Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Flower Power

A girl is weighed down by several sunflower bouquets as she waits at Parel railway station

Cheers to 140!

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), the city-based pan-India wildlife research organisation, founded by experts who documented Indian species of wildlife in 1883, will complete 140 years on September 15. To celebrate the occasion, they will screen a short film, which explores part of their upcoming Thane Creek ecological monitoring project. Reminiscing about his journey with the organisation, interim director Kishor Rithe (inset) remarked, "I joined BNHS in the 1990s, and became the interim director in April this year. Currently, we have Asia's oldest collection of specimens, with nearly one lakh forty thousand roomed in Hornbill House. Outlining their plans going forward, the director shared, "We will take up conservation of lesser-known species, and have successfully bred 750 vultures in captivity, which we are now releasing in the wild."

On your march, get set, and go

A school marching band performs its routine at the Rochak Festival in Byculla. Pic/Anurag Ahire

It was quite the gathering at the Christ Church School in Byculla yesterday for their annual festival. The 15th edition of the Rochak Festival saw 22 schools from across Mumbai and beyond participate, including The Bishop's Schools from Camp and Kalyani Nagar in Pune, and Barnes School in Deolali, Nashik. The theme, principal Graham Heiden told this diarist, was all things Indian. "We are hosting games such as langdi, kho kho, kabaddi and carrom this year," he said. The loudest cheers though were for the marching band competition - a highlight of the day. "We realised that few schools have marching bands these days, and by competing, children can learn from each other; share new ideas about formations and presentations," Heiden remarked.

Also read: Maharashtra: Children kept in dirty dorm, filthy loos and fed half chapati a day

The Hindi connection

The facade of the Hindi Granth Karyalay in Charni Road. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons

Every Mumbaikar has had the ignominy of being taunted for their Hindi. Yet, as this diarist learned on Hindi Divas (September 14), the city has a deep connection to the language through one of the oldest Hindi publishing houses in the country. The Hindi Granth Karyalay at Charni Road, established in 1912, turns 111 on September 24.

Fourth-generation owner, Manish Modi (inset) shared that the founder and publisher, Nathuram Premi's journey into Hindi publication began with the most unlikely of books. "It was in the late 1910s that he read economist John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. Knowing that the Indian public needed to read its lessons, he had the book translated by Acharya Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi. Svadhinata was the first Hindi book we published," he shared. Since then, the publication has had a hand in many works, including the first edition of Munshi Premchand's magnum opus Godaan, and works by Habib Tanvir and KM Munshi, to name a few.

Pet influences

Ugale with a dog at the shelter

It's a welcome change when social media is used as a tool to manifest good deeds. When city-based musician and influencer Mansi Ugale visited Youth Organisation in Defence of Animals (YODA) in Khar last month, she ended up being influenced herself. "I had the chance to visit their shelter, and could not wait for an opportunity to help these fur babies," she remarked. So, as her first meet-and-greet with fans, Ugale decided to host a closet cleanse and thrift shop on Thursday at Zima in Bandra. "It was a mix of all the things that I love and care about - thrifting, animals, music and my audience. The idea of this event was to shop for a cause. All the proceeds were donated to Yoda and their shelters," she revealed.

Rocking it in India and abroad

Girish Pradhan

November is going to be an exciting month for the fans of metal, rock, and fusion music with Mahindra Independence Rock set to take place. Girish and the Chronicles (GATC), Swarathma, Agam and Gutslit are some of the many bands that have been announced as part of the festival line-up. Sikkim-based heavy metal band GATC that recently opened for American rock band Guns N' Roses in Abu Dhabi, is stoked. "It [opening act for Guns N' Roses] was a great experience. It was like living the dream. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to spend time with them," said lead vocalist Girish Pradhan, who was hoping to ask Slash for his hat. GATC was in talks with the organisers of the Mumbai-based rock festival last year, but unfortunately things didn't work out and they couldn't make it to the fest. "It was long overdue. We are excited to be part of something as historic as I-Rock. It is not often we get to do such shows, so I am hoping to have fun," the musician signed off.