Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Lots in a name
For years now, 13 to be precise, it has been the Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon. This evening, organisers Procam say, the hottest long distance running property in the city is going to get a new sponsor, and so a new title. The multinational financial services company has pulled out after its long association with a race that has revolutionised long-distance running in Mumbai. Today, we have many offshoots of this pioneer event - smaller races, longer distances (Mumbai will host an ultrathon in mid-August) and just the fact that amateur runners are pounding the roads and parks, either to get marathon-ready or simply, run for fun. We will also see the familiar green and blue colours giving way to a new colour scheme. Running paraphernalia, race numbers, sippers, T-shirts, and of course, the banners on the course all await the new entrant.

Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Jackie's pit stop
Jacqueline Fernandez stopped to have a chat with a friend she spotted as she was heading out of a Bandra cafe yesterday.

Harry Potter

A magical day
Bring out the butterbeer, for it's time to celebrate the birthday of not just The Boy Who Lived, but also the woman who created him. Yesterday, author JK Rowling turned 52, while her iconic character, Harry Potter, turned 37. There was an outpouring of tweets from Potterheads across the world, who thanked Rowling for introducing the magic-filled series into their lives. This year is even more special because it's been 20 years since the first book was published. The franchise is still going strong, with more and more related books being spawned every year. Here's hoping the magic never dies.

(From left) Rajeshwari Sachdev, Juhi Chawla and Lillete Dubey

Celebrating a milestone
It was the perfect setting to celebrate the grand life of a noted thumri singer, who became the first Indian to record on the gramophone. The 50th show of Lillete Dubey's production, Gauhar Jaan, was staged at the Royal Opera House over the weekend, and fellow industrywallahs made sure they were in attendance. While Juhi Chawla said she would highly recommend the play, Poonam Dhillon and Dalip Tahil were also in the audience. With live singing by lead actress Rajeshwari Sachdev and Sufi singer Zila Khan (who plays older Gauhar), and extensive research, the play has been well-received, and will to travel to the USâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088next year.

Inspiration from the Far East
After the grand launch of his book on the cruel practice of Poskem in Goa, Wendell Rodricks is back to the world of fashion. And for a fresh start and inspiration, it seems the ace designer is looking east. On a recent trip to Singapore and The Philippines, Rodricks visited the choicest of places that can well be called a designer's paradise. "Each artwork can become a fabric, a wallpaper, a room, a bag, a shoe... piece of utter art in any application," he said about well-known Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's work at National Gallery Singapore. In Manila, he visited a fashion studio with "museum-worthy" clothes, and kept aside some time to learn to make the puffed sleeves of traditional Baro blouses, and explore garments made of pineapple fibre. Now, that's travelling for work made fun.

Chefs Floyd Cardoz

What's brewing at this canteen?
Back in February, when this diarist had asked culinary director Floyd Cardoz if The Bombay Canteen was planning to open a second outlet, he left us with a vague, "Never say never. If something works out down the road, we would like to expand". Now, it's confirmed that the Lower Parel haute spot's expansion is definitely on the cards. Last weekend, the team, which includes co-founders Sameer Seth and Yash Bhanage, and executive chef Thomas Zacharias, shared a post on social media, looking to hire a team of sous chefs, bartenders and front-of-house staff as they are "opening our second restaurant in Bombay soon". While the location of the new restaurant still remains undisclosed, we're keeping our ears to the ground for this one.