Palash Bose captures famous faces in and around Mumbai

Diandra Soares

Quaint Irani cafes, turbaned ear cleaners, and Premier Padmini taxis endearingly define the personality of 'Bombay'. But these unique characteristics are slowly vanishing, turning the city from a living entity to a soulless machine on autopilot.

Aalim Hakim

Freddy Daruwala

To celebrate these nuggets of nostalgia, modern Irani fare-themed cafe and bar SodaBottleOpenerWala is presenting Bombay Old Fashioned, a series of events starting with a charity photo series and exhibition.

Artwork by Abhijeet Kini will also be auctioned

Uday Benegal

Rahul Bose

"Mohit [Balachandran, country head] was toying with the idea, while I have been working on several charitable initiatives. So I felt why not combine the two. We will be donating the entire proceeds to Light of Life Trust [an NGO that works with rural women and children] to support six children," says Anaida Parvaneh, chef-partner SodaBottleOpenerWala Powai. The cafe collaborated with photographer Palash Bose and captured known faces in various locations across the city. These include actor-athlete Sandhya Shetty with malakhamb gymnasts and actor Rahul Bose with an ear cleaner.

Palash Bose

Anaida Parvaneh

"The series is about keeping the heritage alive. But we wanted to keep the mood light. So you will see Diandra Soares with Mount Mary Basilica in the background, and a vintage feel to the photo. The church will remain but the taxis will change," says Bose.

Also Read: Flashback in pictures: When Mumbai was Bombay

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates