Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

News or snooze?

A woman yawns as she reads a newspaper in a kaali-peeli opposite Churchgate railway station

Gamers, here's your Gateway to Snorlax

Snorlax at Gateway of India (right) Goku v/s Superman will be a series where fans will get to decide who wins

Pokemon GO fans will know that finding Snorlax is not easy. A recent artwork of the Pokemon snoring away at Gateway of India without a care took this diarist back to 2016, when hundreds gathered at Central Park in New York because the sleepyhead was reportedly sighted there in the game. "I have grown up on anime," said Vikhroli-based Smith Sawant, who founded The Comix India, a community of anime lovers, earlier this month. "As someone who has watched it throughout my life from Mumbai, I wanted to Indianise it, using this platform," he shared. Another artwork featured Goku and Superman. "Amid the endless tussle between anime and DC/Marvel fans, I wanted to settle the score once and for all," he signed off.

Let's hip-hop around town

A boy raps at the cypher

City-based rapper Shafi Shaikh AKA Blackbond's Sunday morning routine includes overseeing an intense battle of words. Shaikh is on a city tour conducting rap cyphers at hip-hop hubs in the city. Last Sunday witnessed a special cypher in Ghatkopar for budding rappers under 21 years. "We saw a lot of kids hanging around our previous cyphers, keen to participate, and that's when the idea to give them a platform struck," he told this diarist.

Iron women

Deepa Pawar (centre) at the book launch in Jharkhand

Deepa Pawar, founder of city-born Anubhuti Trust that aims at uplifting the nomadic and denotified tribes, recently launched her debut novel in Marathi titled Poladi Baya (Hariti Publications). For this book, she interviewed nomadic women who shape iron across 22 districts in Maharashtra. "It is a common belief that there is a need for knowledge-building for these women. They are always only seen as backward but they have a deep understanding of geography, science, and problem-solving. It is our situation that is backward, not our knowledge. This book is not just writing, but a lived journey," Pawar shared.

Game on in Bandra

Chef Gresham Fernandes at the restaurant. File pic (right) The interiors of the space

What started as a 12-week pop-up at the once-quaint and elegant bistro by chef and culinary director Gresham Fernandes in September, has now extended indefinitely, and will also be open at lunchtime. Patrons to Bandra Born (BB) swear that the food and the vibe are nothing short of electric. Think of a messy coolness - complete with a funky logo, graffiti painted across the walls, and multi-coloured, groovy imagery and posters. Fernandes serves straight-up Bandra flavours from the heart, and the streets (hip-hop culture, bakeries, places, people, some urban legends et al) with familiar, new, borrowed and brewed tastes and aromas. Insiders tell us that with ‘the boys' rocking it on Waroda Road, it was essential for Impresario Group (who run BB) to ‘up the game' with a space that sets the perfect mood for a fun night out with friends, a cosy dinner with loved ones or a simple, fun afternoon of elevated comfort food and wine. The music is nostalgic - hip hop/R&B takes you back to times of no fuss and no frills where epics and the classics roll out. Just what this city needed, we think.

All those who wander aren't lost

Travellers discuss their plans for the upcoming year at the venue

A recent meet-and-greet at Bandra's newly-opened space Wonder by House of 3D saw travel bloggers and content creators across the country exchange travel notes over selfieccinos and milkshakes. "This was our first-ever event at the space," shared co-founder Delvin Lobo, who promised that their doors are now open to events and more such community gatherings. "Next year onwards, we will actively host gatherings of communities that include book, fashion, popular culture and art enthusiasts," he revealed. This rendezvous was helmed by travel blogger Kaushal Karkhanis (@exoticgringo). "It was a casual meet-up, where travel enthusiasts exchanged stories and ideas inspired from their journeys. We spoke about the places we visited in 2023, for instance, and places we wish to cover in 2024," Karkhanis shared. "One of the most inspiring stories came from a traveller who had volunteered for the previous Olympics and has applied again in 2024 for the Paris Olympics. This is one of the best ways to travel around the globe," he added.