Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Sugar DaddyA boy chills with his phone while his father cuts sugarcane stalks at FortMag St crosses the Sea LinkWith their first in Bandra Mag St rebranded from Mag St Cafe by Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousuf is finally in the lsquoburbs graduating from a neighbourhood cafe to a fullfledged restaurant with an expansive bar et al ldquoBandra was long duerdquo says Devidayal who has been scouting for a suitable location for some time before settling for this space on 24th Road which was previously a bank ldquoA year after we started The Table in Colaba we thought of bringing it to Bandra but patrons objectedmdashthere should only be one lsquoTablersquo in the city they argued And rightly so Over the years we then thought that Mag St would be a better fit for Bandrarsquos vibrant communityrdquo she addsGauri Devidayal and Jay YousufWe peeped in through the floortoceiling windows to glimpse the washedplaster walls accented marble seating a stunning bar in white hanging floral lamps and select art pieces that make the space look minimalist and upbeat Therersquos an outdoor seating area for guests with pets The menu we are told will be similar to the flagship outlet apart from a few additionsIn other news The Table Colaba comes of age with a culinary evolution helmed by American chef Will Aghajanian whose storied career spans global kitchens from San Sebastiaacuten to New York City His avantgarde approach to cuisine is evident in each dish Think a sea bass crudo served on an entirely unfine dining stainless steel plate or delicious tiger prawns doused in vadouvan butter For those wondering what will happen to their sobo salad and tiramisu ldquoTheyrsquore still there but just a tad betterrdquo confirms YousufA beam of light through artItrsquos very important to hold onto positivity when the whole world is falling apart and one of the ways is through art like music painting or theatre Some people do it through poetry Peter Griffin in pic a writer cum journalist organises intimate poetry recital gigs around Mumbai The poetry revolves around humanitarian crises happening around the world This time it was Palestine ldquoIt stemmed from wanting to do something in solidarity with Gaza The idea was to get together with a few friends read poetry by Palestinians to each other and talk about itmdashour feelings our understanding of what is happening in Palestinerdquo Griffin says adding that this has been happening for a century reallymdashand now grown He wanted to keep it small so that discussion would be meaningful Poems included I Suffer from a Phobia Called Hope and My House by Maya Abu AlHayatmdashone of Palestinersquos most promising poetsChandrarsquos 1964 debut and Indiarsquos spin focusBS Chandrasekhar PicGetty ImagesSixty years ago Mumbairsquos Test cricket hub was the Brabourne Stadium which in nine yearsrsquo time would cease to be a Test centre Also 60 years ago on this day the great spinner BS Chandrasekhar made his debut for the country mdashagainst Mike Smithrsquos Englishmen in the January 2126 1964 Test there He scalped four in the first innings and claimed the wicket of Don Wilson in the second during the drawn game Indiarsquos emphasis or rather captain MAK Pataudirsquos dependence on spin reflects in the other quality spinners in the side apart from the young Chandra Chandu Borde was one of the main batsmen in the team but he was more than just a useful legspinner as well And there was Salim Durani to share leftarm spin responsibilities with Bapu Nadkarni With so much importance given to spin who opened the bowling Well in that game middleorder batsman ML Jaisimha and debutant pacer Rajinder Pal did And they together bowled 38 overs in the Test for one wicketThe host with the mostThe latest talk show host on the scene is not a Bollywood celebrity established influencer or even an industry insider This diarist was curious to learnt that Indiarsquos first AI superstar Naina now has her own podcast embellished with a promising guest listmdashfrom Sobhita Dhulipala to Sanya Malhotra Imagined as a 22yearold from Jhansi Naina has 169K followers on Instagram Avtr Meta Labs the minds behind Naina tell us that she will unravel the guestsrsquo behindthescenes stories humanising people who we only know as public personas ldquoNainarsquos ability to ask thoughtprovoking questions and exhibit empathy is the result of an advanced AI framework specifically tailored for nuanced human interaction Wersquove integrated complex algorithms that analyse conversational contexts and emotional cuesrdquo says Abhishek Razdan CEO of Avtr Meta Labs His decision to venture into the podcast which can be streamed on the AI influencer and Pop Diariesrsquo YouTube channels is to offer fans a new way to experience her content