<h2>Spinning in the rain</h2>
<p>Ignoring the high-tide building up, a child shows off his top-spinning skills at Versova</p>
<h2>Thirty-one and counting</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2022/jul/Lillete-Dubey_e.jpg" alt="Lillete Dubey and Yatin Karyekar in Salaam, Noni Appa" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Lillete Dubey and Yatin Karyekar in Salaam, Noni Appa</em></strong></p>
<p>How do you get to more than 30 years of rehearsals, productions and stage management? Don&rsquo;t ask me, Lillete Dubey remarked. &ldquo;I think it is a mad junoon that fuels us,&rdquo; she laughed. The actress celebrates 31 years of her production company, Primetime Theatre Company, with five plays in 15 shows across three venues in the city this week. The 30th anniversary had to be pushed due to the pandemic leading to this truncated version. Dubey said, &ldquo;I had the grand ambition to do at least seven or eight productions.&rdquo; For now, the celebration is limited to five plays including Dance Like A Man and Salaam, Noni Appa. &ldquo;Maybe I will go big for the 35th year of the production,&rdquo; Dubey revealed.</p>
<h2>These folks swim to make a sea change</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2022/jul/D2D-swimming_e.jpg" alt="The organisers of the D2D swimming challenge at the Palava pool, Thane" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>The organisers of the D2D swimming challenge at the Palava pool, Thane</em></strong></p>
<p>Swimmers who splash around in pools, and have been eyeing the big sea, have new motivation to commence training. Mumbai Sea Swimmers, a community that advocates heading to the open waters, is set to host its first pool event with an eye on building endurance. Minesh Babla, who co-founded the initiative with Mehul Ved, told this diarist that registrations are now open for the Dusk to Dawn (D2D) swimming challenge that will play out on September 17 at Palava City in Thane. With different categories, there is something for swimmers of all abilities. &ldquo;Our focus has always been on building a community of swimmers of all abilities, so this challenge is open to all. There are three categories &mdash; four-hour solos, all-nighter solo from 7.30 pm to 7.30 am, and a 12-hour relay among four people. The idea is to get people to build on their strength and endurance for longer swims. When a swimmer signs up for these events, they automatically get into the preparation mode, something that helps to avoid fence-sitting,&rdquo; shared Babla. To dive right in, log on to mumbaiseaswimmers.com/d2d2022.</p>
<h2>Tiger, tiger burning bright</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2022/jul/Tiger-ai_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>The battle of Aarey forest notwithstanding, there is another jungle call ongoing in the country. India will play host to the International Youth Tiger Summit on July 28. The 12th edition of the summit is open to participants virtually this time. It will include participants from across 13 tiger range countries &mdash; home to the regal species of tigers. A spokesperson for WWF India informed this diarist that the event will focus on young leaders to interact and place emphasis on governments and businesses in tiger range countries to finally act towards tiger conservation, in a bid to secure a future for the iconic big cat. &ldquo;There will also be several exhibitions by artists, from around the globe, known for their work in tiger conservation,&rdquo; they said. These include a session with Ashwika Kapoor, natural history filmmaker, and winner of the Green Oscar. The timing of the summit also coincides with vital international negotiations taking place this year to determine the next 12-year Global Tiger Recovery Programme.</p>
<h2>A bridge of letters</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2022/jul/Rohini-Kejriwal_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>In the age of WhatsApp overdose, The Alipore Post&rsquo;s offer to build pen pals through hand-written letters caught this diarist&rsquo;s eye. The curated art community, founded by Rohini Kejriwal (in pic), has opened its second edition of Chitthi Exchange. &ldquo;A lot of people wrote in asking when the next edition is happening,&rdquo; Kejriwal told us. The first edition saw 2,500 members of the community participate. It has just been a day, and the founder confides she has received more than 500 applications. &ldquo;This time, I am seeing a lot of international participants.&rdquo; &nbsp;she said the entries would close by September. The spirit of community building will continue with her next curation, Hoovu Finds, with Rhea and Yeshoda Karuturi of Hoovu Fresh. &ldquo;We will be curating art about flowers, and the idea is to have a community of flower lovers,&rdquo; Kejriwal told us.</p>
<h2>Cinema for the young by the young</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2022/jul/Hitesh-Chaurasia-a_e.jpg" alt="Hitesh Chaurasia" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Hitesh Chaurasia</em></strong></p>
<p>If you go by trends, 30 is the new 20, and the National Institute of Design is catching up to it. The Ahmedabad institution has started accepting applications for its biennial short film and documentary festival, Alpavirama. The sixth edition of the film festival will take place from November 7 to 12 this year. It has also expanded to a larger scale from its earlier limited South Asian avatar, festival director Hitesh Chaurasia told us. &ldquo;The main categories are the F30/30, which will curate short films, under 30 minutes, by filmmakers under 30 years of age,&rdquo; he explained. In addition, the institute has also opened up to sound narratives with the category, Audiophiles. &ldquo;The competition is open for audio narratives from podcasts to radio dramas as well as experimental sound works i.e. location sounds and soundscapes,&rdquo; he added. The submission deadline is August 1.</p><p>
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