Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Still lifeA rooster observes an artist make an idol of Lord Ganesh in preparation for Ganesh Chaturthi at Rohit Arts Workshop in KandivliLondon chef is step closer to Goa dreamLondonbased Goan chef and illustrator Emma Diniz Ryan has been shortlisted for the prestigious YanKit So Award hosted by the Oxford Cultural Collective which enables aspiring food writers to fulfil their dreams to research travel and create original work about any aspect of Asian food The award honours the legacy of YanKit So 19332001 one of the most acclaimed writers on Chinese food Ryan who runs the page Yesterdayrsquos Curry has been hoping to write a cookbook which explores the cuisine of Goa ldquoBeing shortlisted for my proposal of a Goan cookbook is a huge honour and I am delighted that the committee sees the potential in it On a personal level this research trip would enable me to explore the cuisine of my heritage and connect with my rootsrdquo Ryan told this diaristIn memoriamPicFacrbookMumbai boy Akshay Deodhar who studied at Campion School in Fort passed away last week in Pune The musician who was known for bands such as Spook Zephyr and Left Hand Drive was also brother to Advait Deodhar one of Indiarsquos only racing car drivers Akshay was loved by those who knew him and his Facebook wall was testimony to that Demonic Resseruction vocalist Sahil Makhija wrote ldquoHe was there to light up the room and ask how you are doingrdquo and Albatross and Primitiv bassist Riju Dasgupta wrote ldquoIrrespective of what he was going through he always had time for those he cared aboutrdquoNames and numbers that John wanted to seeJohn CrastoThe contribution of brothers Joe and John Crasto to the profession was brought up on Facebook during World Sports Journalists Day on July 2 Joe was an accomplished 200m runner before he took up coaching and journalism while John was a certified athletics coach who excelled in reporting on boxing athletics as well as rugby When John turned freelancer in the early 1990s a newspaper assigned him to cover the 199495 Ranji Trophy final contested between Mumbai and Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium Cricket was unfamiliar territory for John and he had some trouble identifying the players on the field He suggested that players should sport a name and number at the back of their shirts which will make it easy to identify them What is he talking about some of us thought when John uttered those words in that openair press box but now we do have the names of players at the back of their jerseys in redball cricket too Had John been living today he would have been pleased although that wouldnrsquot mean he would accept cricket assignments at Wankhede Stadium with glee He would rather be at the neighbouring hockey stadiumA phoolproof tributeDr Mukesh Kawtra an environmentalist from Delhi is paying a green tribute to his favourite cricketer Sachin Tendulkar He has created a vertical garden where hundreds of used plastic bottles have been recycled into planters The bottles are lined up in four rows with flowers like salvia peutonia gazania and dianthus planted in them Each bottle is a memorabilia for a century scored by Sachin he tells us ldquoThere is a sticker on each bottle depicting the runs scored the country he was playing against date and place where he scored the centuryrdquo His NGO Smiling Tree has also applied to the forest department of North Delhi for adoption of a 200yearold banyan tree in Chandni Chowk ldquoIf approved it will pave the way for more such adoptions across the countryrdquoThe Vadra behind the lensRaihan Rajiv Vadra son of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Robert Vadra is a budding photographer Raihan runs an active photography page on Instagram The 20yearold regularly shares his photos on his social media account And now he is set to host an exhibition of his works titled Dark Perception at Bikaner HouseDelhi from July 11 On exhibit will be his collection of wildlife metaphysical and cityscape photos Speaking to this diarist he said ldquoDark Perception is an exhibition that hinges on perception as a function of light organisation memory and imagination all of which are manipulated in order to define the visitorrsquos journey It is a commentary on modern life and how easily human beings can be influenced and exploitedrdquo