansive stunning models from aircraft to steamboats in his South Delhi homeMiddayrsquos piece on June 14 2020While it took a backseat during his career he rekindled this hobby in his later years and over time had built an impressive collection Locomotives were his favourite This diarist had interviewed him for this newspaper last June after younger daughter Bahar had posted about this passion During that chat he shared how modelmaking had kept him busy and his mind ticking when India was under lockdown ldquoI want my planes to fly my ships to float on water and my locomotives to run on tracks So far only planes havenrsquot been able to fly wersquoll have to see about thatrdquo he laughed then With his craftsmanship wersquore sure hersquoll have a safe flight to the other sideWhat women and men really wantDating apps have predictably witnessed a surge in popularity during the lockdown A recent survey by a dating app that has 11 million Indian users found differences between how men and women approach online dating For instance female users log into the app 48 times a day while male users log in 24 times Women are also chattier speaking with 25 users while men chat with 10 usersldquoWe found that 83 per cent of respondents preferred using a dating app as matches from matrimonial sites bring with them the pressure to get married More than 50 per cent of users are reluctant to reveal that they are using dating apps for fear of being judgedrdquo revealed Ravi Mittal founder and CEO of QuackQuackIn pursuit of our childrenrsquos happinessIn July 2018 the Delhi government rolled out an educational programme for children in grades one to eight in public schools called the Happiness Curriculum to improve the mental wellbeing of pupils Now teacher and documentary filmmaker Samina Mishra has directed a film that explores happiness from the context of this curriculumldquoThe film was shot a year after the curriculum was introduced It explores the possibilities that the curriculum throws up I hope it reaches educators and policymakers to guide our direction especially after the pandemicrdquo she said Visit facebookcomhappinessclassfilm to learn moreHelp for those who help usWith the lockdown severely affecting the financial security of millions of Mumbaikars an eatery has pledged to help feed the worst hit ldquoPatrons who order a meal on behalf of the needy will only have to pay 50 per cent and we will contribute the restrdquo said Sankar Kasirajan founder of IDlishThe meals comprise five plates of idlis each and are marked down to Rs 175 The offer is available at Borivali and Goregaon If yoursquod like to pitch in check out instagramcomid_lish