Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Nimesh Dave

Runaway reptile
A resident of IC Colony in Borivali West recently found his pet green iguana missing from home. He then sent out feelers in the locality, and some people spotted what they thought was a snake on top of a tall tree. They called snake rescuer Umesh Devecha (in pic, left) who clarified with forest department officials that the reptile is the missing iguana. It is now being kept safely till its owner, who is away at present, returns home.

Cheat sheet

Representation pic

It's not just incriminating messages on their phones or the smell of a stranger's perfume on their clothes that expose people who have been cheating on their partners. The results of a discreet survey conducted among its global users by an extramarital dating app revealed that it can be something as simple as the pitch of the guilty partner's voice. Researchers conducted the experiment on 64 men and 88 women, and concluded that extroverts have fewer silent pauses, which is a strong indicator of infidelity. "The voice is a detection tool for cheating and listening to how someone talks, even if they are a stranger, can reveal whether they have been unfaithful or not. Interestingly, men with deep voices are rated by women to be more likely to cheat on their partners and as less trustworthy in general," Sybil Shiddell, country manager of the app, told this diarist.

A British lens on Warli art

A visitor at the Warli art exhibition

Warli art is indigenous to the adivasis of Maharashtra, and the art form was recently given a leg-up by British Council India (BCI). The organisation recently hosted an exhibition of artworks created by prominent Warli painter Jivya Soma Mashe, at the British Council centre in New Delhi till February 21. Jonathan Kennedy, director of arts for BCI, shared, "We understand that this is a difficult time for the crafts sector. Nevertheless, we firmly believe that at this time of the pandemic, creativity and collaboration binds us together."

Mumbaikars win

The final results of The Indian Music Diaries Awards, a prize given out to independent musicians, have been announced. Tejas and Kabeer Kathpalia aka OAFF are two artistes from Mumbai who feature as winners in two of the 10 different categories. OAFF won the Best Music Video award for the track, Perpetuate. The video features a bunch of multi-coloured lines and Kathpalia (in pic) told this diarist that filmmaker Karan Vaidya helped him with it. "We have kept it open for people to reinterpret the lines as they want to," he explained.

Iranian honour for city artists

As cultural institutions across the globe continue to exercise caution with events due to the pandemic, the opening of Iran's Mustafa Science and Technology Museum was held virtually over the weekend. But there was an Indian connection to the event where artists who have contributed their artworks to the museum, were felicitated. Among them were city-based calligraphy artists Shipra Malhotra and Shamma Rizvi. Malhotra (in pic) told this diarist that the honour meant a great deal to her as Iran houses some of the best calligraphy museums in the world. "It's like we were representing our country and being felicitated by an Iranian body, was a beautiful blend of two cultures. In a way, you are carrying forward your country's culture but you're also learning something from them, too. There was a vast variety of work that was shared in the virtual display - from tin work to finger painting," she shared. Our congratulations.

Basket case: Grocery apps lock horns

Online portals have changed the way we shop for groceries, and there is now a clash that has broken out between two specific apps - Daily Basket and Big Basket. The former is a digital service that caters to locals in Coimbatore only, while the latter is a pan-India player. Big Basket has now accused Daily Basket of misleading consumers with a similar brand name, user interface and app screen, sending a cease-and-desist notice. "You are malafidely trying to create an impression that you are associated with Big Basket for Coimbatore, which, in fact, is not the case," the notice said. In response, Daily Basket created a cheekily named website, bbisabully.com, where it posted a point-by-point rebuttal of the accusations made. Who's the bad apple here? Let's see what the courts have to say.