Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

What's cooking, captain?

It looks like Virat Kohli is upto some mischief at an event in Goregaon on Monday, but we can't tell for sure. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Rishi and clean eating

A Chinese farm-to-fork diner might be unheard of in Mumbai, but such a place was launched in New York this year by Ed Schoenfeld, an influential gastronome and restaurant consultant. The Upper East Side diner, which takes a clean approach towards Chinese food, seems to have caught yesteryear Bolly hero Rishi Kapoor's fancy, as he was seen enjoying a meal there along with an old friend.

"With my friend Gulu Wahney at the eatery Red Farm on Broadway and 75th, NY. We both love this 'farm to table' organic Chinese restaurant concept, owned by Ed Schoenfeld. Convincing Ed to open in Mumbai and Dubai. Amazing food!" the actor wrote on social media. We sure do hope he manages to persuade Schoenfeld, for it'll be fun to see how Chindian lovers react to clean Chinese food, no?

What's age got to do with it?

When the details for an open-to-all lavani workshop in the city by artiste Akanksha Kadam were uploaded online recently, the list of participants interestingly featured several film and television artistes. But a name that stood out was veteran actor Rohini Hattangadi's.

"She told us that she was excited to come across the workshop and signed up for it immediately as she had wanted to learn lavani all her life. The session included choreography of one lavani song and acquainting participants with the Sangeet Baari tradition," Bhushan Korgaonkar, writer and co-founder of Kali Billi Productions, under which the workshop was conducted, told this diarist. Hattangadi, we hear, now plans to learn lavani in a more sustained manner.

Reel salute for the big cat

The rising cases of man-animal conflict are testimony to the fact that rampant urbanisation is eating into our forests. Be it with leopards in Aarey Colony or with tigers in UP's Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, animals have often been attacked because of a perceived threat. So, on the occasion of International Tiger Day yesterday, the Wildlife Trust of India released an important animation film, called Kinara.

It guides viewers on how to improve the situation. And says, for instance, to go into a forest in large groups and make as much noise as possible. Also, when in an area that has big cats, don't squat or sit since they might mistake you for a prey.

Tales from an immigrant

Suketu Mehta aptly captured the soul of Mumbai when he wrote Maximum City in 2004 - winning the prestigious Kiriyama Prize. Next month, the New York-based writer's latest work of non-fiction, This Land is Our Land: An Immigrant's Manifesto, is set to release in India. The book, which comprises narratives of colonialism and global inequalities while drawing from Mehta's family's own experience of emigrating to Britain and America, will release on August 15.

For a book that launched to a sold-out audience at the New York Public Library, we're sure to see a similar effect in bookstores here.

The design behind food

The new era of dining is here. A restaurant today is no longer the background to great food, but rather home to it. This is coming through in the thoughtful manner in which establishments are now approaching their interior design, made possible by talented and intuitive designers. Among them is Sumessh Menon, who has already done a laudable job at popular eateries that opened last year, like Foo and Mustard.

The newest feather in his cap is the fourth outlet of 145, a high energy bar, the owners of which are aggressively trying to penetrate the suburban market, with an outpost already in place in Bandra, and another one coming up in Andheri. At the new space, which is launching next month, Menon has attempted to create a young and energetic space by introducing playful art, all of which is themed around human figures, such as suspended sculptures from the ceiling.

"We have maintained the signature pool table concept from previous outlets and have introduced a huge island bar in the space. The ceiling is made up of a lighting grid installation and there is a kinetic sculpture of clowns cycling and constantly moving on different single wheeled and three-wheeled bicycles at the large entrance window," he shared.

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