Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pink route to Ironman
Word is out that marathon runner and model-actor Milind Soman is going be in Goa till April 17. Before you say, lucky man, how he is going to get there matters.

Milind Soman. Pic/Satej Shinde

Soman is going to be part of a three-person team that will run an ultrathon from Mumbai to Goa! The initiative is for breast cancer and fitness awareness. Inderan Pal Khalsa and Jayraman Rankawat will accompany him. "I will be running on Wednesday, and then, for two days in the middle of the 10-day run. The boys running with me are aiming to average about 57 km per day, so we should be in Panjim on April 16."

On April 17, they have the ‘Goa Going Pink' event, which is a women's running event. It covers various distances, the longest being 21 km. Soman says, "This comes under our India Goes Pink umbrella, which has been launched after the success of the Pinkathon.

The overall aim is to promote health and fitness among women and prevention measures for major illness." Khalsa and Rankawat say, "We need physical and mental strength as well as lot of motivation." For ultras, "motivation and mental strength is key," says Soman. We'll be cheering from our office desk.

Kick off the new season

Pic/Satej Shinde

India cricketer Suresh Raina readies to kickstart a superbike during a product launch in Lower Parel last evening. This season, Raina will be a part of the new IPL team, Gujarat Lions.

'Smart' cricket
The current edition of the IPL should be engaging, not just for its saucy dancers but also to gauge how the BCCI will combat the growing resentment towards China on social media since the title sponsor is a Chinese smartphone company.

Alex Feng and Rajeev Shukla hold the IPL trophy

This, along with other concerns that might have affected its popularity (last year's match-fixing allegations), was probed by scribes at the launch of new smartphones by the Chinese firm yesterday. However, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla played down the call to ban Chinese products.

He added how diplomacy and trade should be kept separate and stressed that many companies made products in India and not in China. So they were Indian.

Musicians sans frontiers
The Russian Cultural Centre recently witnessed a gala concert by noted pianist Tatyana Dichenko, who had the audience mesmerised with a soulful performance.

(Left-right) Yeshek Brenda, Polish Consul General; Hanna Brenda (wife of Polish Consul General); Vladimir Dementiev, Director, Russian Culture Centre; M. Sas (violinist from Poland); Tatyana Dichenko (pianist from Russia); Viveck Shettyy, Managing Director, Indus Communications and Andrew Zhiltsov, Russian Consul General

The event also saw the newly appointed Russian Consul General Andre Zhiltsov make his first public appearance in India after taking over. Present among the audience was the Polish Consul General Yeshek Brenda, who was accompanied by his wife Hanna Brenda.

The 90-minute performance covered the entire gamut of human emotions in one rocking concert. One of the special invitees for the evening was Viveck Shetty, managing director, Indus Communications, who incidentally happens to also be the lead vocalist of his six-piece band.

"A pianist from Russia, violinists from Japan and Poland, and several musicians and listeners from India were present. This only shows how music is one great religion and language, which cuts across geographic borders," said Shetty. Well, we can't argue with that; music does reach out to you in ways other arts cannot. How about an encore, now?

Rocky's on the tube
Turns out today, everybody has to do a video, be it a politician, chef or a fashion designer, in this case.

Rocky S has launched an online channel, Conversations with Rocky Star, in partnership with One Digital Entertainment. The first video captures behind-the-scenes action from the shoot for his latest collection featuring Lisa Ray.

Rocky will be making videos about his personal style, trends and offering exclusive previews of his upcoming collection. This diarist would love to see if he makes a video featuring good friend Bipasha Basu.

A half-and-half pizza, please
After making a coal-smoked mark with app-based delivery service, Charcoal Biryani, Mikhail Shahani and Mohammed Bhol, ex-chefs of Two One Two Bar & Grill have something new under their chef hats.

Gourmet pizza offering by Chilli Flakes

Taking over Areezo's kitchens (a pizza delivery joint) in Dadar and Lower Parel, they've launched Chilli Flakes, specialising in gourmet pizzas (read: Quattro Fromaggio and Spicy Pork).

Chef Mohammed Bhol, Chef Mikhail Shahani

While both outlets will deliver within a radius of 6 kms, the Dadar one also includes a dine-in facility, with burgers and pastas to the menu adding, "We are the only ones in Mumbai to offer half-pizzas, where customers can order separate halves of different varieties. The pizzas are crescent-shaped, packed and cooked independently. This options makes it more affordable and one can try more options," says Shahani.

Detox like a star
Want to sample the Chicken Teriyaki Fried Rice that Malaika Arora Khan relishes or Kareena Kapoor Khan's favourite Bean Burger featuring gluten-free bread? Head to The Detox, a cafe opening its doors at Yari Road, this weekend.

Malaika Arora Khan

It's the brainchild of Dr Sneha Tyrewala, a celebrity health and detox consultant, who has been customising nutritious meals for the Khan bffs along with Sonakshi Sinha, Shahid Kapoor, Sohail and Salman Khan, Deanne Pandey and Daisy Shah.

A graduate from Houston, USA, her clientele also boasts of Jessica Alba, Hillary and Hailey Duff. "The meals are not designed to cure or heal but focussed on helping you introduce more foods in your diet, which assist your body's own healing mechanism," says Tyrewala.

From skin nourishing juices to protein pudding, power-packed salads and a section featuring celebs' fave meals, there's a lot on the menu to pick from if you are glamour stricken.