The city — sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
JLF
JLF JAM - 2016
Bollywood, Bombay and foggy beginnings
The Bombaywallah’s guide by Jerry Pinto
We pinned down Jaipur Literature Festival regular and Bombay boy Jerry Pinto for his guide on how to negotiate the mela and the melee.
1) No Bombaywallah is ever really prepared for Jaipur’s cold weather. Carry socks, jacket and something to cover your head, he says.
2) Only Bombay people can handle the fest because it’s as crowded as Churchgate station.
3) Food is terrible and you get pseudo Rajasthani fare.
4) Jaipur doesn’t have a books culture, a reading group or a proper bookstore (except Crossword) so don’t expect otherwise.
5) Don’t make elaborate plans because the city distances and traffic usually disrupt them.
6) Carry enough money. There are lots of goodies to buy. That doesn’t include any books. No one buys books at JLF.
Jerry Pinto
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What the fog!
The notorious north India fog made its presence felt yet again! A flight scheduled to take off at 5.45 am from Mumbai packed with authors, journalists and delegates, was rescheduled for 9.30 am and finally left at 10.15 am. Once over Jaipur, the aircraft had to hover for 25 minutes due to zero visibility. The diarist used the chance to chat with Mumbai’s litterati. On the same flight were columnist Shobhaa De, writer-poet Pinto and filmmaker-animator Nina Sabnani who all had sessions on day one. While some sessions were swapped, the organisers did a competent job to ensure the itinerary didn’t go haywire.
BOLLYWOOD BROUHAHA: Karan Johar and Poonam Saxena were in conversation with Shobhaa De for the session, An Unsuitable Boy, that was a hit with the crowd
Manasi's on a high
The multi-talented Manasi Scott is all set to uplift your spirits with a new international dubstep track titled High. The song is now exclusively available on Artistaloud.com, and was written by Manasi in five minutes flat, she claims. The singer, songwriter, actress and host wrote High as a song against addiction and to signify freedom. Speaking of this new dubstep track, she said, “High is a song I wrote to empower myself against negativity of any kind.
Manasi Scott
The track is about soaring and overcoming all that gets us down. High has been a cathartic journey for me.”
Patel rap
Gerson daCunha and a guest at Dr Altaf Patel and wife Devika’s anniversary party hosted at their Peddar Road residence on Wednesday night. Pic/Bipin Kokate
CM's diplomacy of potluck
Diplomacy, when done over a sumptuous meal, gets good results. It seems that CM Devendra Fadnavis too believes in this, and asked his ministerial colleagues to give it a try. The experiment will begin within the council of ministers from next week. It is expected to work as a soothing exercise in case the agreements and disagreements in the Cabinet meeting, held every Tuesday afternoon at Mantralaya, threaten to strain relations between ministers of the BJP and Shiv Sena.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at an Iftar party in Byculla last year. Pic/Sameer Markande
Fadnavis has smartly ensured that the lunch spread represents a variety of cuisines from different parts of Maharashtra. He has asked ministers belonging to various regions to carry lunch prepared in their respective homes.
So, we expect all kinds of delicious veg and non-veg dishes — the fish from Konkan, white and red (rassa) curry from Kolhapur, Saoji mutton/chicken, patodi rassa (Nagpur), Varhadi hot non-vegetarian preparations from western Vidarbha and Khandeshi Mutton/chicken, Baingan ka Bharta from north Maharashtra.
That's my boy!
Actor Ranveer Singh mingled with ex-students when he dropped by to support his alma mater, Learner’s Academy on the school’s 33rd annual day function held at Bandra’s St Andrew’s auditorium last evening. Ranveer met his teachers after 26 years. His shirt was inked with countless messages from fellow students — past and present. Pic/Satej Shinde
Art's back on the wall!
(From right) Former manager ofTaj Art Gallery, Uttara Parikh, celebrated abstractionist Lakshman Shreshtha and Taljinder Singh, Area Director Mumbai and General Manager, The Taj Mahal Palace at the reopened Taj Art Gallery on Wednesday evening. The painting in the background is an untitled piece by Shreshtha (1999). Pic/Sameer Markande
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