Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Chewing gum

Isn't the flexible Malaika Arora a delight to watch in the yoga studio? The actor gets contorted for the camera on International Yoga Day on Friday. Pics/Ashish Raje

Namastaying away at the UN

Composer and singer Vinod Krishnan, who shot to fame with the Carnatic remix of Ed Sheeran's Shape Of You, performed at the opening ceremony of the International Yoga Day celebrations organised by the Indian Embassy at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York yesterday. He also took to social media to share an image of his admit card.

Elaborating on what the invitation meant to him, Krishnan told this diarist, "This is being put together by India's Permanent Mission to the UN. Incidentally, June 21 is also World Music Day, so it's doubly apt that I performed at such a significant event." Here's hoping that more young musicians get to perform at such international platforms.

Say ciao to a new menu in BKC

Fashion designer Kresha Bajaj's Instagram account is a treat for aesthetes, given that she is also an avid traveller. This summer, she visited Italy - touring along the Amalfi Coast to Sorrento, Positano, Cinque Terre, Venice and Ravello. Now, patrons at BKC's CinCin, owned by her sister Karyna, will get a whiff of her travels as the chefs are ready to put a twist to her favourite dishes.

Speaking more about her Italian getaway, Bajaj told this diarist, "It was not only a visual delight but also a culinary treat. I enjoyed the classics but also discovered new dishes. One such dish that stood out for me, was the addition of crushed taralli crackers [an Italian snack] and pecorino foam to a comforting bowl of handmade spaghetti."

The restaurant has also been transformed to look like an Italian garden. Bajaj said, "We would like customers to have a good time, sip on limoncellos - try some delicious handmade lesser known pastas and feel as if they've been transported to a café by the Amalfi coast celebrating summer."

Souza goes Swiss

Often hailed as India's mystical expressionist, Francis Newton Souza's works will now be seen at the international auction Koller in Switzerland next week.

Works on display include When You are Old and My Alter Ego from his Souza 61 and 65 series. Additionally, all the artworks placed for on auction come with a specific authenticity certificate which is signed and notarised by Souza himself during his last family vacation in Goa and Karwar, just a year before his passing.

Amish's fans have all the fun

Amish Tripathi's Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta is yet to release. But that didn't stop his fans from poking fun at his indecision of settling on a title.

This being the writer's third title in the Ram Chandra series, it was originally titled Raavan: Orphan of Aryavarta since it conveyed the narrative - exploring the life of the protagonist from birth till he kidnaps Sita as well as his strengths and weaknesses - better.

Recently, when a Facebook group decided to make a meme on it, Tripathi shared it on Twitter and acknowledged his fans. "My readers have a good sense of humour!" he wrote. We can't wait to see the post-release memes.

A German stage

Recently, a team of 10 theatre artistes representing South Asia - Indians from Delhi, Calcutta, Pune, Chennai and Mumbai, and theatre makers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Sri Lanka - were selected by the Goethe Institut to attend the Impulse Theatre Festival in Germany. Known for its offbeat and political themes, the plays staged this year dealt with Islamophobia, gender and queer rights and issues, and art and its purpose today.

(Top row, centre) Abhinav Grover with other South Asian artistes

The youngest member of the team, who joined senior contemporary theatre artistes including Delhi-based playwright Neel Chaudhari and Shiva Pathak from Bengaluru's Sandbox Collective and Gender Bender, was Mumbai-based artiste Abhinav Grover.

"It was a wonderful experience. We didn't just see performances but also visited museums and engaged in site-specific theatre discussion and debates," Grover told this diarist.

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