Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Atul Kamble

That's the Way We groove

Students of Bunts college celebrate the onset of their intercollege events at Shivaji Park in Dadar.

A spoonful of nostalgia

The nevri spoon with its unique tail feature. Pic Courtesy/@can.dee.duh on Instagram

It is that time of the year when nostalgia rules supreme, and for Vikhroli-based Candida Remedios (inset), it arrived on a little aluminium spoon, quite literally. During spring cleaning, Remedios came across a uniquely designed kitchen tool. "It is called a nevri spoon, and was a common presence in all our feast preparations," she recalled.

"We had not been using it for a long time. It was just lying there in our cupboard," she said. Describing the spoon, Remedios shared, "One side is used to stuff the filling, while the other side is to crimp and seal the [sweet] nevri." As the world moves on to faster and efficient tools, there is something simple and nostalgic about such instruments, Remedios told this diarist.

Maska and mawa memories

Heena Punwani in her new kitchen (right) chocolate rose cookies

Desserts seem to keep getting served out of the oven in Mumbai. Another bakery-delivery kitchen has opened, and this time, it is pastry chef Heena Punwani's new venture, Maska Bakery. Launched over the weekend, the chef pointed out, "The bakery is my love note to Bombay. I was raised around our city's old bakeries, with Sundays spent eating warm bun maska; and where apple pies and biscuits were carefully chosen from overflowing glass counters. I have combined my memories and experiences, with my focus on craft and technique to create an imaginative, joyful and fun menu." From mawa madeleines to chocolate-dipped rose cookies, the Mahim-based bakery will currently focus on delivery and takeaway. Punwani added, "We aim to be more than a cloud kitchen. We have a front space where we plan to conduct weekend pop-ups, workshops and special Maska parties to interact with our community, too."

Showing Swift love on canvas

Participants at an earlier session

It's Taylor's [Swift] world, and we're just living in it," the Swifties sing about their icon. Whether or not that is true, one thing is for sure: it has been Taylor's year. After breaking multiple records with her songs and the ongoing Eras tour, being declared a billionaire, and helping her country recover from recession, the pop artiste ended 2023 by being named as the Time Person Of The Year, capping off her birthday last week with another high.

As if on cue, city-based art enthusiast Alisha Mehta (@huffingpaint_) hosted the singer's fans from across Mumbai for a Swiftie-themed painting workshop last Sunday. "It was an acrylic painting workshop to create artworks inspired by her and her lyrics. The idea was to fire up their creative juices," she revealed.

Not plain vanilla

Participants at a previous edition in Bengaluru

After the success of their first edition, Intimacy Curator is set to return with a second edition of their intimacy workshop. Scheduled in January, the sessions will be titled Vanilla Disrupted. Founder Aili Seghetti (inset) shared, "January will witness Vanilla Disrupted in Mumbai and Delhi, along with a longer version of our risqué speed dating game, Pick n Play."

In addition to consensual games of intimacy that explore relationships, Seghetti added that the event has now offered two new options for participants to simply view rather than participate in activities. "However, those who wish to only watch the performance will not have access to the performance arena," she shared.

Taking the 16 mm route for cinema

If it is good enough for Christopher Nolan, it can't be half as bad. Harkat Studios' founder Karan Talwar confirmed that the art studio has finally completed their first full-length 16 mm short feature. "It is currently untitled, and in post-production," he said. While the film was shot in 2023, the idea was under construction over a period of four years. Talwar remarked, ‘The medium of a film often depends on the story and the style coming together. Since 16mm films have been my medium for a long time, it was a natural extension that I chose it for the project. For me, the medium is just as important as the story." Built around the story of a father and son coming together to pull down their ancestral bungalow in the village, Talwar noted that the film will be ready for festival circuits come 2024. "The film was shot in Delhi, and has a lot of human elements that make it a complex story."