Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Sayeed Sameer Abedi

Mirror on a street

A man walks through a puddle that reflects a high-rise on an unusually empty LBS Road. Pic/Sayeed Sameer Abedi

The app for Tom Sawyer

The tiniest task that we have done is go to someone's home and change their curtains for them," says Shashwat Bhatt, who four years ago co-founded the Ease Your Life app with Jaymin Trivedi. No task is too small for the app, which sees itself as the place where you can find someone to do odd jobs for you - one user even had someone carry her bags during a shopping trip - or to fix your air-conditioner or deliver items to another part of the city.

But, the lockdown has helped them evolve. Not just did they invest in their own vehicles, but they also changed their charging patterns, allowing for different rates for shorter distances. The user base has jumped up by 20 per cent in the last few months and all of this by word-of-mouth marketing.

Sorry not sorry, says Srishti

Comedienne Srishti Dixit recently uploaded an apology video on her Instagram page. It's a satirical take on the hate that women receive when they voice their opinions and stars content creators Kusha Kapila, Dolly Singh, Mallika Dua, Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju among others.

Kapila and Shreeja Chaturvedi co-wrote the video along with Dixit. "I was feeling hopeless and helpless after the Agrima episode. She received death threats and rape threats even after she took down the video in question and apologised. What more can she do?" says Dixit. "The people who got offended seemed to have missed the point deliberately. Even if their sentiments were hurt, rape threats were completely disproportionate," she adds.

Pun and games in English cricket

The England cricket team currently battling the West Indies at Manchester is an interesting one from the point of view of names.

At the top of the batting order is Rory, who can cause Burns to opposition bowlers. At one-drop is Zak, who, despite getting a duck in the first innings at Old Trafford, can Crawl(ey) his way to a substantial score. Skipper Joe can be a tough Root to uproot even for the swiftest of bowlers and the most cunning of spinners. And then of course, Stokes can be as impressive as Big Ben in London, where he experienced his finest hour with last year's World Cup win.

Middle-order batsman Ollie can bless his side straight from the heart like the Pope does to worshipers at the Vatican and beyond. Jos doesn't bat to his true potential in Test cricket, say his critics, but he can serve up some hot exploits in front and behind the wicket. Down the order, veteran Stuart is always keen to present a Broad bat to his opposition apart from mesmerising his fans with unplayable deliveries.

And in all this, the happiest people are probably the headline writers at the Brit tabloids. For them, it's pun and games!

When no news is good news

Over the past few months, several hospitality establishments have announced permanent closure due to the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. This includes Pooja Dhingra's quaint Colaba café Le 15 and Powai favourites, Mirchi & Mime and Madeira & Mime.

So, when we stumbled upon a message that said the space occupied by Monkey Bar and Fatty Bao at Linking Road, are up for rent, we were compelled to verify with the brand if this was true.

Turns out, it isn't.

The rumours that were doing the rounds in the initial months of the pandemic are back on the grapevine. "AD Singh had issued a rejoinder in March. Despite that, these rumours are going around," says a spokesperson.

Tisca to pen a book for young girls

Actor and film producer Tisca Chopra is writing a new book with Westland Publications' children's imprint, Red Panda. Tentatively titled, Your Book of Period, it will discuss menstrual health and growing up. The book is slated to release in December, and will comprise honest dialogues for children aged 9-13.

"In trying to entertain and also provide suitable conversation topics for my daughter, I discovered the joy of children's books. While I enjoy reading and writing fiction, I believe children need good non-fiction books as well, to address the need for sharing information in a way that they don't feel lectured by parents," said Chopra, adding, "It is my hope that this book will inspire meaningful conversations and be a trusted resource for young girls."

Vidhi Bhargava, publisher, Red Panda, says, it "has the potential to be that one book that mothers would like to gift their daughters at the cusp of puberty."

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