Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Seaze the day

A group of revellers enjoy the ringo boat ride at Juhu Chowpatty.

All that glistens is sometimes gold

The team of five along with their coaches at FGC 2022

Five teen creators from the city recently competed with 180 countries at FIRST Global Challenge (FGC) 2022 in Geneva, and bagged gold for the Sophia Kovalevskaya Award for International Journey. Part of Salaam Bombay Foundation's (SBF) skill development ecosystem, the students had participated in the yearly Olympics-style robotics tournament with their creation, Drona, which this newspaper had covered in their Sunday edition. Gaurav Arora, the foundation's vice-president, projects (skills and sports), told us, "It reinforces SBF's faith in the idea that if resource-challenged students are provided with mentorship and opportunities, their background doesn't matter. The win will help them secure admission in good colleges with a preferred subject that allows them to pursue their passion in new-age technologies."

Shabash, Shehan

Shehan Karunatilaka after winning the Booker Prize 2022 in London. Pic courtesy/Getty Images

Amidst turmoil, grief and strife, at an almost relentless pace, good news seems to be emerging from India's island neighbour, and we cannot be happier. First, their cricketers won the Asia Cup, and now, Shehan Karunatilaka has bagged the coveted Booker Prize for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. The trophy was presented by Camilla, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, in her first official public engagement since she assumed her new role, while last year's winner, Damon Galgut presented him with the £50,000 prize money. This diarist is reminded of an interaction with him after his 2012 DSC Literature Prize win for his first book Chinaman. It's when he threw light on the country's growing band of talented writers. Karunatilaka also wished for more Lankans to write in Sinhala, Tamil and English, and credited Michael Ondaatje, who won the Booker in 1992, and Carl Muller as writers who inspired him. In all humility, he credited the likes of Romesh Gunasekera, Shyam Selvadurai, Roma Tearne and Ashok Ferry, among others for having nourished the literary scene in Sri Lanka. But it was his parting line in that interview that resonated the most: "I'm hoping to see more stories emerge from the war. From both sides of the divide." Telling then, that the setting for this dark-yet-satirical work of fiction, is the Sri Lankan civil war of the 1990s. Touché.

Coasting to the pull of chaat

Manogren Thevar with his team at Soam restaurant

This diarist believes that food - if pursued with gusto - can lead to serendipitous happenings. Something similar happened when chef Manogren Thevar - known for Singapore's Michelin-star restaurant Thevar, visited Babulnath-based Soam restaurant in 2018. The sweet and tangy chaat served by this Kathiawadi snack joint stayed with him. He recently visited the outpost again to polish off their chaat, ragda pattice and faraal. "He had visited the place with his team. It was a special experience for us. This time, he enjoyed our sugarcane juice, faraal from our Diwali platter and kachhi haldi ka pulao with Gujarati curry. His meal ended with jalebis and malai-chikki ki kulfi. He really liked our mathiya which is cut in strips, deep-fried and served with a besan chutney. The mawa gujiyas also caught his eye," owner Pinky Dixit told us. She added that Thevar's visit spurred interesting conversations and shared learnings.

Manogren Thevar

Mix it up on Wednesdays

Gurleen Arora and Winnie Chopra at a previous event by The Gay Gaze

A new weekly event comes to town. The Gay Gaze's QULT (pronounced ‘cult') Wednesdays with NRTYA Culture and Veranda, Bandra, launches tonight. Co-founders Gurleen Arora and Winnie Chopra shared, "We've always wanted to create a regular and safe space for the LGBTQiA+ community, allies and straight people to step out and interact through culture, instead of limiting it to a party." Every week will highlight different themes and art forms, and the last Wednesday of the month will be the only free-entry mixer event for one different section of the community. Tonight's theme will be Stories of Love where artistes will get to share their stories through spoken word, dance and live music.