Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Whatrsquos upA policeman reaches out to a wandering duck at a market in Sion on MondayArt lends a helping handOne of the artworks available for saleArt can of course be for artrsquos sake But sometimes artists can also use their craft for a noble cause Thatrsquos what Mumbaibased illustrator Maithili M who runs the Instagram handle bigfatbao has done after she collaborated with two charitable organisations The Blue Dawn and Swabhiman Society to raise funds for disadvantaged people reeling under the effects of the pandemic Maithili is selling sets of three of her artworks for 1350 to interested people and is donating all the profits from the sales to the two NGOs ldquoI have known Divya K of The Blue Dawn for a long time and had helped her in the initial days after it was started while Manisha Mashaal of Swabhiman Society is someone whose work has always inspired merdquo she told this diarist adding that the artworks will be on sale till June Visit her Instagram page to purchase a setEnsuring hospital beds for allKunal VijayakarA shortage of beds for Covid19 patients is a critical issue facing not just the city but the whole country at present But a Mumbaibased youth organisation called Indian International Model United Nations IIMUN has now stepped in to alleviate the problem to some extent They have started a website called findabedin which acts as an online source of information about available Covid19 centres all over India That apart they are also calling on citizens to turn any free space they might have at their disposal into Covid19 centres ldquoMany people have second homes that are lying vacant which can be converted into places where patients can be treated Empty offices can also be used for the same and we will be taking help from the authorities to follow all the protocols requiredrdquo shared Abhishek Dhawan whorsquos secondincharge at IIMUN which has roped in a number of cause ambassadors to highlight their initiative including director Karan Johar and foodiecumfunnyman Kunal Vijayakar The latter told this diarist ldquoI have been involved with IIMUN for a long time and I have great confidence that this young generation will change the world They have a certain drive that energises the older generation I belong to Thatrsquos why I wanted to be associated with themrdquoJab we metLooking for a date before the pandemic ends Better get yourself vaccinated That is the clear message of a survey that a dating app has conducted among its users in major Indian metros including Delhi and Mumbai which shows that 70 per cent of the people within the age group of 18 to 30 will consider meeting a prospective partner only after he or she is vaccinated ldquoVaccination has become an added quality for a person to be liked and chosenrdquo said Ravi Mittal the apprsquos founderMy prized cap my adorable mumSocial media on Sunday was flooded with messages from sons to their mothers on Motherrsquos Day cricketers included One cricketer mdash former Mumbai offspinner Mahesh Karanjkar mdash did not believe Monday was too late to celebrate the occasion He posted this picture with his mother wearing his coveted Mumbai Ranji Trophy cap and posing with the salver which all Mumbai firstclass players received from the Mumbai Cricket Association to commemorate its 500th Ranji Trophy game a few years ago Sataraborn Karanjkar 49 played 10 firstclass games across the 199293 and 199596 seasons Well bowled we are moved to say after this deliveryBiodiversity park for AmbivliA facelift is on the cards for Mohone a small town in the Ambivli region that falls under the KalyanDombivali Municipal Corporation KDMC The civic body has joined hands with environmental organisation iNaturewatch Foundation to build a biodiversity park in a 25acre plot of land in the area with DCB Bank funding the effort as part of its CSR activities iNaturewatch Foundation cofounder Dr V Subhalaxmi told this diarist that the proposed park will have different sections including gardens dedicated to birds butterflies and medicinal plants ldquoWe will also have multiple activity stations where visitors can gain practical knowledge about the environmentrdquo she said adding that the plan is to plant 10000 saplings in total before the monsoon hits in June ldquoIf we are unable to meet the target due to the pandemic this year we will complete it in 2022rdquo she clarified