Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Paving the way

With construction work underway at Marine Drive, pedestrians use a makeshift narrow pathway. 

Wing it in the wild

A group spot butterflies at a previous event; red pierrot is frequently sighted in the city. Pic Courtesy/Sachin Rane; Priyal Soni

Naturalist Foundation and Naturalist Explorers will conduct their first edition of the Butterfly Race tomorrow. This one-day educational competition will celebrate the city’s diverse butterfly species with the help of citizens and enthusiasts of all ages. It is set to take place across locations in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Raigad and Palghar, where people can pick an outdoor area of their choice to document different stages of the butterfly life cycle that they spot. This documentation can be uploaded on the iNaturalist app or website; the data contributed will also make for valuable records of local biodiversity. Priyal Soni, event coordinator, told this diarist, “The event aims to create awareness about butterflies, their diversity, life cycles, and the importance of safeguarding their habitats. It will also promote outdoor exploration, nature observation, identifying new areas with butterfly activity, and encouraging citizen participation in conservation efforts.” Those keen to participate can call 8976451433.

Look who’s back in Bandra

The new interiors explore warmer tones in a laid-back space; (right) Ranjit Bindra

After shutting down for renovations for a few weeks, Shilpa Shetty’s Bastian reopens its Bandra outlet with all-new interiors, a relaxed vibe through a warm and neutral palette, an interplay of textures and a new bar programme. “We’ve rejuvenated the space, and introduced an elevated bar experience while retaining hero dishes that the original Bastian became popular for when we first opened in 2016,” Ranjit Bindra, CEO and managing director at Bastian Hospitality Private Limited, told this diarist. 

Also read: Mumbai: House-of-cards heroes get ‘punishment posting’

Memoirs of a top cop

Meeran Borwankar. File pic

Former Maharashtra police commissioner Meeran Chadha Borwankar has picked up the pen once again, and this time, it’s for her memoir. Borwankar shared, “Whenever I narrate an incident from my career, requests for more such stories start pouring in until I have to sternly say, ‘No more.’ This made me realise that citizens are generally ignorant of the way India’s criminal justice system functions. Hence, I decided to pen down my memoir and talk about serious matters relating to police work.” Titled Madam Commissioner: The Extraordinary Life of an Indian Police Chief (Pan Macmillan India), the memoir will launch on October 15 and will feature 38 chapters, detailing her time with the CBI, CID and various police stations across Maharashtra through her 36-year-long tenure.

Smooth landing in Poland

Martian rover Abhyaan

This page had reported spotting team DJS Antari-ksh’s Martian rover on a test drive on Marine Drive in August. The college students secured 10th position among the 25 qualified teams of 88 in an on-site contest, and second position in a remote contest of the European Rover Challenge, which ended in Poland last Sunday. “The biggest challenge we faced was that because we were travelling from a different continent, we had a limitation on the equipment we could carry. This gave the countries of Europe, who had strong logistical backing, an edge over us. But we are happy that we could represent India in the competition, and come back victorious,” said team leader Bhaumik Thakkar. 

The team in Poland

Nuts over Oz

The Aussies are here. While the cricketers are locking horns with India in warm-up matches before the ODI World Cup, the Australian Macadamia Society’s first-ever Australian Macadamia Festival, starting next Saturday, will be a two-week-long culinary celebration to give people a chance to try delicious flavours of the Aussie macadamia nut. It will be conducted at Lovefools, Olive Bar and Restaurant, Bizza Mumbai and Trident. “Mumbai stands out as a vibrant epicentre of culinary innovation and experimentation, so it was a natural choice to conduct the first edition. The city is synonymous with the bold exploration of flavours,” Clare Hamilton Bate, CEO of the Society, told us. The festival promises desi treats like laddoos, modaks and chaat using macadamias. 

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