<h2>Shall we dance?</h2>
Students of Kokane&rsquo;s Kohinoor Technical Institute in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/bmc-installs-bollards-on-footpaths-in-dadar-and-matunga-to-keep-motorists-away-23594596" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dadar</a> draw murals on the window of their class to mark Navratri festivities
<h2>Mumbai imprint on Jakarta&rsquo;s streetscape</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/sep/Jakarta-graffiti_e.jpg" alt="A view of the large graffiti by Dkrypt, Carter, and Buzzinka. Pic Courtesy/@krypt.one" width="1280" height="720" /> A view of the large graffiti by Dkrypt, Carter, and Buzzinka. Pic Courtesy/@krypt.one
City-based graffiti group Aerosol Intelligence is back on home turf after leaving a bright mark in Indonesia&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-crime-news/article/mumbai-customs-seizes-drugs-foreign-currency-and-gold-in-multiple-operations-23596055" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jakarta</a>. Following an invitation from the King Royal Pride graffiti festival in the capital city, trio DKrypt, Carter and Himanshu Arora aka Buzzinka jammed with artists from Singapore, Australia, Japan, and beyond, earlier this month.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/sep/Himanshu-Arora_e.jpg" alt="Himanshu Arora" width="1280" height="720" /> Himanshu Arora
&ldquo;It was a great learning experience for us. International acclaim is always welcome in the scene. We hope to build a graffiti festival in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-rains-heavy-showers-lash-city-as-imd-issues-orange-alert-for-monday-23596221?sports-football-videos-breakingnews" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mumbai</a> soon,&rdquo; revealed Arora, who is planning a visit to Hong Kong to work on a new piece soon.&nbsp;
<h2>Making Colombo smile</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/sep/Clownselors-session_e.jpg" alt="A child and her parent watch. Agarwal perform. Pics Courtesy/Clownselors Foundation" width="1280" height="720" /> A child and her parent watch. Agarwal perform. Pics Courtesy/Clownselors Foundation
Laughter is the best medicine, they say, and Sheetal Agarwal believes it. The founder-director of Clownselors Foundation, traveled to Colombo,<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/sri-lanka-women-record-first-win-over-india-in-seven-years-23535284" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> Sri Lanka</a> earlier this week to present for Doctors without Borders (MSF). &ldquo;We are a voluntary organisation with a specific focus on medical clowning. Our focus remains clowning, though we have professional psychologists who assist in case people do need counselling.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/sep/Clownselors-2_e.jpg" alt="Sheetal Agarwal (in yellow) entertains a child in the paediatric ward of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) in Colombo" width="1280" height="720" /> Sheetal Agarwal (in yellow) entertains a child in the paediatric ward of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) in Colombo
The MSF holds regular sessions for innovative practices, and we approached them to present on our experience. In addition, I also hosted a session at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases [NIID] in Colombo to give a demonstration on September 25,&rdquo; shared Sheetal. Noticing the enthusiastic response of the children in the paediatric ward, the Institute invited Sheetal to host sessions for parents, and the staff as well. &ldquo;The response was fantastic. It was new to them. Initially, I was apprehensive of a language barrier, but it soon gave way to some fun interactions,&rdquo; she revealed.
<h2>Verses from across India</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/sep/Anusri-Venkatesh_e.jpg" alt="Anusri Venkatesh" width="1280" height="720" /> Anusri Venkatesh
In an era where the science stream often takes precedence, an initiative seeks to instil a deep love for poetry among students across the country. The ongoing All India Inter Collegiate Poetry Competition by Story Tent, Indiverse, held in collaboration with HSNC Board&rsquo;s Smt. Chandibai Himathmal Mansukhani College (Autonomous), <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-crime-news/article/police-rescue-seven-children-who-went-missing-from-thane-s-ulhasnagar-23595271" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ulhasnagar</a>, conducted its grand finale on September 27.
Held online through a virtual meet, it featured students and young poets from across small tier towns of India. &ldquo;We are an organisation that was centred on encouraging poetry. The idea of the competition was to inculcate a love for poetry among students in Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns. Our online platform was built to encourage young poets to come together on common ground, and interact with each other. We have only one objective, and that is to make storytelling accessible to everyone,&rdquo; shared founder and managing director, Story Tent, Anusri Venkatesh.
With over 150 submissions by 80 colleges from across the country, the competition was conducted online. Almost 20 finalists were selected to win cash prizes, and certifications. &ldquo;The poets had full creative freedom to explore any genre. You cannot restrict poetry by themes or forms,&rdquo; she told us. Venkatesh is already looking towards the second edition of the ongoing Beyond Horizons competition. &ldquo;It is a virtual open mic that has continued registration. We will have a grand finale for the section at the end of the year to select the winners,&rdquo; the founder shared.
<h2>Nippon on our mind</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/sep/GC-session_e.jpg" alt="The students with their Navratri diyas. Pic Courtesy/Gully Classes Foundation " width="1280" height="720" /> The students with their Navratri diyas. Pic Courtesy/Gully Classes Foundation&nbsp;
There is a Japanese vibe echoing through the neighbourhood of <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/ghatkopar-hoarding-collapse-no-more-hoardings-on-building-terraces-compound-walls-as-state-accepts-committees-recommendations-23595463" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ghatkopar</a> East. Students visiting from Japan have been participating in the voluntary classes held by the Gully Classes Foundation to help raise funds for children from low-income neighbourhoods. &ldquo;Yuki, Yuto, Haru, Keno and Munto are students who have been interning with us for 42 days. They also participated in the making of diyas for Navratri, and postcards. In fact, they are taking some back to Japan to share with their friends as well,&rdquo; founder Abdul Munaf told this diarist. &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h2>Making a splash</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/sep/Swim-a_e.jpg" alt="A moment from the swim event. Pic Courtesy/MumbaiSeaSwimmers" width="1280" height="720" /> A moment from the swim event. Pic Courtesy/MumbaiSeaSwimmers
Nighttime swimming sounds like a fantasy retreat, but Mumbai Sea Swimmers turned it real with their event, Dusk 2 Dawn. Held on September 20 and 21 at Palava City, <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-dombivli-platform-5-poses-danger-to-women-commuters-during-rush-hour-23595483" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dombivli</a>, the challenge saw participants swimming for several hours, from six to an astonishing 12 and 24 hours. Minesh Babla, co-founder, told this diarist, &ldquo;[People came] from the suburbs, South, Central and North Mumbai, as well as from beyond the city. We learnt a valuable lesson about energy conservation over long periods of time.&rdquo;

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Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

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