Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Oh for some paws Itive newsWith Mumbairsquos streets deserted again thatrsquos the question we think is on the mind of this canine peeking out of the window of a Bandra bungalowSpoonful of wellbeingThe times wersquore living in are unquestionably tough So wersquore happy to hear of Grant Roadrsquos Asian delivery kitchen and one of the winners of middayrsquos Guide Restaurant Awards 2019 Milliways Broth Noodle and Bao launching a noble initiative Between April 27 and May 2 chefs Yash Rajpal and Ashwin Ramachandran are collaborating with psychotherapist Rhea Gandhi to include a lsquoconversation prompt kitrsquo along with orders to enable meaningful conversations over a mealRamachandran and Rajpal asserted that the idea stemmed from the fact that currently the primary conversation people have over meals is COVIDrelated which adds to the fatigue The aim of the kit Gandhi said is to slow down and check in with ourselves ldquoGenerating hope right now is hard and so is talking about distress Wersquore forgetting how love feels although we might be experiencing it every dayrdquo she explained Bon appeacutetit to thisRemembering PearlA clipping of the play Family Ties 2 starring Pearl Padamsee with Kunal Vijayakar and Cyrus Broacha PicFacebookTheatre doyenne Pearl Padamseersquos 21st death anniversary was observed on Saturday She groomed a generation of theatre artistes and funny man and foodie Kunal Vijayakar who had the honour of working with her recollected fond memories with this diarist ldquoI met her first in 1990 At that time Pearl was a star and we were youngsters She would breeze into the room in a flowing kaftan and sunglasses on top of her head and would hold court Since she was short she would also carry a whistle round her neck to command attention We had a lovehate relationship we loved each other dearly and fought bitterly over ridiculous thingsrdquo he recalled Padamsee he added was also an excellent cook mdash ldquoHer pork vindaloo was to die forrdquoTake a deep breathHerersquos some news that can bring succour to those whorsquove tested positive A Delhibased yoga teacher Karishma Kathuria has been providing free breathing technique sessions for patients through Zoom ldquoThe moment you connect with your breath you start to feel grounded People with the virus often worry for their life but connecting to their breath will make them feel alive Those interested in the 30minute sessions can DM me on Instagram karishma_kathuria They need to share a scan of their report after which I mail them a link I organise these sessions in English and Hindi so that everyone can follow itrdquo she sharedPoetic justiceThe Quarantine Train a poetry workshop and community has announced their longlist of nominees for the Deepankar Khiwani Prize this year The prize founded by Arjun Rajendran inset in memory of his late friend and citybased poet Deepankar Khiwani in pic offers one of the largest monetary rewards in India to deserving poets the winner is awarded Rs 15000 This year their longlist consists of Mumbaibased poets including Kunjana Parashar Trishita Das and Vinita AgrawalldquoThe process of selection is completely blind We received over 300 submissions this time After file numbers were assigned through our community we had identified 18 readers in total who had read 50 poems each They submitted a list of poets whose works were reread by our core team they rated them on a pointsbased system and the final 10 were selectedrdquo Rajendran informed The winners will be announced on April 30 so watch this spaceGift of the cabWith the vaccination drive against COVID19 on its way in India taxi aggregator app Uber has stepped in to offer free cab rides to and from vaccination centres to anyone who is eligible for a dose All that a person needs to do is select the lsquoWalletrsquo option from the menu on the app type in the promo code lsquo10M21Vrsquo enter the pickup and dropoff locations and confirm the trip We welcome the companyrsquos gesture