Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

A Window into christmas

A woman reads the day's newspaper by the window of her bungalow at Kalina village.

Sahitya honour for Anuradha Roy

The cover of her book; (right) Anuradha Roy

Author Anuradha Roy will end the year on a good note. She was conferred the Sahitya Akademi Award (English) for her work, All The Lives We Never Lived (Hachette India). Having been nominated for the Man Booker Prize longlist in 2015, the author said, "To see my name in a list that includes writers such as Anita Desai and AK Ramanujan feels unreal and miraculous." The author remarked that the award felt justified, adding that it was an honour to be part of the ‘long tradition of Indian writing in English'. "I am especially happy it is All the Lives We Never Lived that has been awarded. A central character in the novel is a woman inspired in her childhood by Tagore's ideas, who sacrifices everything for the freedom to create. The award feels like a vindication of her kind of struggle," she noted.

The light stays on

A moment from the ongoing Immerse exhibit at the Mumbai Light Festival

It is the festive season, and rightfully, the lights will stay on for the Mumbai Light Festival for two more days. The festival, which was to conclude on December 22, was extended by two more days after popular demand. Aagam Mehta (inset), co-founder of the festival revealed that the exhibit was an attempt to create an immersive audiovisual experience unlike any other. This includes the audiovisual act titled Once Upon A Time...by Durgabai Vyam that reimagines a Gond fairytale.

The second act titled Overture, by Aniruddh Mehta, and Aaron Pereira, is an abstract and compelling experience. "We have been flooded with requests to extend the dates and are delighted that it will remain on view for another two days. After such a wonderful response from Mumbaikars, we cannot wait to share more immersive and light-based experiences," added Mehta. The exhibit marks the third collaboration for the festival in Mumbai, and Mehta noted that there might be more to come. "This is the first of many collaborations that we have planned with G5A," he said. The plans are on for a fest in March 2023.

Tikka on our mind

The late Ali Aslam Ahmed. Pic Courtesy/Getty Images

The passing of Ali Ahmed Aslam, the inventor of the famed chicken tikka masala, marks the end of an era in culinary history. The dish, invented to suit the taste of a Glaswegian clientele, went on to almost become the national dish of the United Kingdom. Chef Vicky Ratnani (inset) remarked that Ahmed's legacy is that UK restaurants still measure their standards by the quality of their chicken tikka masala. "I think it was also an entry point for a lot of people to Indian and Subcontinental cuisine," Ratnani noted, adding that the dish's mellow and buttery taste made it popular among English and European diners. "You would never have expected an Indian dish to top the charts of a UK restaurant, but it remains the most popular dish on the menu."

Standing out

The crew of Desible pose with the trophy at the finale (right) Raka Vee

The Great Indian Beatbox Festival concluded in Mumbai on December 22 with a bang. Five winners from five categories - solo, tag team, junior, crew and loop station - were awarded at the end of the two-day festival. Raka Vee, director of BBX India, the organisers, shared, "All these categories were curated because we wanted to bring out the talent in different technical aspects. We also had the first kids' competition in the world." The director added that the performers surprised the judges with their very Indian rhythms to overlay the international style and techniques. Among the impressive winners was Desible, that dominated the crew category. Rapper Wah Da Fu of Desible, shared, "We opted for a 5x4 rhythm, which is unusual for beatboxing. We also chose Divine's Baazigar for hype, and overlaid it with my own original verses to add individuality."

'Tis the season to give

A moment from last Christmas' drive

One way of giving the differently-abled a new perspective is by turning them into givers. Sounds of Silence, a Mumbai-based NGO, will spend the day of Christmas eve with more than 100 volunteers, many of them differently-abled, to distribute 10,000 toys across six cities. "We hope that this brings happiness and unites every Indian," founder Sumit Singh Gandhi said.