Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Oh DeerA Sambar deer walks the footpath inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali on FridayFarewell Chick CoreaLouiz Banks left with Chick CoreaThis diarist remembers being gutted when he missed the chance to watch Chick Corea the great American pianist perform live when in Mumbai in 2018 Sadly the chance to watch him in action will never present itself again Corea passed away yesterday at the age of 79 after battling a rare form of cancer that was detected only recently Tributes poured in for the jazz master from across the world with guitarist John Mayer admitting that Corea was the single greatest improvisational musician he has ever played with Closer to home pianist Louiz Banks who had shared the stage briefly with the legend during his concert in Mumbai ndash told this diarist ldquoChick leaves behind a legacy of his amazing compositions of varied styles and a very expert level of dexterity on both the piano and the keyboardrdquoThe show must go onRambo Circus members with the audience after their first live actOn Thursday Rambo Circus reopened at an allnew location at Oshiwara and performed their first live act since the lockdown last year to an audience of only two ldquoIt was an expense for us to move to this location as we had to level the ground Considering the economic impact of the last year we didnrsquot have much money to publicise the new venue and our showsAn acrobat performs a stunt PicsPradeep DhivarWhen we sold only two tickets I asked our performers what they wanted to do we collectively decided to put on the show since for us even these two audience members are vital for revenue It is a battle of survival for us We are also counting on them for wordofmouth recommendations We were pleased to see that they thoroughly enjoyed the show and left with big smilesrdquo Sujit Dilip owner of Rambo Circus told this diarist The acts will run for 40 days at the new location and they say they are taking following all governmentissued SOPs Several new items have been introduced including rollerskating and a performance by Manipuri monksFor your pawlentineThis Sunday The Welfare of Stray Dogs WSD an NGO dedicated to the care of Mumbairsquos strays is inviting pet parents to usher in the day of love with their pooches They are hosting a daylong fundraiser at Sleight of Hand a petfriendly confectionary cafeacute at Fort Owner Aadore Sayani is a longstanding supporter of WSD said Dharmita Mandrekar the organisationrsquos volunteer manager ldquoYou can shop for WSD merchandise and unused items donated by wellwishersrdquo she told this diarist All proceeds from the sales will go towards the NGOrsquos efforts which you can also learn about at the eventPaper talesWhile art lovers may be more acquainted with Michelle Poonawallarsquos oil paintings the citybased artist holds drawing and sketching close to her heartShe will be showcasing a new series of works on paper at Ahmedabad gallery 079 Stories as part of KAGAZ a group exhibition Poonawalla shared ldquoThe drawings were made earlier this year Irsquove titled the series Love the five drawings reflect the importance of love and friendshiprdquoA heady lab opens in KharFor Megha Datwani owner of Poco Loco Tapas and Bar the lockdown came just six months after she set foot in the FampB industry The chemistrythemed deacutecor and the paellas at the Khar outpost had garnered attention in its earlier avatar Now it has reopened its doors in place of Looney Lover and the Poet itrsquos where Maraketty Grana of Thalassa Goa fame had dared to openThe distance from the sea didnrsquot work out for her she told us At the new space patrons can expect a farmtofoam concept ldquoWe procure local and allnatural ingredients such as Kerala coconuts cocoa cinnamon and berries and use molecular gastronomy and equipment to convert them into exciting cocktailsrdquo Datwani said