Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

The big two are back
Cricket legends VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar share a laugh at the release of the former's autobiography at a SoBo five-star on Thursday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Kubbra Sait

Look who wants to be Tinker Bell
"I hope people will appreciate and remember me as someone who did what he felt like doing. That would be my legacy." That's how designer Rohit Bal ended his address at a fashion show last night, enjoying the company of big daddies of Delhi fashion, Tarun Tahiliani, Ashish N Soni and Gaurav Gupta.

Tarun Tahiliani with Mehr Rampal

Kubbra Sait was host for the evening, and took more than one chance to remind the audience, "It's Kubbra with a double B". The Q&A in rapid-fire style script she anchored was off-point when compared to its reference, Koffee with Karan. Yet, Sait kept her wits about her even as Bal often interjected with, "Ask me something frivolous, please", and "You're really so pretty".

Rohit Bal with Diana Penty. Pics/Bipin Kokate

Instead of the tired runway show, the evening saw an intimate set-up with each designer accompanied by his respective muse. Bal came with model-actor Diana Penty, who incidentally began her career with his show some 12 years ago. Tahiliani had friend and "forever muse" of 30 years, former supermodel Mehr Rampal by his side. We loved her answer to a rapid-fire question: if given a chance to be whoever you would like to be, who would you like to wake up as? She said, "Tinker Bell".

The long and short of it
V Sanjay Kumar is a person who knows how to wear two different hats. For, the director of Sakshi Gallery turned to writing novels full-time in 2010. And now, a short story he's written, The Fore Caddy, has been awarded the UK Birdport prize, beating 4,300 other entries. "This is an unexpected honour. I write novels and like the space that long fiction provides to develop characters and the world they inhabit. I wrote this short story while taking a break. I have always wanted to write a golf story. I ended up writing about a young caddie in Chennai ... But I am surprised and happy it resonated with people so far removed," Kumar said, his humility evident in his choice of words.

Doing their bit for Aarey's own
As urbanisation continues to infringe upon the city's indigenous people, a few Mumbaikars are attempting to salvage what's left of their culture in a bid to protect them from further excesses. Tribal Tadka is one such initiative, which seeks to help the adivasis of Aarey.

Speaking of the work they do, chef Michael Swamy told this diarist, "As a chef one has been doing a lot to support people living in these areas. Giving them a culinary education is important as it helps preserve their heritage." In a related development, Parsi cuisine chain Sodawaterbottleopenerwala will soon introduce a thali inspired by dishes of indigenous people of the state.

Ray of hope
Mumbai's Film Heritage Foundation wrapped up its week-long film preservation and restoration workshop in Kolkata yesterday. And the team led by archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur is set to return to the city with a treasure trove of memories. Apart from the workshop conducted by international experts, the team visited Satyajit Ray's residence with his oldest assistant director, and facilitated the screening of a 35-mm film at Basusree Cinema in the presence of its projectionist (in pic). Noted director Buddhadeb Dasgupta donated all his films to the archive, which now has cinematographer Subrata Mitra's light meter in its collection, too.

Once upon a time
The art of storytelling, that inseparable part of growing up, has been seeing a revival in the country in the recent years. Bringing the nostalgia back is the second edition of Udaipur Tales. The three-day festival beginning on November 30, will witness national and international professional storytellers, artists, authors and theatre artistes weave the magic of a tale well told through six genres - folk, mystery, romance, historical, children and horror. A solo act by actor Divya Dutta (in pic) on her book Me and Maa will be a part of the festival as will a session by Singapore-based storyteller Devi Durgah.

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