Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Mud island mastiBlissfully unaware of responsibilities a group of boys play with the sands on the beach at Madh IslandOn the road to Le MansThe team prepares for the competition Pics CourtesyThe Skate AcademBrad Pitt can move aside There is a 11member Indian contingent flying out to the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans in France The Skate Academy led by coach Ajay Shivlani will participate in the 24H Rollers competition across the 4185 km circuit this Saturday ldquoIt is a replica of the MotoGP track and we will skate round it over 24 hoursrdquo shared Shivlani who will also be gearing up with the others who departed yesterday night for France With the team including members below the age of 18 the seniors will have to take on the night shift ldquoIt is a challenge but we are the first team from India to participate It might just be the exposure the sport needsrdquo Shivlani signed offUpskill musicRavi Venugopalan and Hrishikesh Majumdar in green at the concert Pic courtesyTenderrootsindiaWho said studies had to be a bore With the New Education Policy focusing on upskilling the nonprofit initiative Tenderroots India teamed up with Bai Kabibai and Hansraj Morarji Charity Institute to host a performance by Hrishikesh Majumdar son of Pandit Ronu Majumdar on Wednesday ldquoThough it was meant to be a performance to start off their school year it was also an interactive one where Hrishikesh had a jugalbandi with the children in the audiencerdquo shared team member Manjari VenkatVihar wersquore sorryAyaan Sham in green joins volunteers during the cleanup drive at Vihar lake Pic CourtesyAyaan ShamWord in the woods is that a few notorious Mumbaikars have been causing trouble in the delicate ecosystem of Vihar Lake ldquoThe Vihar Lake is situated deep in the forest Yet trespassers often enter and leave plastic trash behindrdquo said Bombay Natural History Society intern Ayaan Sham who along with fellow volunteer Kshiraj Gidwani led a 200strong clean up drive in the area last weekend They found in support staff members of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Film City officials One of the seven lakes supplying water to the city Vihar is also home to numerous crocodiles ldquoWhen left under sunlight plastic waste releases microplastics that damage the intestines of animals who inadvertently consume themrdquo Sham added Together the group was able to collect 400 kg of glass bottles plastic bottles glasses paper and styrofoam plates Herersquos to happier dining days for the crocsEat your art outIshan Benegal at the kitchen Pic CourtesyG5AThe next time yoursquore on the lookout for an inspired take on weekend dinner plans try heading to an art gallery Port Kitchen and Bar will be presenting a popup dinner service at Chatterjee and Lal in Colaba The session scheduled for Saturday will include a walkthrough of the ongoing show Building The Past An ArchitectCollector wine tasting a multicourse menu and an intimate chefled walkthrough as well Port Kitchen founder and head chef Ishan Benegal shared ldquoTo dine within a show that explores structure legacy and form felt like a natural next step for us This is the first in a series of roving dinners that will travel across the city each one shaped by the space it inhabits and the stories it holdsrdquo Gallerist Mortimer Chatterjee inset added ldquoWe are certainly excited about the experience Perhaps we might explore it in the futurerdquoRay reruns in the MahanagarFrom left Satyajit Ray a token from the screening of Rayrsquos film Mahanagar Pics CourtesyBombay Movie Club Wikimedia CommonsRetro is in vogue across the city After the return of Alfred Hitchcockrsquos films to the big screen at Regal Cinema there is a quiet celebration of Indiarsquos own Maestro Satyajit Ray taking place in Oshiwara The Bombay Movie Club is organising a Satyajit Ray film festival this JulyThe first screening of Mahanagar took place on July 8 ldquoWatching the film made us realise how projection was used in the background as well We had actually planned the showcase for May but it kept getting delayed Nevertheless better late than neverrdquo shared programming director Unnati Thakkar left Rayrsquos Nayak and Kapurush will be the next two screenings to follow this month