17 September,2026 03:14 PM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Ashish Raje
Shopkeepers in Lalbaug arrange figurines of Gauri ahead of Gauri Pooja on Friday.
Indian Chameleion; Grey Crowned Crane. PICs COURTESY/KARAN SOLANKI; VRUSHALI KISHOR UTEKAR
Ace photographer Dabboo Ratnani (right) is set for a meeting with showstoppers of a different kind this month. As part of the jury of the Accord Equips Wildlife Photography Exhibition and Awards in Bandra, Ratnani will join wildlife photographer Apurv Isaac and filmmaker-photographer Kenneth Lawrence to pick the best shots from more than 300 submissions. Fifty of these shots will be on display at Bombay Art Society later this month.
Mumbai's young photographers have brought out some real lookers from the wild - Andheri-based photographer Karan Solanki's Indian Chameleon, for instance. "I was herping in the wild near Alibaug when I spotted the chameleon resting on a short bush. We had already packed up for the day, so I chose to capture a shot on my smartphone. It was serendipitous that the photograph has now been shortlisted in the mobile phone category," he said.
While some global artistes have chosen to take the middle road this week, for Aditi Mangaldas, it was âimpossible to not be affected' by the events of global conflict, and the traumatic repercussions they continue to leave behind. Her own expression of the experience forms the crux of the upcoming production, The Absence of Presence, which will open at the NCPA on October 31.
Aditi Mangaldas. PIC COURTESY/NCPA
Speaking about the production at the SoBo venue, Mangaldas shared that the contemporary dance showcase will unite the Western orchestration of the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) with the Indian musical strains and Kathak-based movements of Mangaldas' team. "It is not a fusion though," she smiled, warning this diarist.
Rushil Ranjan, associate artiste at the Royal Albert Hall, will take on collaborative duties as composer. The production will feature a live orchestral accompaniment. "It is a continuation of the NCPA's efforts to pioneer artistic collaborations. It is also a subject that is necessary, contemporary, and artistically exceptional," shared Khushroo N Suntook, chairman, NCPA.
We like chefs who travel before they cook. This weekend, chef Goku aka Gokul Kumar Mohit (right), co-founder of Chennai's Tamil Quarter and a chef trained in Michelin-starred kitchens, brings the Gulf of Mannar to Mumbai as part of Uncharted India at MSK (formerly Magazine St. Kitchen), Byculla.
His research took him to fishermen, home cooks, artisans, and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, helping him understand the region's foodways. The 12-course menu travels from Tuticorin to Ramanathapuram, drawing on the Gulf's shared food geography of fishing, preservation and dryland cooking.
Think Manja Vaada with Maasi (dried tuna) and Eral Thoppa, featuring squid and shrimp, among others. The menu also explores Tamil Muslim cooking through Kayalpatnam Ahani Biryani, a white biryani made with coconut milk, pandan and Seeraga Samba rice. Goku's approach is simple: research first, technique later. Rather than reinventing the cuisine, he says he wants to understand the people, ingredients and practices before deciding where his own technique belongs.
Foodies who are missing Café Mysore's crispy-golden dosas and gadbad idlis dearly, amid the temporary closure, can rest assured. Following queries from hungry readers, many of whom were concerned by rumours of an FDA crackdown, this diarist dialled owner Naresh Nayak for the real scoop.
A signboard outside the restaurant informs patrons of the break. PIC COURTESY/REDDIT
"We have had no issues with authorities, or licences. We have been a 16-hour-a-day, six-day-a-week operation for the last six years, without a real break. We have used this period both to complete an extensive modernisation and infrastructure programme. Most of the transformation work is now substantially complete, but we have not fixed a reopening date yet," he informed this diarist. No gadbad here, folks.
