Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

11 September,2026 08:19 AM IST |  Mumbai  |  Team mid-day

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

Pic/Satej Shinde


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Weight expectations

A fisherwoman carries her bamboo baskets at Marve Jetty, Malad West. Pic/Satej Shinde

Desi beats on Russian soil


(Left) Ganesh Murali Iyer plays Ghatam with Ed Sheeran during his latest Mumbai visit in 2025

From Chembur to Yekaterinburg, Ganesh Murali Iyer is carrying a little bit of Mumbai with him, in the form of his Mridangam, Ghatam and Kanjira. The percussionist will perform alongside Kerala-Mumbai-based vocalist Namrata Othayoth at the International Festival of Youth, on until September 17.


Iyer performs at a BRICS summit; (inset) Namratha Othayoth. PICS COURTESY/GANESH MURALI IYER

Iyer, who also collaborated with Ed Sheeran on Sapphire, shared, "We will be performing as cultural delegates under the BRICS Melody project, where the festival will bring together 10,000 participants from 190 countries to showcase the cultural and traditional side of their respective countries through music. For the performance, I will be playing the three percussion instruments and Namrata will be performing her Tamil and Malayalam songs to centre stage." We wish you good luck, or should we say, "Zhelayu Udachi" in Russian?

A metalhead's kranti

The band, Eternal Returns perform at a previous jamming session; (inset) Narendra Patel. PIC COURTESY/Narendra Patel

Looks like Eternal Returns, the Thane-based metal band, is ready to take its interest in wrestling a shade more seriously. The band has made the theme song, Ab Hogi Kranti, for Pro Wrestling Rebellion (PWR).

The vocalist and lyricist of the band Narendra Patel told this diarist, "Being metalheads, we've always been wrestling fans too. This was on our bucket list." The PWR event will be held on September 23 at Talkatora stadium in Delhi.

The Commonwealth stamp


Shakti Yadav receives the 100 young leaders 2026 award (left) from Ben Mellor, British Deputy High Commissioner of India. Pics Courtesy/Shakti Yadav

As the official greeting goes, "To all to whom these presents shall come, Greetings," Shakti Yadav's Bhandup-based initiative, Buy Food with Plastic, where people exchange plastic bottles for food, is now Commonwealth-approved. As Yadav received the award on September 8 from Ben Mellor, British Deputy High Commissioner to India, at his residence, he shared, "It's an honour to receive this award. The award also coincides with the year when the late Queen Elizabeth II would have completed 100 years. To sum up the award, The Commonwealth of Nations shortlist about 100 people from across the globe and felicitate them for their service and environmental initiatives."

Shefali Shah, unscripted

There was plenty of audacity in Shefali Shah's Madam Sir avatar in a popular show Delhi Crime, and now the actor seems to be carrying some of it into her first book. The Audacity of Being: A Sort-of Memoir (Bloomsbury India) brings together 29 essays on love, marriage, motherhood, ageing and self-doubt. Given the title, perhaps Madam Sir wasn't entirely off duty after all. This time, though, there are no cases to crack, just a few chapters of her life to unload.

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