14 June,2026 07:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Team SMD
Pic/Satej Shinde
A father-daughter duo enjoy some quality time at Juhu beach during sunset
For one night, music lovers traded playlists and algorithms for the warm crackle of vinyl records at a retro listening party held at Laguna by TGS on June 10. Curated by record collector and music enthusiast Nehal Shah, popularly known as That Brown Lady, the event invited attendees to become part of the setlist. Guests could browse through an extensive collection of records and pick a vinyl of their choice, after which the DJ would spin a track from it.
The evening became a journey through decades of music, with records ranging from Pink Floyd and Red Hot Chili Peppers to Indian disco icon Rupa. As the songs played, strangers bonded over shared favourites, discovered forgotten gems, and exchanged stories behind beloved albums. Beginning at 8.30 pm and stretching late into the night, the gathering celebrated the tactile, communal experience of listening to music the old-fashioned way.
Pics/Keerthana Kunnath
There's nothing like seeing a woman in all her power, whether it's rippling biceps on muscle mommies at the gym, or a woman completely at ease in an elegantly draped Banarasi saree. Now imagine the two together! It's a particularly evocative visual that's captured by photographer Keerthana Kunnath in the photo series Becoming, launched in collaboration with Banaras-born luxury label Tilfi. The series features four bodybuilders from Kerala, draped in the softness of handwoven Banarasi silk sarees.
"For Tilfi, true elegance has always resided in invisible effort - the months of meticulous, unseen rigour on the loom that eventually culminate in a completely effortless drape. In Keerthana's profound documentary work, there is a rare, grounded grace, where we find that exact principle translated into the human form. A masterwork weave and a sculpted body are both beautiful testimonies to time, serving as archives of accumulated knowledge and pure devotion. These women carry an internal gravity born from years of solitary discipline; their strength is an absolute fact, not a performance. Becoming is an intersection of two masteries," says Aditi Chand, co-founder, Tilfi. That's women for you: tough as steel, and soft as silk, we say!
Pink flowers in full bloom at SL Matkar Road in Prabhadevi
Blooms catch the eye at SL Matkar Road in Prabhadevi, slightly ahead of Dhanmill Naka, near India Bulls. Encroachments have done the vanishing act and now we have the G/South ward strip garden flowering in vibrant, shouting colour. Avinash Yadav, asst superintendent of Gardens, said, "We began clearing encroachments last year and now we are seeing the fruit, actually, flowers of the labour. We have bougainvillaea in different colours, palms, jatropha and kamini flowers⦠the project under the guidance of Asst. Commissioner of G/South, Swapnaja Kshirsagar, is all about creating an oasis of green even in the small spaces that we have. These flowers are a stress buster, we hope, for harried commuters and not-a-minute-to-spare pedestrians negotiating this crowded space. People may only catch a fleeting glimpse of this, but even momentary relief has huge benefits. Like they say, a thing of beauty is a joy forever."
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is too huge an organisation today to bother about providing their state associations (and individuals associated in the running of cricket) names and phone numbers of journalists.
BCCI Address & Telephone Number Directory for 2001-2002
But there was a time when they did. A list of select cricket reporters were mentioned in the âBCCI Address & Telephone Number Directory'. This we hear from our in-house cricket nut who has preserved one such directory. He flips through the little yellow book to proudly show us his name along with an office landline number and, of course, the name of our newspaper.
What's in that little book apart from the cricket reporters' section? A whole lot of details - the then BCCI office bearers, ICC full members, contact numbers and details of all-India panel umpires, the travel agent, hotels, list of other cricket boards (we spotted the Italian board), and even sports goods manufacturers.
Yes, the BCCI still needs to stay connected to a large spectrum of people, but one must pat them for this quarter-of-a-century-old show of professionalism. Our in-house cricket nut added, "transparent and sweet."
Sunil Bormahela
We're halfway through this diarist's favourite month, June. Why, you may ask. Well, because it is International Pride Month, which means that our social calendars are full. One event we're looking forward to is next Friday, SOHO House's voguing workshop. As a dance style, voguing is deeply rooted in the LGBTQIA+ history, born out of Harlem's Black and Latino ballroom scene in the 1960s and 1970s.
Sunil Bormahela, who is going to conduct the workshop, says, "Voguing has helped me become more confident and comfortable with who I am. It's more than just a dance style, it's a way for me to express myself freely without fear or judgment. For me, voguing represents strength, freedom, and being proud of my identity. I think it's an important form of queer expression because it gives people a space to be seen, celebrated, and accepted for who they truly are. Every time I vogue, I feel connected to a community, a history, and a sense of belonging."
