<h2>In the pink of health</h2>
<p>The first batch of migratory pink flamingos return to their winter abode at Vashi Creek in Navi Mumbai</p>
<h2>A dream comes true</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/dec/Dharavi-Dreams_e.jpg" alt="A moment from the performance of Dharavi Dreams at the Lower Parel school; (below, from left) Dolly Rateshwar and Neha Singh" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A moment from the performance of Dharavi Dreams at the Lower Parel school</em></strong></p>
<p>Four years after The Dharavi Dream Project set out to produce an independent theatre play that would tell the story of how art saved the neighbourhood, Dharavi Dreams, the 70-minute-long play, is finally hitting stages in the city. Following a performance at the JBCN International School in Lower Parel, director Neha Singh told this diarist, &ldquo;The children, both on-stage and in the audience, had a blast. Our performers were nervous at first because a swanky international school is an unfamiliar venue for them. But the overwhelming response from the high-schoolers helped them ease into the newness. At the end of the show, one of the staff members remarked, &lsquo;You&rsquo;ve taught us how to dream!&rsquo; That&rsquo;s precisely the response that we had envisioned the play would trigger.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/dec/Neha-Singh-a_e.jpg" alt="Dolly Rateshwar and Neha Singh" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Dolly Rateshwar and Neha Singh</em></strong></p>
<p>For founder Dolly Rateshwar, the goal of making the children stage-ready and independent enough to chase their own dreams has been achieved. &ldquo;I watched the children evolve from being shy and reserved, to speaking their minds out on stage,&rdquo; she shared. While their four-year-long journey has concluded, the story of Dharavi Dreams has just begun. The team is already gearing up to present the play at a cultural centre in Ahmedabad tomorrow.</p>
<h2>New harmonies at Afghan Church</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/dec/Church-a_e.jpg" alt="Interiors of the Afghan Church" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Interiors of the Afghan Church</em></strong></p>
<p>Rear Admiral Nirmala Kannan (Retd), is in for a musical homecoming this weekend when she returns to Colaba, where she spent many of her 36 years serving in the Indian Navy. Kannan will present her musical talent through renditions of tunes like Bridge Over Troubled Water and Amazing Grace alongside musician Mehmood Curmally at the recently restored Afghan Church.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/dec/Admiral-Nirmala_e.jpg" alt="Mehmood Curmally as Elvis Presley, Retd Rear Admiral Nirmala Kannan in performance. PICS COURTESY/YOUTUBE" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Mehmood Curmally as Elvis Presley, Retd Rear Admiral Nirmala Kannan in performance. PICS COURTESY/YOUTUBE</em></strong></p>
<p>&ldquo;I began singing when I was four years old. The passion has stuck with me through my long career. Having the opportunity to perform at the church &mdash; a memorial of hope and valour &mdash; is an honour in itself,&rdquo; Kannan told us. Curmally, who once helmed the city&rsquo;s OG record store Rhythm House, added, &ldquo;The plan came together through a series of coincidences. This might be our first collaboration but surely not the last.&rdquo; To know more, log on to @afghanchurchcolaba.</p>
<h2>Astad lives on in our hearts</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/dec/Astad-Deboo_e.jpg" alt="Astad Deboo&rsquo;s sister (left) Gulshan in conversation with Ketu Katrak at the launch of the biography. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Astad Deboo&rsquo;s sister (left) Gulshan in conversation with Ketu Katrak at the launch of the biography. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE</em></strong></p>
<p>Indian contemporary dancer and choreographer, Astad Deboo&rsquo;s life was nothing short of extraordinary. Now, patrons will get to know him even better through Ketu Katrak&rsquo;s biographical tribute, Astad Deboo: An Icon of Contemporary Indian Dance that was launched recently at Kitab Khana in Fort. Written over a period of four years, it provides a personal peek into the life and ideology of the globally celebrated performer, and goes beyond popular anecdotes to explore Deboo&rsquo;s persona and his rich body of work. At the launch, Katrak was accompanied by Deboo&rsquo;s youngest sister Gulshan, whom she had pointed out as an important collaborator for the book. &ldquo;It was Gulshan who would kindly share her anecdotes, and introduce me to Astad&rsquo;s past,&rdquo; she had told this diarist.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Celebrating Prafulla&rsquo;s legacy</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/dec/Exhibition-1_e.jpg" alt="Prafulla Dahanukar&rsquo;s daughters (left) Gauri Mehta and Gopika  Dahanukar at the preview of the week-long exhibition " width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Prafulla Dahanukar&rsquo;s daughters (left) Gauri Mehta and Gopika Dahanukar at the preview of the week-long exhibition</em></strong>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Patrons of the arts converged at Jehangir Art Gallery on Tuesday to hail late Prafulla Dahanukar, a proponent of Modernism in India and a pioneering woman artist who broke several barriers, through a new retrospective of her works.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/dec/Exhibition-2_e.jpg" alt="Gallerist and art historian Pheroza Godrej (centre) inaugurates the preview of the exhibition with Prafulla Dahanukar&rsquo;s grandchildren. PICS/SATEJ SHINDE" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Gallerist and art historian Pheroza Godrej (centre) inaugurates the preview of the exhibition with Prafulla Dahanukar&rsquo;s grandchildren. Pics/Satej&nbsp; Shinde</em></strong></p>
<p>Among art historians and gallerist Pheroza Godrej and Saryu Doshi, who inaugurated the exhibition, were Dahanukar&rsquo;s daughters Gauri Mehta and Gopika Dahanukar, who highlighted their mother&rsquo;s contributions as a patron of the arts and a mentor, beyond her role as an artist. Prafulla: A Retrospective, the collection of Dahanukar&rsquo;s artworks will be on display at the gallery till December 16.</p><p>
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