Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Arrey o sambar, kitne idli the?

Last Saturday, which was World Idli Day, netizens posted no-bars held proclamations on their love for idli. The South Indian snack is a true brekkie favourite, which was further confirmed when the manager at A Rama Nayak's Udipi Idli House in Matunga confirmed that "off the top of his head" he thinks the joint sells 1,000 pieces of the pillow-y snack a day.

Tara Deshpande and Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor, too, hailed it the "king of foods," adding "I don't start my day without several!" Whereas city chef Tara Deshpande shared and re-tweeted several idli posts, saying that hittu, a version that comes wrapped in jackfruit leaves, is her personal favourite. With Mumbai's old love affair with Udupi joints, the outpouring of love for the idli was hardly surprising.

One for the community

In 2017, Brisbane-based Reena Pereira-Almeida, who hails from Mumbai, began the East Indian Memory Co, an online culture project that shares stories about the East Indian community. That year, Almeida launched a project that began documenting old East Indian houses in Giriz, Vasai.

It was designed to coincide with the parish's centenary celebrations. Last weekend, the two-year project came to an end, resulting in the culmination of a riveting visual glimpse into the community's heritage.

"Nobody was talking about these aspects of our cultural heritage. This was my way of remembering our ancestors' contribution to society," Almeida told this diarist.

Dixit is acting up

Last Friday, popular video producer for a youth content platform, Srishti Dixit grabbed a lot of eyeballs when she announced she was quitting the organisation. A few months earlier, while interviewing her colleague, this diarist had learnt of Dixit's increasing interest in acting and her wish to foray into it.

"I am so excited to announce a new chapter in my career... am hoping to further explore acting work alongside shorter producing projects...before you know it, I'll be in other places too," she wrote, piquing our interest. Is it time for Dixit to get on screen? We'll have to wait and watch.

When art is from the heart

"Woh toh pagal hai," is often the reaction to differently-abled children, which is fuelled by ignorance. The importance of World Autism Awareness Day, observed on April 2, as such, is even more crucial. And this year, Ummeed Child Development Center has an outreach programme, which includes an art therapy workshop for kids and parents by artiste Sameer Kulavoor.

"We tend to look at kids with autism as not part of the mainstream. But they respond to art and music very well. This can be a means of self-expression. This is the first time I am conducting something like this," Kulavoor told us.

Content kaun likhega?

"Over the past 2 months, we have been up to something. By we, I mean the social media team at AIB and by something, I mean stuff other than answering barrage of 'When is AIB coming back?' questions," wrote Aakash Shah, the founder of One Hand Clap, a new clique of content creators that seems to have caught the intrigue of quite a few people.

"There's is so much to just learn from them when it comes to understanding the Internet. They have always helped me gain prospective to my one dimensional work," comedian Kunal Kamra wrote online endorsing the new venture that will specialise in handling social media for brands. We'll be keeping an eye on how this venture turns out.

Talk to the hand

Jaya Bachchan prefers it old-school and refuses a selfie with an artiste at a function that celebrates the handiwork of 3000 artisans, in Vakola. Pic/Atul Kamble

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates