Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

BowWow to the crowInterspecies friendship is at play as these crows interact with a dog out on his walk at Carter Road BandraBecoming a real Peepalrsquos personGreen powerGoing green may have a reason but certainly not a season Plantation initiatives spiked on World Environment Day June 5 but ldquomonsoon is the ideal season for peepal plantsrdquo said Ganesh Mahabal Shetty president Charlie Sports Club in Vikhroli Shetty said ldquoThe club is giving free peepal saplings to those interested in planting treesrdquo Both Ganesh Shetty and secretary Yuganand Shetty said ldquoOur goal is to enable people to plant as many trees as possible in Mumbai or wherever they live Planting a tree is easy but it requires proper care for the first 12 yearsrdquo The Club administration has asked people to call 98690581469869218266 for free peepal saplingsWersquore all Captain PlanetClimate change is real and wersquore not doing nearly enough to combat it shows the CSE report File picAtul KambleThis has been a strange year weatherwise We saw one of the wettest starts to a year long before the monsoon officially started And now that it has begun the rain clouds seem to have gone missing Itrsquos not by chance suggest the findings in the Centre for Science and Environmentrsquos CSE and Down To Earth magazinersquos joint report State of Indiarsquos Environment in Figures 2025 Wersquore not doing enough to combat the effects of climate change the study suggests ldquoIndiarsquos most populous states mdash Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra Bihar West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh mdash that are together home to 49 per cent of the countryrsquos population rank low on the themes environment agriculture public health and human development and public infrastructure that our analysis has focused on This means large segments of the countryrsquos population remain vulnerable and exposed to multiple threatsrdquo says CSE director general Sunita Narain urging that ldquothis is not the time for complacencyrdquo Now we can wait for the powers that be to read the report and wake up but this diarist thinks itrsquos time we take matters into our own hands and do what we can be it cutting down plastic use or saving waterlsquoHello CharleshelliprsquoMadhukar ZendeThis diarist was in college in Goa in the 1980s when the sensational news of the arrest of the notorious Charles Sobhraj hit the headlines Top cop Madhukar Zende at the helm of the operation became a household name instantly with his calm greeting to the ldquobikini killerrdquo before he nabbed him The Sobhraj story is fascinating but only a part of Zendersquos memoirs the justreleased HarperCollins publication Mumbairsquos Most Wanted The retired Assistant Commissioner of Police says ldquoIt was a pleasure to relive my experiences as a Mumbai policemanrdquo This memoir reads more like a thriller giving us a glimpse into the mind of ldquoZindadil Zenderdquo as crime writer S Hussain Zaidirsquos foreword calls himSemma shakes up New YorkLR Roni Mazumdar Chintan Pandya and Chef Vijay Kumar Pic CourtesyMolly TavolettiIn a historic first Indian restaurant Semma has claimed the top spot as New York Cityrsquos number 1 restaurant according to The New York Times ldquoSemma stands as a bold declaration that cuisine can speak for itself unfiltered and unapologetic This victory belongs to every chef who led with courage over convention and every diner who embraced new flavoursrdquo says Roni Majumdar CEO Unapologetic Foods ldquoTherersquos nothing more rewarding than making our motherland proud Wersquove set out to represent Indian cuisine with integrity and authenticity and are proud to share our culture on our own termsrdquo says Chef Chintan Pandya Chef Vijay Kumar adds ldquoI grew up in a small village in Tamil Nadu and never in my wildest dreams did I think Irsquod be cooking in New York let alone see this kind of response to southern Indian cuisine More than ranking it is the emotional connection I can have with people by giving them a sense of homerdquo Semmarsquos success is not just a moment mdash itrsquos a movement that will shape the culinary landscapeNo trophy but Pataudirsquos legacy wonrsquot be ignoredIndia captain Rahul Dravid receives the Pataudi Trophy from the late Tiger Pataudi at the Oval London in 2007 PicGetty ImagesThe Pataudi Trophy going by reports is retired Now there are plans to have India and England play for the TendulkarAnderson Trophy and not the Pataudi Trophy which was instituted for the 2007 Test series which India won 10 The retirement news of the Pataudi Trophy was not exactly lapped up The purists asked where was the need to retire the trophy which honoured IAK Pataudi and MAK Pataudi both India captains Sunday midday learns that the Pataudi legacy will be continued in some way in India vs England Tests on English soil starting from Leeds on June 20 Tendulkar made five Test tours to Englandmdash1990 1996 2002 2007 and 2011 Meanwhile Anderson played 22 home Tests against India for his 105 wickets Official announcements beckon Watch this space