Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Sugar Daddy

A boy chills with his phone while his father cuts sugarcane stalks at Fort

Mag St. crosses the Sea Link

With their first in Bandra, Mag St. (rebranded from Mag St. Cafe) by Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousuf, is finally in the ‘burbs, graduating from a neighbourhood cafe to a full-fledged restaurant with an expansive bar et al. "Bandra was long due," says Devidayal, who has been scouting for a suitable location for some time before settling for this space on 24th Road, which was previously a bank. "A year after we started The Table in Colaba, we thought of bringing it to Bandra, but patrons objected - there should only be one ‘Table' in the city, they argued. And rightly so. Over the years, we then thought that Mag St. would be a better fit for Bandra's vibrant community," she adds.

Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousuf

We peeped in through the floor-to-ceiling windows to glimpse the washed-plaster walls, accented marble seating, a stunning bar in white, hanging floral lamps and select art pieces that make the space look minimalist and upbeat. There's an outdoor seating area for guests with pets. The menu, we are told, will be similar to the flagship outlet apart from a few additions.

In other news, The Table, Colaba comes of age with a culinary evolution helmed by American chef Will Aghajanian, whose storied career spans global kitchens from San Sebastián to New York City. His avant-garde approach to cuisine is evident in each dish. Think a sea bass crudo served on an entirely unfine dining stainless steel plate or delicious tiger prawns doused in vadouvan butter. For those wondering what will happen to their sobo salad and tiramisu? "They're still there but just a tad better," confirms Yousuf.

A beam of light through art

It's very important to hold onto positivity when the whole world is falling apart, and one of the ways is through art, like music, painting or theatre. Some people do it through poetry. Peter Griffin (in pic), a writer cum journalist, organises intimate poetry recital gigs around Mumbai. The poetry revolves around humanitarian crises happening around the world. This time, it was Palestine. "It stemmed from wanting to do something in solidarity with Gaza. The idea was to get together with a few friends, read poetry by Palestinians to each other, and talk about it - our feelings, our understanding of what is happening in Palestine," Griffin says, adding that this has been happening for a century really - and now grown. He wanted to keep it small, so that discussion would be meaningful. Poems included I Suffer from a Phobia Called Hope and My House by Maya Abu Al-Hayat - one of Palestine's most promising poets.

Chandra's 1964 debut and India's spin focus

BS Chandrasekhar. Pic/Getty Images

Sixty years ago, Mumbai's Test cricket hub was the Brabourne Stadium, which in nine years' time would cease to be a Test centre. Also, 60 years ago on this day, the great spinner BS Chandrasekhar made his debut for the country - against Mike Smith's Englishmen in the January 21-26, 1964 Test there. He scalped four in the first innings and claimed the wicket of Don Wilson in the second during the drawn game. India's emphasis, or rather captain MAK Pataudi's dependence on spin, reflects in the other quality spinners in the side apart from the young Chandra. Chandu Borde was one of the main batsmen in the team, but he was more than just a useful leg-spinner as well. And there was Salim Durani to share left-arm spin responsibilities with Bapu Nadkarni. With so much importance given to spin, who opened the bowling? Well, in that game, middle-order batsman ML Jaisimha and debutant pacer Rajinder Pal did. And they together bowled 38 overs in the Test for one wicket.

The host with the most

The latest talk show host on the scene is not a Bollywood celebrity, established influencer or even an industry insider. This diarist was curious to learnt that India's first AI superstar Naina now has her own podcast, embellished with a promising guest list - from Sobhita Dhulipala to Sanya Malhotra. Imagined as a 22-year-old from Jhansi, Naina has 169K followers on Instagram. Avtr Meta Labs, the minds behind Naina, tell us that she will unravel the guests' behind-the-scenes stories, humanising people who we only know as public personas. "Naina's ability to ask thought-provoking questions and exhibit empathy is the result of an advanced AI framework, specifically tailored for nuanced human interaction. We've integrated complex algorithms that analyse conversational contexts and emotional cues," says Abhishek Razdan, CEO of Avtr Meta Labs. His decision to venture into the podcast, which can be streamed on the AI influencer and Pop Diaries' YouTube channels, is to offer fans a new way to experience her content.