Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Steps towards development

Workers form a human chain on a ladder to pass baskets filled with concrete for a pillar near Prabhadevi railway station.

A star-spangled affair for cricket

Mike Hankey with Virat Kohli

Fresh off IPL mania, most of us might not need a refresher in cricket just yet. But when American diplomats from the US Consulate General in Mumbai felt like one, young stars of the Indian cricket team including Mohammed Siraj, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, and Jitesh Sharma came to the rescue. A video of the diplomats learning the basics, or at least attempting to, was shared by the Consulate on Instagram leading up to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the USA. "While the diplomats were eager to learn the game, their skills were quite rudimentary. The players' patience and genuine interest in teaching added great energy and humour to the interaction. All in all, creating the reel was an exciting experience for the team," shared Greg Pardo, spokesperson, US Consulate General, Mumbai. Following the video, the Consulate also shared a post highlighting Consul General Mike Hankey's meeting with Virat Kohli, "They discussed the upcoming T20 tournament and expressed best wishes to both the Indian and American teams. It has been rewarding to see the positive reception and growing anticipation for the tournament," Pardo revealed.

A diplomat

Vocabulary for climate change

The film uses drawings and voice-over to translate climate change centred around the people of Govandi

In her attempt to translate climate change for the marginalised communities, Natasha Sharma, design and art lead for Initiative Community Design Agency, directed an animated film, Gutter ki Machhli, featuring the people of Govandi. "Climate discourse is too technical for the people of these communities, who are also the ones most impacted by it. So, instead of conducting research traditionally, we hosted workshops, where people of Govandi expressed its impact on them through poetry, drawings, photography, and theatre. These, including a 24-hour-long voice-over, made part of the 10-minute-long Hindi animated film [with English subtitles]." This project was a result of the Knowledge into Use Awards by Global Resilience Partnership Sharma won earlier this year. The film is currently being screened in public for the first time in Delhi. Those keen to host a screening can drop a message on @communitydesignagency.

Natasha Sharma

Beach warriors

Inspired by Japan's international marine clean-up contest Spogomi World Cup, Carter Cleanup community will launch a one-of-a-kind beach clean-up contest, The Dirty Games, on June 8 at Carter Road. "We will divide participants into teams. Whoever collects the most amount of waste will win rewards," shared co-founder Ashwin Malwade. Head to @cartercleanup for more details on the initiative.

Mumbai and Christianity

On June 9, the Church History Association of India will host a conference where 12 speakers, whose forefathers hail from different parts of the country, and migrated to Mumbai, will discuss what made Christians from around the country settle here. "During the pandemic, we saw people migrate back to their hometowns. So, we thought of talking about why Mangloreans or Goans, among other communities, found a home in Mumbai," shared vice president Dr Kranti Kiran Farias.