Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Aaja Meri Bulbul

A man tries to capture birds on the Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road. The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, prohibits keeping Indian birds as pets

Big bucks and Thommo

Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson in action during an ODI against England at the Oval, London, on August 20, 1980. Pic/Getty Images

As we recover from the extravagant (hardly the best adjective, mind you) amounts of money the Indian Premier League franchises spent on buying cricketers at last weekend's mega auction in Bangalore, our in-house cricket nut stumbled upon a deal which is quite impressive even in this day and age. He turned to page 13 of a February 8, 1976 issue of Sportsweek to read about the kind of money Jeff Thomson earned to be associated with a Brisbane radio station. Thommo signed for 633,000 Australian dollars in a 10-year deal to, as per a report by English journalist Pat Gibson, "take part in a daily chat show for 15 minutes, record a few commercials and help promote his company by appearing at stores etc." Of course, Thommo had to give off his best for Queensland state whose cricket the radio station promoted. AUD 633,000 translated to Rs 63,30,000 way back then, was a big deal in every sense of the term and no wonder Thommo said, "Yes, it's made me for life." Some of the big IPL earners may well express similar sentiments.

Book chronicles the making of a 26/11 hero

Former Nashik CP and Mumbai's joint commissioner of police (law and order) Vishwas Narayan Nangare Patil, who confronted terrorists inside the Taj Hotel during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, will be recalling memories from that day, in a soon-to-release book by Penguin Random House. Patil was deputy commissioner of police (Zone 1) at the time of the incident. The book, Head Held High, translated from Marathi, Mann Mein Hai Vishwas, however, goes beyond Patil's exploits in the counter-terrorist operation for which he was awarded the President's Police Medal (gallantry). It's also an account of his life - his early years in school and college, and long hours of studying for the UPSC examinations, which culminated in his final selection for the IPS cadre in 1997. The hope is to strike a chord with thousands who aspire to join the ranks of the Indian Civil Services. The book is expected to release end of March.

Assagoa's Portuguese catch

Gurmeet Singh Arora

After launching Yazu Goa-Pan Asian Beach Club in Candolim, in 2020, Mumbai restaurateurs Gurmeet Singh Arora, Atul Chopra and Ranbir Nagpal and Columbus Marquis have opened yet another new fine-dine in the beach state. Located in upscale Assagao, MAAI offers a mix of Goan and Portuguese cuisine. "The menu is inspired from the time when the Portuguese were ruling Goa.

The restaurant is housed in a 100-year-old bungalow

The masalas are curated by us; some are procured, while the rest are made in-house. I'd say the grills are the USP, where we prep using the fresh catch of the day," says Arora. Housed in a 100-year-old house with multiple rooms, the space has a coffee roastery and a café and boulangerie to whip up in-house desserts and breads. "The vibe is different in every section [of the house]. While the outdoor area is fresh, lively, and green, the indoor section is more intimate."

New meme alert! It's time for Bandra boys

Erika Packard

Erika Packard, model, social media influencer and daughter of Bollywood villain Gavin Packard, has started a new series on Instagram featuring how a pretentious boy from Bandra would go about his daily life. The reels, where she transforms into a fictious character using the Neanderthaler filter, feature hilarious videos of how fictitious Russell from Perry Cross Road would grab a cup of coffee or order eggs. Russell appears to be an entitled fellow who thinks of himself as a stud, calls girls ‘chicks' and ‘b''''s', and drops words like ‘bro' and ‘f'''ing' in every sentence. In one of the videos, Russell can be heard saying, "Maa! maa! What have you made for lunch? Why are you making all this veg stuff? Are you not feeling well or what [laughs]?" It is time to move on from memes featuring South Mumbai/Delhi girls.

The scoop on independent music awards

Akshay Kapoor

The Indian Music Diaries, an online news and media website on independent music, wrapped up applications last week for their annual independent music awards TIMD Awards 2022. From Wednesday onwards, they will be announcing the shortlisted artistes from all categories. They have 11 categories that cover most genres of music. "Through this [the awards], we not only wanted to talk about the music, but also the things related to the music industry like album artwork," said Akshay Kapoor, editor and founder. They will announce one winner for each category by the end of February.