<h2>Spot the big cat</h2>
<p>A man paints a leopard face on visitor Vaishwik Medi as part of the National Wildlife Week celebrations at Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/world-wildlife-week-mumbai-civic-body-to-hold-biodiversity-workshop-at-byculla-zoo-23597460" rel="nofollow">Byculla</a></p>
<h2>For the fighters</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/oct/Fire-brigade_e.jpg" alt="Students write letters to the (right) firefighters of Mumbai. PICS COURTESY/MNWC; FILE PIC" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Students write letters to the (right) firefighters of Mumbai. PICS COURTESY/MNWC; FILE PIC</em></strong></p>
<p>Students of Psychology at the Maniben Nanavati Women&rsquo;s College (MNWC), Vile Parle will remind Mumbai&rsquo;s seasoned firefighters to take a breather this Wednesday. A mental wellness workshop at the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-dust-trail-from-andheri-construction-site-chokes-lokhandwala-stretch-23582774" rel="nofollow">Andheri </a>Fire Station will see students engage the first responders in breathing exercises, grounding techniques and a short stand-up comedy session. &ldquo;Emergency service providers have had a tough 2025. Our goal is to help them stay mentally fit. We&rsquo;re also writing a few letters of appreciation that will be distributed on Wednesday,&rdquo; student Palak Shah shared with this diarist. &nbsp;</p>
<h2>Paws and pray at church</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/oct/Pets_e.jpg" alt="Miss Shadow and (right) lovebirds at the event. PICS COURTESY/ELTON STEVE" width="1280" height="720" /><strong><em>Miss Shadow and (right) lovebirds at the event. PICS COURTESY/ELTON STEVE</em></strong></p>
<p>St Andrew&rsquo;s Church in Bandra observed the Feast of St Francis of Assisi &mdash; the patron saint of animals &mdash; with a congregation that included its neighbourhood furry friends last weekend. Alongside the usual attendance of parishioners, nearly 50 pet dogs, cats, and birds were invited into the church&rsquo;s compound as part of a special blessing event for pets. Among wagging tails and smiles, was four-year-old labrador Miss Shadow, who sprung to life and held a paw out as the clergymen sprinkled holy water on the gathered group. &ldquo;We were delighted and equally surprised to see people show up in large numbers. Some of them even got their fishes along with the bowls. Shadow loved being a part of it and took the opportunity to meet and play with the other four-legged friends. We hope this tradition continues every year. We had the time of our lives,&rdquo; said Ravi Raj Joiya and Elton Steve, Shadow&rsquo;s owners.</p>
<h2>Beyond the books</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/oct/Paperback-talks_e.jpg" alt="A previous book club meeting. PIC COURTESY/RAHUL SAINI" width="1280" height="720" /><strong><em>A previous book club meeting. PIC COURTESY/RAHUL SAINI</em></strong></p>
<p>City-based book club Paperback Talks&rsquo;s founder Rahul Saini has found himself in a classic catch-22. &ldquo;While we want to grow the readers&rsquo; community, not many readers are extroverts in the first place,&rdquo; he says. That explains the club&rsquo;s latest decision to launch a new IP, OffBooks, this Saturday at a <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/culture/article/world-book-day-2025-its-100-how-mumbais-silent-reading-communities-continue-to-engage-readers-23525485" rel="nofollow">Juhu </a>caf&eacute;. New joinees can now choose to break the ice at karaoke, coffee sessions, and matcha parties to ease their way into the community. The month also marks another milestone for the club that recently expanded its operations to Ahmedabad for the first time. &ldquo;The response has been great and we&rsquo;re bringing a literature fest to Gujarat in December. Mumbai has more than enough clubs at the moment. The challenge now is to get other cities reading,&rdquo; Saini revealed.</p>
<h2>Deco, woh aa gaya</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/oct/Soona-Mahal_e.jpg" alt="The robot from Arora&rsquo;s creation inspired by (right) Soona Mahal. PICS COURTESY/PRATEEK ARORA" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>The robot from Arora&rsquo;s creation inspired by (right) Soona Mahal. PICS COURTESY/PRATEEK ARORA</em></strong></p>
<p>When we say the Art Deco movement is alive and kicking, we&rsquo;re looking at Prateek Arora&rsquo;s (right) newest Artificial Intelligence-powered digital work. The iconic 1937-built Soona Mahal on Marine Drive shapeshifts into a futuristic robot walking down Mumbai&rsquo;s shores in the artist&rsquo;s new experimental work.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/oct/Prateek-Arora_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>&ldquo;I was always fascinated by Art Deco architecture&rsquo;s sleek lines, geometric shapes and bold patterns &mdash; all the makings of a sci-fi movie character. This is the first of many more iconic buildings in the city I will be working on,&rdquo; Arora confirmed.</p>
<h2>And the best author is&hellip;</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/oct/Archer-Amish_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Authors in India now have reason to celebrate. The India Global Forum (IGF) returns with its second year of the Archer Amish Award for Storytellers, led and judged by bestselling authors Jeffrey Archer (below, left) and Amish Tripathi (below, right). It offers recognition to authors who have written novels from an Indian lens, and showcased stories true to India and its culture. Winners will also receive a prize of $25,000. Archer has pointed out that the awards will aim to reassure authors that &ldquo;they&rsquo;re not on their own, stuck in a box.&rdquo;</p>

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