24 October,2020 07:08 AM IST | Mumbai | Team SMD
Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
This young man, who is using the branch of a tree on Marine Drive to help with his pull ups, will be happy to know that gyms across the city opened today. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Cricket photographer Bipin Patel's pharmacy in Kent, England
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Bipin Patel, our cricket-loving lensman in the United Kingdom, is putting the images he shot during last year's ICC World Cup to good use.
Patel has chosen the one he captured of Ben Stokes in full cry during the final against NZ, to urge citizens to get their flu vaccination done at his Saxon Warrior Pharmacy in rural Kent.
Patel tells us that he has administered 1,000-plus shots this year. The NHS initiative is five years old, so it's got nothing to do with COVID-19, but the current pandemic has made people more aware of the need to be protected from viruses.
That probably explains why Patel will soon run out of vaccine stock. With pharmacists being allowed to inject patients - and for free - they must be the envy of doctors. We imagine there would be some who prefer visiting their GP, but having seen Patel at work, handling his camera and carefully selecting the best images every English summer, we have no doubt he is as skilled at pushing the needle through.
Simon Coates
To mark the fifth anniversary of the founding of Tse Tse Fly Middle East website in the UAE, its founder Simon Coates has launched a new project titled, This Is Kafala. It is a collection of experimental music, sound art and noise tracks created specifically for this project by a selection of composers and artists. Speaking to this diarist, Coates said, "This Is Kafala intends to draw attention to the kafala system of employment that is used by oppressive regimes in the Middle East.
Under kafala [kafala is Arabic for sponsorship], migrants travelling from surrounding regions to work in these countries must surrender all their rights to their local sponsor. The extremes in exploitation that ensue are likened to modern-day slavery. For the project we are proud to be associating with Migrant-Rights.org, the non-profit organisation that advances rights of migrant workers. India is one of the countries largely affected by this regressive system."
If you are one of those who has always looked at EsselWorld as a fantasy escape from Mumbai, well, now you can get married there. Both EsselWorld and Water Kingdom, which put together make up for 100 acres of sprawling land, are now open for bachelorette parties, pre-wedding shoots, cocktail parties, mehendi, sangeet and other ceremonies.
"We have four different venues at EsselWorld and Water Kingdom, catering to different needs. Couples usually scout for unusual locations for their wedding and our parks offer unique landscapes to those who want to opt for a destination wedding. Enquiries have started coming in already and we hope to host some amazing weddings soon," said Paresh Mishra, senior vice president of sales and marketing at EsselWorld Leisure Pvt. Ltd. Wonder if Bhasker, who got lost in the catacombs back when the EsselWorld jingle was released, will be heading there too?
Writer Shobhaa Dé's new novel Srilaaji (Simon & Schuster India) is all set for a dazzling digital launch next week. The book is the story of Srilaa, who grows up in a wealthy Marwari family's palatial house in Calcutta, and confronts her sexual curiosities after being married and packed off to Mumbai. While the novel will be launched digitally by actor Neena Gupta in collaboration with Crossword Bookstores on October 30, what makes this interesting is that designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla will be designing a saree for the event.
"Neena was the perfect fit to launch Srilaaji. Like my heroine, Neena is also an unfettered, uninhibited and incredibly honest woman. About my collaboration with AJSK, the boys and I have been friends forever. The idea of the Srilaaji saree designed by them came up during a conversation. Like Srilaaji and Neena, the saree will speak to women who project a certain attitude, sophistication and oomph," Dé told this diarist.
After months of little or no income, many restaurants in the city have been forced to shut shop, including D:OH! outlets at Thane and Andheri and Agent Jack's at Malad. Quite recently, we happened to hear through the grapevine that Dirty Buns, a fine-dine restaurant helmed by chef Boo Kim that serves delectable buns and baos, is shutting its Lower Parel outlet. When we reached out to the brand, they neither denied nor confirmed the news. "Dirty Buns SoBo in Breach Candy will open soon. We'll update you about the Kamala Mills outpost," is all they revealed. Let's hope for the best.
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