<h2>Like a Tracer Bullet</h2>
An amateur batsman sends the ball flying off the bat during a match at Five Gardens in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-diary-friday-dossier-23633704" rel="nofollow">Matunga</a>
<h2>A pipedream of puppets</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Padhye-family-a_e.jpg" alt="(From left) Ramdas, granddaughter Neeva, and Satyajit Padhye with Nikolai Zykov. PIC COURTESY/SATYAJIT PADHYE" width="1280" height="720" /> (From left) Ramdas, granddaughter Neeva, and Satyajit Padhye with Nikolai Zykov. PIC COURTESY/SATYAJIT PADHYE
Russian puppeteer Nikolai Zykov tugged at Mumbai&rsquo;s heartstrings (pun intended) but more so, caught ventriloquist Satyajit Padhye&rsquo;s fascination with the Giant Light Puppet Show in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-five-major-bandra-roads-to-get-aesthetic-lighting-upgrade-by-bmc-23631264" rel="nofollow">Bandra </a>on Thursday. It was a moving reunion for Padhye, who had met Zykov earlier in China in 2012, alongside his father and veteran ventriloquist Ramdas Padhye.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Puppet-a_e.jpg" alt="A light puppet created by Zykov. PIC COURTESY/@nikolai.zykov" width="1280" height="720" /> A light puppet created by Zykov. PIC COURTESY/@nikolai.zykov
After his backstage meeting with Zykov at St Andrew&rsquo;s Auditorium, Padhye told us, &ldquo;I was blown away by the scale of the puppets that almost reached the roof. It inspired me to create something similar, albeit on a smaller scale, in Mumbai.&rdquo;
<h2>Orbiting an idea</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Subhanshu-Shukla-a_e.jpg" alt="PIC COURTESY/ ISRO.gov.in" width="1280" height="720" /> PIC COURTESY/ ISRO.gov.in
This one is for the aspiring astronauts. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (below), who has been chosen for ISRO&rsquo;s landmark Gaganyaan Mission is launching a deeply personal memoir on June 25. The Second Orbit: Belief of a Man&hellip; Dreams of 1.4 Billion Hearts chronicles the unseen struggles behind human spaceflight. &ldquo;When I was a child, I never imagined I would be an astronaut. This book is for the child in that classroom right now &mdash; the one who hasn&rsquo;t yet been told the dream is too big.&rdquo; he revealed.
<h2>Patience and compassion</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Amjad-Ali-Khan-a_e.jpg" alt="(From left) Amaan Ali Bangash, Amjad Ali Khan, The Dalai Lama, producer Kabir Gill Sehgal, and Ayaan Ali Bangash. PIC COURTESY/AMAAN ALI BANGASH ON INSTAGRAM " width="1280" height="720" /> (From left) Amaan Ali Bangash, &nbsp;Amjad Ali Khan, The Dalai Lama, producer Kabir Gill Sehgal, and Ayaan Ali Bangash. PIC COURTESY/AMAAN ALI BANGASH ON INSTAGRAM&nbsp;
Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash made a northward trip to McLeod Ganj on June 3. Earlier this week, the trio&rsquo;s engraved Grammy Awards for the album Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, finally arrived from Los Angeles nearly four months after the ceremony in February. Following the meeting with the spiritual leader to present him the award, Khan shared, &ldquo;As a family, we feel deeply humbled to have collaborated with His Holiness. His message of peace, compassion, and hope continues to inspire not only our music but also our lives.&rdquo;
<h2>Not a bat idea</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Bat-Borivli_e.jpg" alt="Fulvus leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros fulvus)" width="1280" height="720" /> Fulvus leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros fulvus)
Ten naturalists (who clearly aren&rsquo;t afraid of the dark) led by independent researcher Rajkumar Patel will meet the bats of Borivli&rsquo;s Mandapeshwar Caves this weekend. &ldquo;Bats are often seen as ominous beings. But they are vital to the ecosystem. You wouldn&rsquo;t have tequila without them,&rdquo; Patel said.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Bat-walk_e.jpg" alt="Rajkumar Patel (centre) guides participants. PICS COURTESY/RajKumar Patel" width="1280" height="720" /> Rajkumar Patel (centre) guides participants. PICS COURTESY/RajKumar Patel
&ldquo;Tell us more,&rdquo; this diarist&rsquo;s ears perked up. We learn that bats are excellent pollinators (especially for the agave plant, used in the production of tequila), seed dispersers and insect predators. &ldquo;I hope seeing them up close changes old, inaccurate notions,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;

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Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Like a Tracer Bullet

A pipedream of puppets

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