Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

Halt! Who goes there?

A woman walks past the mural of Bruce Lee and the sculpture of a running man near Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital in Parel.

Ladies' special

Photos taken inside the compartments; Janvi Prajapat

A comment that needs to be retired in 2024 is the quip about fights in the ladies' compartment. Assistant professor, Janvi Prajapat who came to Mumbai a year ago, gets it spot-on with her observations on @itsagirllikethat. Reiterating the security and solace women find in a local train, she said, "Once, after fighting off a harassing intruder together, my co-passenger told me that I should never feel afraid in this compartment. That stuck with me."

More than just coffee

A glimpse of the café interiors

City cafés have always been comforting havens, but restaurateurs Suren Joshi and Alsha Imran Shaikh have played into this concept from new perspectives with Shelter by Javaphile. The space is a community café that opened in Versova earlier this week. With a three-floor layout, the café offers live cooking stations, a reading area on the second floor and a rooftop performance space. The no-waste policy kitchen offers treats including sourdough poha, tiramisu French toast, seaweed salad, hazelnut babka and more. "Every nook is designed to feel like an intimate corner," the co-founders revealed.

Remembering Boman Chhapgar

Nitin Valmiki, Framji Chhapgar (centre) and Pradip Patade in 2012; (right) a young Chhapgar. Pic Courtesy/Instagram

While the rest of the world was celebrating the New Year on January 1, Pradip Patade was reminiscing about a Mumbaikar few outside the field of natural sciences would know. The day also marks the 93rd birth anniversary of marine researcher and former curator of the Taraporevala Aquarium, Dr Boman Framji Chhapgar. "He was instrumental to the study of ocean life in the city," said Patade, founder of Marine Life of Mumbai and director, Coastal Conservation Foundation. In 2012, Patade had the chance to meet the man in person. "He had lost sight in both eyes, but was still alert and very fit," he shared. While the meeting was set to be a 20-minute conversation, it extended to two hours with Patade and the former curator discussing the city's shores. "He talked about how he would walk along the shorelines, and speak to fishermen who would submit their catch to the aquarium. When I told him about my corals, seahorses and other observations from Mumbai, he mentioned about Breach Candy, NCPA and Geeta Nagar as his favourite shores," Patade recalled.

A musical birthday

Musicians perform at an earlier edition of the concert

St Xavier's College's Indian Music Group (IMG) celebrates its 51st anniversary with its Birthday Concert this Sunday. "The event is a testament to our commitment to preserve and promote India's musical heritage," shared Prachiti Navlakhe, press and publicity, IMG. The concert will feature sitar virtuoso Anupama Bhagwat, Tanay Rege (tabla), and vocalist and composer Shaunak Abhisheki, with Sudhir Nayak (harmonium) and Yati Bhagwat (tabla). The concert will reveal the line-up and donor passes for the upcoming festival, Janfest.

Cake for 2024

The cake with a note indicating its owner

Remnants of the festive season come in the form of leftover Christmas cake. Sharing a peek into how many households bake their cakes, Vasai's Natasha Almeida of masala venture, Jevayla Ye, took us inside the workings of city bakeries. "After the pav is baked in the wood fire oven, the fire is put out and the heat cooks the cakes sent in by locals. This year, we baked a traditional mixed peel or Christmas cake," she shared.