Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Find a gym dudeA young commuter ignores all safety measures to perform pullups on the doorway of a local train at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj TerminusA new hero in the booksFrom left Pushpa and Raghu PalatIn 2019 the Guide section in this newspaper had highlighted authors Raghu and Pushpa Palatrsquos historic title The Case that Shook the Empire While the duo is still soaking in the success of its film adaptation Kesari Chapter 2 2025 they show no signs of slowing down Set for a release later this month Godrsquos Own Empire will spotlight Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma the warriorking of Travancore who foiled the Dutch East India Companyrsquos attempt to conquer India at the Battle of Colachel in 1741An artistic depiction of Marthanda Varma left weapons at the Kowdiar Palace PICS COURTESYWIKIMEDIA COMMONS RAGHU PALATldquoWe happened to visit the Kowdiar Palace in Thiruvananthapuram where the weapons used by Marthanda Varma in that battle were on display Following painstaking research which also led us to the British Library in London to pore over texts pertaining to the king we realised his true contributionsrdquo the duo told us Varma stood out for restructuring the administration in his kingdom and working closely alongside its commonfolk to become a lsquopeoplersquos kingrsquo ldquoIt earned him a few enemies forcing him to live as a fugitive Itrsquos a surprise that a story as gripping as his is not taught to us in schoolsrdquo they added Ask them about a possible film adaptation and the Palats are game ldquoIn fact I think his life makes for a perfect cinematic retellingrdquo Raghu remarks Any takersLetrsquos break the digital bubbleA moment from the pilot event in AndheriThe number yoursquore trying to reach is currently serving time in a smartphone prison Thatrsquos the catch at biomedical scientist Jyotika Singhrsquos new venture appOFF where participants are voluntarily locking away their smartphones to curb screen time and build real relationships ldquoWersquore always on our phones yet so disconnected from those around us Urban loneliness is a pressing issue especially in individuals who move to a new cityrdquo Singh remarkedThe phone locker PICS COURTESYAPP OFF ON INSTAGRAMAt a pilot run in Andheri last week 15 participants gave up their phones to talk laugh and play the oldfashioned way ldquoWe reflected upon what we had lost because of extended screen times It was a revelation of sortsrdquo she added As ironic as it may sound Singh will soon launch an app to help neighbourhoods come closer together through reallife interactions To know more about an upcoming event on July 26 head to appoffconnectFull moon equals empowermentParticipants and Aqui Thami centre at a previous meeting organised by Sister Library PIC COURTESYSISTERS LIBRARYTomorrowrsquos full moon will translate to women power in one corner of Bandra ldquoAt Sister Library we always meet on the full moon It is a moment for the Mahila Mandali to get together and steal some time for themselves This time we will organise a midnight walk around Bandrardquo shared Aqui Thami founder Meanwhile the library is also raising funds for the Walking with Savitri Mai Fellowship that will help the education of over 100 girls from lowincome groups Those interested can head to sisterlibrary on InstagramLove is in fashionRahul Mishra works on a piece from the collection PIC COURTESYRAHUL MISHRAIndian designer Rahul Mishra took the ancient techniques of aari zardozi and fareesha embroidery to the city of love at the Paris Couture Week 2025 earlier this week Reimagining the techniques in contemporary style Mishrarsquos collection embodied seven stages of love In association with a popular jewellery brand the feature also marked Mishrarsquos collaboration with iconic British milliner Stephen Jones ldquoIt is a privilege to work with someone whose legacy and imagination have shaped the very language of couture headwearrdquo Mishra told us from ParisWhat the hackChandni Ahuja in performance PIC COURTESYKIBONOPARTY ON INSTAGRAMCitybased DJ Chandni Ahuja aka KIBO is recovering from a classic case of identity theft on Instagram this week ldquoI received a message from a verified account named Meta when I was boarding a flight last week I accidentally clicked on a link in the message before my flight took off The next thing I knew I was locked out of my own account and I started receiving messages from an Indonesian number on WhatsApp demanding a ransom amount After multiple complaints to the social media giant I had to eventually give up when my account was disabled Irsquom left with no recovery options It beats me how all of this happened despite my twofactor authentication being enabledrdquo Ahuja remarked Visibly distraught the DJ told this diarist that the event comes as a lesson to not rely on a single social platform as an artiste ldquoIrsquom mourning the loss of my network but Irsquoll be back strongerrdquo she assured us The artiste now operates from the handle kibowxv on Instagram