The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Ashish Raje
Baby’s day out
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A child rocks in a makeshift cradle at Shivaji Park with his family who came to observe the death anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Chaityabhoomi on December 6.
Exchanging culture
Imagine being taught to paint Warli art during school hours. A batch of students from Bombay Scottish School, Mahim, with their counterparts from Rijnlands Lyceum Oegstgeest in the Netherlands, experienced Mumbai’s Indigenous culture. The students are part of an exchange programme that has brought 16 of them from the Netherlands to Mumbai.
Children at Bombay Scottish engage with students from Netherlands for a cultural exchange programme
To give the kids an experience of India and its culture, the school collaborated with the walking tour company Go Hallu Hallu—founded by Aslam Saiyad and Gopal MS— to curate an enjoyable experience. This took them around Banganga, Khotachiwadi, CST, and finally to Sanjay Gandhi National Park where the Warli community resides.
Dinesh, a resident of the community and a walk leader with Go Hallu Hallu is accustomed to conducting the Dahisar Pada Warli Walk for locals in Mumbai. This time, he gave students from Mumbai and the Netherlands a workshop on Warli art. “As a part of the program, Aslam guided us to the Warli village, where Dinesh introduced the children to the various symbols used in this traditional folk art. We later visited a house where a wedding had recently taken place, and he showed the children how the entire ceremony had been beautifully depicted through Warli art,” shared Hiral Shroff, a teacher at Bombay Scottish School.
Clubbin’ for 150 years
The Bombay Gym is a vital part of Mumbai’s SoBo club scene
Just as we come screeching towards the end of the year, December is a time to look back at a year gone by and at the same time, look forward as the New Year rolls in. There are several institutions that will be celebrating landmarks in the coming year, prime amongst which is the swish Bombay Gymkhana Club at Fort, Mumbai which will mark 150 years of its existence in 2025. We hear there are a slew of events and activities to celebrate the milestone being planned at this club next to the iconic Azad Maidan. While everybody may not be privy to the hallowed goings on, one can be certain given the profile of the club and its members, that it is going to be making news once we dive into 2025.
Swipe trends and city clashes
Sunday mid-day attended Tinder’s Year in Swipe event at All Saints, Khar, this week and it was all about looking back at 2024’s standout dating trends and stepping into 2025 with purpose. It unveiled three big trends shaping dating culture: Loud Looking, where daters confidently define their needs; Kiss-met, embracing serendipitous connections; and Nano-ships, finding meaning in even the smallest interactions.
But, let’s talk about what really stole the show, the classic Delhi vs. Mumbai dating debate. It all started when a Mumbai girl mentioned how Delhi boys are “red flags,” prompting the only Delhi boy at our table to launch into defense mode. “Mumbai girls don’t want to commit!” he shot back. When we asked the 28-year-old about how old are the women he dates, his nonchalant “22 to 30” response was met with roaring laughter. Change your dating pool, Delhi boy!
When Australia had some serious batting firepower
Erapalli Prasanna, India. Pic/S&G/PA Images via Getty Images)
Australian cricket stocks are down. You don’t need a genius to tell you that no matter what happens in the ongoing pink ball Test at the Adelaide Oval. With due credit to the Indian bowlers’ Perth show, our in-house cricket wonders if he has seen a weaker and more under-performing Australian batting line-up.
The one the Aussies put on the park during the 1977-78 series would come close. It was a third string team packed with rookies, who were capped in the midst of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. So, which Australian batting line-up was the strongest?
Our cricket nut found a 1985 article published in The Sportstar magazine which quoted off-spin great EAS Prasanna as saying that the 1967-68 Australian team had the best batsmen. “The most powerful Australian line-up I had ever bowled against was the 1967-68 combination. The batting order consisted of the world’s best ever opening pair of Bill Lawry and Bob Simpson, [Bob] Cowper, [Ian] Redpath, lan Chappell, Paul Sheahan and a tail headed by Barry Jarman that had the capabilities to contribute quite handsomely,” said Prasanna. We can safely presume that Pras, 84, is glued to his television set in Bangalore and he’ll remember his 1967-68 and 1977-78 Tests at the Adelaide Oval.
‘Singham cop’ wins India another gold
PI Subhash Pujari
What is champion bodybuilder-cop Subhash Pujari’s greatest flex? The Inspector posted with the Dial 112 Command and Control Centre in Mahape, Navi Mumbai, is the only Indian policeman to have won 10 international medals for bodybuilding. Just a few weeks ago, he won his fourth gold medal by flexing his bronzed muscles at the 15th World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships 2024 in Maldives. “I am proud to show the world how fit Indian Police are.
The other competitors, many of whom are now my friends, call me ‘Indian cop’, which fills me with pride,” he says. And what do people call him back home? “Singham cop,” he chuckles, “When I was posted on the Crime Branch, criminals would take one look at me and spill their secrets.” The 45-year-old has inspired many a policeman to start working out, he tells this diarist. “Wherever I’ve been posted, other officers have started gymming and following a healthy diet.,” says Pujari who trains five hours a day and never cheats on his boiled egg/chicken/fish diet, “I believe everyone should work out and be fit.”
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