Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

All eyes on the new catch

A cattle egret with its breeding plumage watches passersby at Versova village fish market

A victory for space dreams

Arati Kadav is enjoying the accolades coming her way from Fantasia International Film Festival for her short film, The Astronaut And His Parrot, featuring Ali Fazal. "I never thought I'd win it. Just participating in the festival was quite the thrill," Kadav (in pic) admitted. She revealed that she only found out about the win when her Twitter blew up after being tagged by the festival. "I always wanted to make sci-fi, so this feels like a validation," she said. While Indian cinema has not always been known for its sci-fi ventures, Kadav told us it is a part of our culture. "We have always had sci-fi stories. They are a part of our collective consciousness in the Subcontinent," she explained. With her short films working successfully, the filmmaker is waiting with bated breath for an answer from studios on two more full-length features. "I am pushing myself to explore more," she declared.

A filmy jodi in the kitchen

Wasabi prawns from The Slow Fire Chef

A slow-cooked passion project has finally taken shape in the city. Filmmaker couple Amit Mehra and Semanti Sinha Ray, started The Slow Fire Chef, a series of videos on rare recipes from across the country as a pandemic project. It has now turned into the newest home kitchen to open in the city. "Between us, we have lived and travelled across the country. It also felt like a natural progression," Mehra said.

Semanti Sinha Ray and Amit Mehra

The brand filmmaker added that the kitchen will serve rare recipes from different states as part of its menu. "We put a lot of time and research into our creations. We will adapt the same to the kitchen in an effort to bring less-heard of recipes that people would love. Every week we might add new ones to the menu," he told the diarist. The menu will include pickles, sauces and preserves from Kerala to Agartala, Mehra added. For foodies, @theslowfirechef at Twitter offers more details.

Colours for life

Artist Suhas Bahulkar and Rajni Dandekar, painted by Gopal Deuskar. Pic Courtesy/ArtSocietyofIndia on Facebook

The art world lost a significant contributor and supporter with the passing of Rajni Dandekar, marketing head of Camlin Group last week. Along with her husband Subhash Dandekar's Camlin Foundation, she would also encourage young artists in India and promote their work internationally. Having married into the family, she was instrumental in making the brand what it is through astute planning. Artist Suhas Bahulkar attributed it to the strength of her personality and confidence. "I knew her from my childhood," Bahulkar recalled, adding that in the early years, painters were reluctant to try Indian brands for their work. Dandekar convinced several artists to try Camlin and further proved that it was as good as any international brand, Bahulkar said. The artist also revealed another anecdote where as a young girl, Dandekar was requested to pose as theatre legend Bal Gandharva for a portrait by artist Gopal Deuskar. Bahulkar said the resulting portrait pleased Deuskar such that he gifted Dandekar another full portrait of herself. "It was a rare honour," he noted.

A measure for pleasure

In a society where queerness is struggling to find space for expression, some are fighting for change. The latest collaboration - born out of The Pleasure Project's fellowship and the Revival Disability magazine - promises the queer community a safe space for stories of pleasure by queer disabled persons. Nu Misra (inset), founder of the magazine, elaborated, "We're trying to encounter the invisibilisation queer disabled bodies face, through our body of work." The collaboration are inviting stories of lived experiences from the community, which will be shared on both platforms. Misra told this diarist, "We aim to unhide stories related to disability and pleasure, stories that often go unheard in mainstream conversations of sexuality." While this is a step in the right direction, Misra admitted that there is a need for more platforms to explore disabled queerness within the community.

Different seats on the same street

(Left) Who wants the hot seat?; (right) the divan as low as a dachshund

We might call it kissa kursi ka, or the story of a chair. One armchair we noticed, placed rather strategically next to the bus stop near Dadar Catering College, seemed to portray that very sentiment. The owner obviously wanted to discard this old chair and found this public place to do so, thereby, actually inviting commuters waiting for the bus to relax. And then, a stone's throw away at Shivaji Park, a bench seems to have literally sunk into the ground. This feels like sitting on an outdoor divan, and enjoying the view of the park. Two seats and one typical Mumbai exclamation - jhakaas!