Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

To New Beginnings

With religious places still to open, a Parsi woman offers prayers on the occasion of Navroz, outside the Rustom Faramna Agiary at Dadar Parsi Colony.

Six years of fostering felines

Versova-based Cat Cafe Studio held the distinction of being Mumbai's first cafe to offer guests the experience of interacting with and adopting rescued cats. However, the pandemic took a heavy toll and, after experimenting with delivery, the cafe had to shut down. "The café was a means to support our NGO, The Feline Foundation, and aid our adoption efforts. From seven adoptions a day, we're down to two adoptions a month. After six years, we're now looking at a gradual restart given the financial and logistical implications of such an undertaking," Charu Khosla, its co-founder, told us.

Digital lessons

As part of the final round of events for their Cultural Management in the Digital Age programme, the Goethe-Institut is conducting a four-day Summer School series, starting August 23, that will involve sessions, lectures and workshops, focusing on areas like digital communities, audience building, narratives in digital information and more. These events will be helmed by facilitators from the cities of Mumbai, Berlin, Minsk and Shanghai. "We're looking at audience engagement, virtual collaborations and navigating misinformation online. Our aim is to encourage networking and capacity building," said Amruta Nemivant, program manager.

Bottling East Indian flavours

After more than two years of operating in a delivery-only format, Bottle Masalas, an undertaking specialising in authentic East Indian flavours, has launched a brand-new outlet at Ambedkar Road in Khar West. "We had initially set up our restaurant in Manori last February. However, with the lockdown announced in March, we had to close down. We realised that many of our patrons would travel from the city to savour our food, given the paucity of authentic East Indian restaurants in Mumbai. At their behest, we decided on the Bandra area," Sheryl Fonseca, one of the restaurant's co-founders, shared. Expect to find classics such as moile, khudi, lonvas, indyal, sorpatel and fugia, as well as the famous bottle masala which they are selling by the packet.

Back to basics

In their upcoming book, holistic lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho and actor Tamannaah are celebrating time-honed Indian wisdom surrounding health. Titled Back To The Roots (Penguin Random House), the book investigates the rationale behind over 100 practices that promote long-term wellness. It also has a selection of traditional Indian recipes, superfoods and solutions for ailments such as constipation, acidity and fever. "This book will help people to understand the importance of their roots and adopt simple lifestyle changes to see a difference in their health, happiness and wellbeing. India has such an assortment of cultural beliefs and practices, and when this is understood and practiced with logic and understanding, it has the immense power to change our health," Coutinho said.

Where coffee brewed around books

Moshe Shek

When Crossword opened at Kemps Corner in late 2004, Moshe's cafe opened on the mezzanine floor of the premises. With news that the store is soon to shut, chef Moshe Shek who runs Knead at Kala Ghoda recalls how he got involved with the space. "R Sriram, founder of Crossword, was a regular at our Cuffe Parade outlet. One day, he offered me the idea of opening an outlet at the upcoming Kemps Corner store," said Shek. When the time came, he visited the site and made his decision: "The café and bookstore opened on the same day.

The Kemps Corner bookstore. Pic/Instagram

There were days when we would be prepping in the kitchen with people lining up for the store to open. Parents would leave their kids at the cafe while they ran errands; regulars enjoyed the book-meets-coffee vibe." Shek, who prefers to read books on food and hospitality, feels that the scene changed when Sriram stepped down in 2006. "Then, the businessmen came in. We suddenly had toys, stationery, caps, tees and even a shaving cream promotion kiosk," he recalled.