Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

Kucch Khatta Ho Jaye?

Customers gather around a street vendor selling a variety of sour fruits and savouries in Lalbaug.

Travelling through nostalgia

Parikshat Sahni with Anupam Kher and Deepti Naval at the launch. Pic/Satej Shinde

The air was rife with memories as actor Parikshat Sahni was joined by peers Deepti Naval and Anupam Kher for the launch of his new book, Strange Encounters (Simon & Schuster), last Sunday. The title stands out because the author wished to capture the unexpected and occasionally amusing personal stories that brightened his life. "I had been writing these stories for over a decade, collecting them, hoping I could share them with people one day. Then, during the 2020 lockdown, I got the time to finally compile the work," Sahni told us. The book brings together the actor's experiences, travels and impressions of the world. The launch saw the actor roll back the years with anecdotes on stage. "We only discussed a few stories from the book, because Anupam, Deepti and I got carried away with even more bizarre memories and childhood stories," Sahni told this diarist about the evening. As an aside, the veteran advised us to keep our eyes open. "You never know where you'll find your own crazy story," he told this diarist.

King Kohli's Kishore da moment

After Delhi, Kolkata and Pune, the pitch is finally ready for cricketer Virat Kohli to roll out his resto-bar One8 Commune in Mumbai, at Juhu. This diarist learnt that the former skipper and modern-day legend is eyeing a September launch. The progressive cuisine-led kitchen will serve up healthy bites, popular snacks, lean favourites and gourmet flavours from across the globe. With Kohli off doing national duty at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, marketing head Sushree Vaish revealed that the restaurant will be housed inside a bungalow that belonged to legendary playback singer-actor Kishore Kumar. "Kohli being a true Kishore da fan compelled us to take up the beautiful location, adding an emotional quotient to the venue," Vaish added.

Living the Bandra dream

Our weekday blues were blown clear with the news of Andheri's popular burger joint, Jimi's Burger, moving to the queen of the suburbs. We spotted the burger joint sharing a post on social media about their first home delivery from their new Bandra outlet at Pali Naka. Owner Jimmy Bhore confided that it was the completion of a long-awaited dream. "When I started off, I always thought I wanted to go to Bandra. It is a very big deal and took a while for us to get here," he said. While the new outlet is currently offering only deliveries and takeaways, Bhore revealed work is on for the launch of the dine-in space in mid-September. We can't wait.

Speaking up for the right cause

As a ventriloquist and puppeteer, Satyajit Padhye has used his superpower for a social cause. Earlier this month, Padhye was awarded Best influencer for social awareness at the WOW Awards Asia for his film on road safety made in association with the Navi Mumbai police. "The theme was about puppet students sharing ideas on road safety," Padhye revealed. The film, voiced and animated by the puppeteer, was viewed by over one lakh students across Navi Mumbai. "It was certainly not easy handling all 10 puppets for the film, but it now feels worth the effort," admitted Padhye.

Bappa from Mithi

Tanya Satish creates a Ganesha idol made from river soil. Pic Courtesy/Creed Entertainment

With Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, arriving mid-week, Mumbai is decked up for its biggest festival. Tanya Satish, director, Young Environmentalist Programme Trust, will lead a workshop that aims to spread awareness about eco-friendly Ganesha idols. The workshop today will teach people to create their own idols using the mud collected from Mithi River and Powai Lake. "The clay from the river and lake is used to make eco-friendly idols that dissolve in water, and reunite the lord with mother earth," she noted. No greater proof that nature is a cycle.