<h2>Pudhe chala</h2>
<p>Commuters stand under a statue modelled on the city&rsquo;s dabbawalas at a bus stop on Western Express Highway in Mira Road</p>
<h2>Calling Dombivli&rsquo;s bookworms</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/apr/Dombook_e.jpg" alt="A moment from a previous edition of the book street. Pic courtesy/Bhushan Patki" width="1280" height="720" /><strong><em>A moment from a previous edition of the book street. Pic courtesy/Bhushan Patki</em></strong></p>
<p>What better way to usher World Book Day (April 23) than an event where you can swap and donate books. Amey Rajendra Ghaisas, event head at Dombivli&rsquo;s Pai&rsquo;s Friends Library said &ldquo;We host book exchange programmes every year in January. Even readers donate books. We started giving these books to small schools. But because this was limited to school-going children, we decided to organise an event where everybody gets to read.&rdquo; He shared more about the upcoming book street programme, &ldquo;We will conduct this event on April 27, from 5 am till 10 am on Phadke Road. The hours were decided to ensure that the event does not block the road, causing inconvenience to people and vehicles.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Babasaheb&rsquo;s Bombay</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/apr/Siddhartha-college_e.jpg" alt="Siddharth College of Law. Pic courtesy/Ramu Ramanathan" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Siddharth College of Law. Pic courtesy/Ramu Ramanathan</em></strong></p>
<p>On Dr BR Ambedkar&rsquo;s birth anniversary (April 14), playwright Ramu Ramanathan (below) embarked on a trail to document spots in the city where the former Union Law Minister spent his time. Starting from landmarks like Elphinstone College, Bombay High Court and Siddharth College of Law in Fort, to the Damodar Hall in Parel, where Dr Ambedkar&rsquo;s office was located, Ramanathan&rsquo;s trail traced the deep connection of the Constitution&rsquo;s Chief architect with the city. &ldquo;Bombay shaped his ideas on modernity in many ways. It is fascinating to make these connections,&rdquo; Ramanathan shared with us.</p>
<h2>Moving the world with art</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/apr/Artivism_e.jpg" alt="A mural depicting aquatic life created by the group near a  Brazilian aquarium. pic courtesy/Sonia Violante Ptasznik" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A mural depicting aquatic life created by the group near a &nbsp;Brazilian aquarium. Pic courtesy/Sonia Violante Ptasznik</em></strong></p>
<p>If you thought art cannot spur change, Ajay Sawant would disagree. Mahim-based Sawant founded the initiative, Generation Artivism, that was awarded by the United Nations recently.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/apr/Ajay-Sawant_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>&ldquo;We were recognised by UNESCO IOC&rsquo;s Blue Thread: Recognition for Initiatives Putting Ocean Literacy in Action,&rdquo; he said. Earlier this month, the group expanded all the way to Brazil, with pop-up shows and even a cartoon series in the pipeline. &ldquo;The real mission is to empower youth to take creative action for any cause they care deeply about,&rdquo; Sawant added.</p>
<h2>Nature knows no boundaries</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/apr/Maori_e.jpg" alt="Members of the Maori community attempt Warli painting on earthen cups" /><br /><strong><em>Members of the Maori community attempt Warli painting on earthen cups</em></strong></p>
<p>City-based eco tour organisation, Naturalist Explorers collaborated with the Adivasi community in Aarey Forest to host people from New Zealand&rsquo;s Maori community in the city in a cultural exchange that spanned food, farming and fun activities. &ldquo;We have been doing events with the tribal community in Aarey Forest since 2019. The New Zealand High Commission contacted us through our social media for the same,&rdquo; Masira Shaikh, programme curator, shared with this diarist.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/apr/Food-maoriii_e.jpg" alt="Locals and visitors from New Zealand gather for lunch. Pics courtesy/Priyal Soni" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Locals and visitors from New Zealand gather for lunch. Pics courtesy/Priyal Soni</em></strong></p>
<p>From an informative walk through the fields and orchards of the 27 padas (hamlets) in the forest to Warli painting sessions and a small feast that introduced the Maori community to local dishes like pithla bhakri, thecha and chutney, the trip highlighted the nature-based lifestyle and similar histories of both the communities. &ldquo;The entire event was led by the tribal women of the forest. It was wonderful to see how both the community interacted and exchanged their cultural knowledge, despite being geographically so far from each other,&rdquo; Shaikh concluded.</p>
<h2>From stage to screen</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/apr/Domestic-help_e.jpg" alt="A still from the film, Domestic Help. Pic courtesy/Prateek Pamecha" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A still from the film, Domestic Help. Pic courtesy/Prateek Pamecha</em></strong></p>
<p>Taking a break from the stage, Bombay Theatre Company is stepping into the silver screen to explore stories in the digital medium.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/apr/Raveesh-Jaiswal_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>&ldquo;When our short film, Domestic Help was picked by an Italian distribution company, we realised that the medium could be one of the ways through which we can reach a larger audience before coming back to theatre, which is always at the core of our work,&rdquo; Raveesh Jaiswal (inset), founder, informed this diarist.</p><p><script type="text/javascript">atOptions={'key':'d0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7','format':'iframe','height':90,'width':728,'params':{}};</script></p><p>
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