Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

A white summer, indeed
Actor Vaani Kapoor beats the heat in a pretty white dress as she leaves a Bandra eatery after lunch with family on Saturday. Pic/sneha kharabe

Dia Mirza. Pic/Nimish Dave

The straw that breaks the camel's back
I was travelling in the North of India, following the Ganga, and everywhere, I just saw plastic, plastic, plastic, and there is no waste disposal system there, so everybody burns everything... it was mindboggling. I cried," Dia Mirza told us, as we chatted with her at the Twitter Blueroom, talking about Earth Day, which
is today.

Mirza, who is the UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador, says her main role these days is about advocacy on issues of nature conservation. "We have to realise that we need to take care of our home, and we need to start now. The effects are already showing around us - look at this summer! And in some places in the world, it's supposed to be spring, but it's still snowing." The actor also told us easy ways to reduce our plastic consumption - no plastic bottles, and no plastic bags! And no straws at all- do you know they take 500 years to decompose!" Take note, people!

Shanay Jhaveri

On top of the world
This diarist is happy to learn that Shanay Jhaveri, assistant curator of South Asian art at The Met is one of the people behind a stunning site-specific installation on the roof of the NYC museum's rooftop. We Come in Peace is a work by Pakistani-American sculptor Huma Bhabha, conceived in consultation with Sheena Wagstaff and Jhaveri.

The dramatic mise en scène has been the talk of the international art world since it opened last week. "Replete with allusions to art history, Huma's sculptures activate the museum's historic collection of sculpture in unexpected and thrilling ways while still engaging with popular and contemporary visual iconographies. We hope that audiences will be provoked and engaged by this installation," Jhaveri tells us.

Pics/Abhirunning VIA Instagram

Here's to happily ever after
Here's news that is going to break many a heart. Fitness enthusiast and model Milind Soman, 52, is finally tying the knot with girlfriend Ankita Konwar. Friends and family took to social media last morning to share photographs from the couple's haldi and mehendi ceremony. Milind was seen happily dancing away in an off-white kurta-pyjama, while Ankita looked her gorgeous best in a bright yellow lehenga and floral jewellery. The much-in-love couple are expected to get married over the weekend in a private ceremony at Alibaug.

Brick by brick
Put Your Hands Together (PYHT), a city-based bio architects' firm has been invited to be a part of the 100 installations for the Laurie Baker Centenary celebration in Kerala. The British born Indian architect, hugely inspired by Mahatma Gandhi was known for his use of indigenous materials. Over the years, PYHT has carved a niche for themselves in the realm of building eco-friendly structures, having built the bamboo toilets in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, besides organic farms in Kamshet and Neral. Shahveer Iraniâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088(right, in pic), founder member, says, "To be a part of a concept that celebrates Baker's genius is a proud moment for us. From the understanding of Laurie Baker's thoughts and ethos, we propose to build an installation with the use of a single brick standing in all vastness of a white backdrop, focusing on the importance of every building block that goes into making a building."

Rajdeep Sardesai

Rajdeep scores at Lord's
Rajdeep Sardesai once dreamt of scoring a hundred at Lord's, something that his Test cricketer father Dilip didn't accomplish in his six trips to the hallowed crease in Test and first-class cricket.

Rajdeep got his chance when he played for Oxford against Cambridge at the spiritual home of cricket in 1987, but he was trapped leg before wicket by non-regular bowler Michael Atherton, the future England captain, for 40 off 73 balls. Interestingly, he was adjudged out by England batsman-turned-umpire John Jameson, who not only played against Dilip in 1971, but was also born in Mumbai during the British rule.

That 1987 game was not Rajdeep's last visit to Lord's. He witnessed the epic 1983 World Cup final from the stands and he returned to cricket's most famous address - St John's Wood - earlier this week as one of the nominees for the MCC book of the year award. His book, Democracy's XI didn't clinch the top prize (a book on great West Indian Sir Learie Constantine did), but Rajdeep delivered a fine speech which gave Indian cricket and its influence on the global game a good name. The applause Rajdeep got in the iconic Long Room was as wholesome as he would have received had he scored a hundred that day in 1987.

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