Mumbai Diary: Saturday Scene

Sprout out at the Nature ParkIn addition to the farmersrsquo market that is held on Sundays at the Maharashtra Nature Park Society MNPS Dharavi in the city this weekend also sees the venue hosting the Earth mela organised by the SPROUTS Environment Trust wwwsproutsenvttrustorginOpening today with a Nature Trail 79am at the MNPS and a Bicycle Rally amp Mini Marathon 79am tomorrow the main event will be from 10am to 6pm on both days This year the mela theme is Islands and includes activities such as a short film festival a photo exhibition and sale workshops and lecturedemonstrations and stalls selling ecofriendly productsAll aboardLike a cruise ship that takes passengers of all shapes and dispositions around the world our local trains also bear commuters of all sorts at all times of day and night and in various states of wakefulnessTakes all sorts to make the world and train commuters PicVarun SinghTruly the train is a microcosm of the city and offers the interested observer a sliceoflife view Whether the slice is thick or thin depends on the viewerJust yesterday we were about to alight at Byculla station from a fast CSTbound train when this unusual duo in the doorway opposite caught our eye Along with officegoers vendors and businessmen the train carried them all aheadWild about lifeIn the last 40 years the world has lost 50 per cent of its wildlife And humans are probably the only creature to hunt for reasons other than food A new phenomenon among our hubriscrazed species is to hunt animals such as lions bred specifically for this purposeContrary to their claim it is not a means of conservation and only results in the animals living lives of captivity until their certain death by bullet Barbaric is the word for this and if it is not wiped out it could become a fad even in our countryConcerned people worldwide are raising their voices against this practice and a protest ldquotweetstormrdquo is set to happen on November 2324 at the same time all over the globe 1230am on Nov 24 for India To join the tweetstorm all you have to do is send out a tweet with the requisite tags Details are on the Facebook page TweetStorm Against Trophy HuntingHealth mattersA Bharatiya Janata Party leader tells us that on Friday morning when Central Minister of State for Urban Development Babul Supriyo met state CM Devendra Fadnavis they both mentioned their respective weight gain as handling ministerial posts isnrsquot giving them enough time for exercisePlaying politics obviously does not count Probably this is why neither of the two touched the cookies served at the meeting We also hear the CM gave Supriyo a pep talk on how they should switch off work every day so as to start the next day freshBut just the previous day during a meeting of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA the CM had been noticed popping cashewnuts in the timehonoured ldquostreetstylerdquo way each one landing perfectly on his palate and not one missing the mark Well aimed sir we say But we hope his diet is varied and balanced else hersquoll go nutsSqueaky clean and swearing by itWith everyone jumping on the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan bandwagon which kicked off on October 2 the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has made shramdaan voluntary work compulsory for every employee working in various wards and municipal offices as well as the BMC headquarters Employees have to devote two hours every Friday after work to clean their surroundingsAfter a circular was sent out to this effect the staff of the Municipal Secretary department which helps elected representatives with their working at the BMC headquarters even took an oath vowing that they will devote time to clean their offices and motivate citizens to keep their surroundings clean Hear hear