Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Sea the picture

A model strikes a pose for a photo shoot at Juhu Chowpatty. Pic/Ashish Rane

Eight years and a hundred titles later

Anushka Ravishankar (left) and Sayoni Basu

In 2012, writer Anushka Ravishankar and editor Sayoni Basu launched Duckbill, an independent publishing house to focus on books for children and teens. And ever since, they’ve grown by leaps and bounds — winning awards including Publisher of the Year at the Publishing Next Awards last year to becoming an imprint of Penguin Random House India (PRHI). As they celebrate their eighth anniversary now, they’re out with their 100th title, too.

Commenting on their journey and learnings so far, Basu told this diarist, “Anushka and I started out with a dream that it was possible to publish new, idiosyncratic and diverse books set in contemporary India which children would love to read, and to experiment with form and content and publish the very best in quality, making it a financially sustainable business.

Now, as an imprint of Penguin Random House, Duckbill continues to produce unusual and awesome books and find amazing new writers. We feel our dream has been most gloriously fulfilled.”

Dosti all the way

Pre-lockdown times, Dosti House

Even as buzz around the US Presidential elections reaches a feverish pitch, the US Consulate’s Dosti House located in its Bandra Kurla Complex premises has been quietly going about playing a key role as a useful platform, especially for students and professional aspirants keen to engage with the country. Most recently, this diarist noticed that they had introduced delivery of books for its patrons by courier service.

Nick Novak, US Consulate spokesperson, shared about such initiatives as Mumbai is living with an extended run of the lockdown, “Even in these uncertain times, Dosti House remains a doorway to the United States for all Mumbaikars, helping connect the community with resources dedicated to US-India Dosti, including books, DVDs, access to US campuses, and expert speakers.” For more information, email dostihouse@state.gov.

Leader speak from Mithali

Mithali Raj in action. Pic/BCCI

As the Women’s T20 Challenge gets underway in the UAE today, it will see some of India’s top female cricketers battle each other in the three-team tournament. Leading the Velocity team is Mithali Raj. This diarist caught a recent video where the 37-year-old stalwart was giving her team a pep talk on day one of training, as she eased each of them into the routine, telling them to relax especially after the long break, and not rush into things. We were reminded of an interview with Raj, during a visit to the city for a women’s summit. She spoke of how after becoming India team captain in both ODIs and Tests, she had to bend her ego, and be aware of when to step up, and step back. However, for us, the best insight into her leadership was when she revealed, “The most important trait is to be compassionate to everyone and mould them, individually. Some are born leaders, others, like me, developed it along the way.” Here’s wishing best of luck to Mithali and the rest of the girl squads.

Discount, please

Travel post-pandemic will never be the same. And a recent survey conducted by a travel company among 20,934 users across 28 countries including 997 Indians, only reinforces this belief. While 70 per cent travellers revealed that they will be extra price-conscious while planning a trip, 74 per cent expect companies to offer discounts. Sixty-two per cent favoured a trip they could afford, over their dream destinations. And 77 per cent demanded more trans-parency on cancellation policies, refunds and trip insurance.

Indie gets intimate

Taking the world of digital concerts a step further, city-based event organisers Karan Yadav and Rosario Lobo will bring indie music lovers an intimate live experience. Titled Sounds From The Screen, a gig this weekend will feature fresh music from the hip-hop scene, from rapper Tienas and Won Tribe, featuring female rap-duo Pratika and Krantinaari, to producer PrabhuNeigh. Popular graffiti artist Zake will create live digital art throughout the performances. “We will stream the performance on Skillbox from The Circuit, artiste Sherrin Varghese’s studio. We have also included the feature of video calling to allow audiences to interact with each other and the artistes. It is a pay-what-you-want gig with a base price of R100, over which audiences can contribute any amount,” Yadav told this diarist.

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