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Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Updated on: 15 January,2017 11:37 AM IST  | 
Team mid-day |

The city — sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier


Mumbai plays its Trump card
As the world watches with bated breath, as the 45th President of the US, Donald Trump, take oath of office, the lush lawns of the US Consulate in Mumbai will liven up with an inaugural ball to welcome the President elect.


Namaste America, in partnership with the Consulate, is behind the event that will be hosted by US Consulate General Thomas L Vajda and Atul Nishar, president of Namaste America (in pic). The event will have a live viewing of the swearing-in and Trump’s inaugural address from Washington DC.


Invites have been sent out to the city’s swish set including film stars, top lawyers, doctors, socialites and industrialists. Even as the organisers are waiting for RSVPs, we have got wind of Shiamak Davar putting up a grand show and crooning a few numbers, while IPL host Archana Vijaya plays emcee for the evening.

When DJs talk
As we met Axwell last week at a Lower Parel five-star, we spotted DJ Nikhil Chinapa (in pic) chilling at the coffee shop. Chinapa played with Axwell in Delhi last week as well. As the two exchanged hellos, they spoke of the music festivals being shunted out of Goa.

We obviously eavesdropped, and Chinapa seemed optimistic, saying it was all coming together well now. After all, he already has a new property, the music festival Wonderwall, in the beach state. Axwell also shared with us later that Chinapa told him techno was making a comeback. Really? Well, you heard it here first.

Geeves hits ’em where it hurts
Darren Lehmann, the Australia cricket coach has more on his plate this summer apart from current foes Pakistan, who can be brilliant or benevolent especially in one-day cricket so no one can rule them out to give the Aussies a hard time.

Lehmann, nicknamed Boof, is also showing signs of getting frustrated at what player- turned-columnist Brett Geeves has been writing. In response to Geeves’ contention that Lehmann was not sending out the right message to rookie batsman Matt Renshaw before Australia’s tour of India, Lehmann reacted sharply by saying, “I don’t listen to Brett – he wasn’t a very good player.”

Who can stop a writer from hitting back, and Geeves did so with stats to back him up on Fox Sports. He recalled six duels with Lehmann: “In the two (Sheffield) Shield games we played against each other, he averaged 29 and I got nine wickets - including Boof’s scalp twice. In four one-day games, where I took six wickets at 22, he averaged 31, and I got him once – and didn’t get to bowl to him in two others as he was already dismissed. So across the four games I got to bowl to him, I dismissed him three times.” You win, Geeves!

Welcome to the jungle
The Social chain of pubs is known for its spirited launches and cool giveaways. Versova Social, which launched last Sunday, is green-themed, and a reminder to protect the depleting mangroves in the area, with a lot of design attention to terrace and indoor gardening. The giveaway was a bottle of red from Social, bottled by Fratelli, along with a money plant in a jute pouch.

It came with an interesting tag — ‘money doesn’t grow on trees, which is why you have to plant it’. Drink the wine, and use the empty bottle for the money plant. A birdie told us that they came up with the idea and its artwork overnight. We like.

Classic encounters
Even classical musicians, it seems, can have a wicked sense of humour. This diarist learnt it the hard way last week when she went to greet sitar player Niladri Kumar at the end of the just premiered play, Patni, where he and theatre actor Makarand Deshpande join forces.

Niladri Kumar
Niladri Kumar

Kumar, who seems to have had interview fatigue asked the publicist “you have got one more now?” He did follow it up with laughter, amused it seems by his own joke. We laughed too. After all, a sense of humour, even if wicked is always welcome, even if at your expense.

Through the next five minutes, Kumar was quite cordial. In fact, when this diarist was leaving he said, “it was a pleasure to meet you”. It was then that we had to warn him to dial down the sarcasm. Of course, with a smile.

Her father’s daughter
Actress Shabana Azmi spends a quiet moment with her brother Baba Azmi’s children, Meghna and Viraj, on the 98th birth anniversary of her father, legendary poet Kaifi Azmi, in Juhu on Saturday.


Pic/Rane Ashish

The evening was attended by well-known faces from the music and theatre world, and was marked by performances. 

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