Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Atul Kamble

Colour therapy

A fruit seller lugs his cart on a hot, sunny Saturday in Sion.

Marina residents make his-tree

(From left) Roshan John Paul, Prince Kkaushik, Khushboo Kiran Chowhan, Janak P Shah, Priya Bakshi Joseph, Kappla Joseph Lazarus and Ravindra Shrinivas Shanbhag

On December 30, 2022, this paper reported about residents of Marina Enclave, a residential society in Malad West attempting to make "his-tree". A group of the gated community's residents had made a 46.7-foot-tall Christmas tree of empty, green, plastic aerated drinks bottles. They aimed to smash an earlier record of a 32-foot tree that had made it to the record books. Recently, the Malad housing hub made its way into the record books smashing the earlier record and earning its Asia Book of Records mention for the record- breaking tallest tree made of plastic bottles. Residents are thrilled to bits, and said that the certificate, medal, and Asia Book of Records will all be displayed in the Enclave's clubhouse. Christmas may be over and done with, but for the record breakers, that was the season to be merry and this certainly is the reason to be jolly, a feat that has given them tree-mendous joy.

Also Read: Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pujara's 100, Swanton's 200… all part of the game!

Cheteshwar Pujara; (right) Cricket writer EW Swanton. Pic/Getty Images

Cheteshwar Pujara's 100th Test landmark in New Delhi was not lost on cricket enthusiasts as well as his teammates. However, landmarks like these are not only celebrated for cricketers alone. Even cricket writers completing 100 Tests of reporting are felicitated by the journalistic fraternity. One of the first writers who earned admiration for their longevity was Englishman EW ‘Jim' Swanton. When Swanton was on the verge of completing 200 Tests in 1967, The Cricketer magazine did a three-page appreciation of him. Under the headline 200 UP, John Reason wrote: "Swanton must be easily the best organised sports writer in Fleet Street. He fires off memoranda here, postcards there. He books hotels months in advance, his car never runs out of petrol, he answers correspondence scrupulously, he keeps carbon copies of everything, he has files of everything relevant to his job, he has kept books of his own newspaper cuttings from the year dot and his movements are as well tracked as those of Jim Bond." Swanton was more than a reporter. He was an influential writer whom cricket's decision makers took seriously. Just like India's opposition rate Pujara.

Chugging on the mental health track

Arushi Sethi

For the first time in its history, Indian Railways will be providing mental health services to over 12 lakh+ employees and their family members, powered by mental health services provider, Trijog, courtesy of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and All India Railwaymen's Federation. When we spoke to Arushi Sethi, CEO and founder of Trijog, about this collaboration, she said, "Dr Asif Altaf Chowdhury, Global Wellbeing and HIV Programme Coordinator at International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), had himself experienced depression during the pandemic. This got him thinking about the welfare of workers; most particularly, those with the Indian Railways. We got together to discuss how this service could be taken forward, as Trijog was well equipped in understanding and dealing with the nuances and individual care required for concerns of employees in the public sector." A helpline will address concerns related to stressful work conditions, financial distress, safety issues and work culture, family and interpersonal relationship stress, low self-esteem, and more. "We have received a great reception, where individuals began using the aid to acknowledge and ask for help willingly."

Mum's the word for Sanghi

Ashwin Sanghi with his poet mum Manju

Talent runs in Ashwin Sanghi's genes. The bestselling author recently took to social media to share the news about his octogenarian poet mum, Manju Sanghi's words being brought to life in a new track, Kismat, set to music and sung by playback singer Shaan. Speaking to this diarist, Manju shares, "I was brought up in the home of my grandfather Sir Shankar Lal in Delhi. Besides being an industrialist and philanthropist, he was also a poet." Growing up in such an environment, left a deep impression on her. "I have always written poetry for myself, not others. Some years ago, Shubha Mudgalji suggested that we try singing some of them and that led to a classical and folk album. My son, Ashwin suggested that we find ways to bring the poetry to a younger audience. Then my dear friend, Shaina NC, suggested that Shaan and I meet. That discussion led to him choosing five of my poems to be scored for music by him."