The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Oh, hello there
Kareena Kapoor Khan bumped into hubby Saif Ali Khan while promoting her film at a studio, where he was also shooting. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
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Dr Swati Piramal
Smelling something sweet
For five days in May, a corner of London transforms itself into something akin to The Garden of Eden in full bloom. This corner is in the grounds of The Royal Hospital Chelsea, where the Chelsea Flower Show — arguably the most famous such event in the world — is held every year. It attracts not just local citizens like bees to a sunflower, but also hordes of tourists soaking in the British summer sun, a phenomenon that's almost as rare as rainfall in a desert.
And this year, the visitors caught a fragrance of India floating in the air. One of the sections, India: A Billion Dreams, was dedicated to the shared love for cricket that India and the UK have, including an ode to Sachin Tendulkar. Dr Swati Piramal, who hosts Thane's Vaikunth Flower Show in our own neck of the woods, showcased the entry. And here's the big news: it has won the Silver Gilt Award and been nominated for a people's choice prize, meaning Piramal is enjoying the sweet smell of success after all the hard work.
L Nitin Chordia
Get chocolate-certified
India isn't the first country that comes to mind when fine chocolates are mentioned. While things are changing slowly, this news may be the catalyst to get things moving in the bitter-sweet world. Chennai-based chocolatier L Nitin Chordia's initiative, Cocoatrait, which promotes knowledge, production and consumption of fine chocolates in India, has tied up with the International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting (IICCT), London, to offer two levels of chocolate taster certifications in India. The course will be conducted next month in Chennai, not too far for Mumbai's bakers, chocolatiers, patisserie chefs and entrepreneurs if they want to return with some sinful secrets.
Rana Ayyub. Pic/AFP
UN bats for Rana's safety
Rana Ayyub is no stranger to trolls. But things took a turn for the worse recently when the gritty journalist received rape and death threats in the wake of a malicious tweet that falsely quoted her as supporting child rapists and saying that Muslims were no longer safe in India. Considering that the police began to investigate the matter 10 days after she filed the complaint and reportedly, she is still to receive police protection, UN human rights experts called on Indian authorities yesterday to act urgently to protect Ayyub. "The Government has an obligation to...protect individuals from foreseeable threats to life or bodily integrity," the experts said, recalling the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, following threats.
What's cooking, Malaika?
Actor-model and known foodie Malaika Arora literally turned the tables yesterday when she arrived at a Bandra culinary academy. A little birdie told us what was cooking — Arora learnt to whip up Mediterranean prawns on a bed of jewelled couscous and lemon garlic fish with wilted spinach. Chef Rakhee Vaswani, who calls Arora her favourite apprentice, says the latter faced few difficulties since she is an experienced cook herself. We also learnt that the inspiration to cook these scrumptious dishes came from an Instagram story by Vaswani, which Arora had chanced upon.
Not really Art Deco, folks!
We have seen realtors invent names like New Cuffe Parade, Upper Worli and Upper Juhu to jazz up neighbourhoods in advertisements and inflate prices. But this upcoming project in SoBo has ruffled quite a few feathers in the architect-historian community, and for the right reasons. Being touted as an "Art Deco workplace", the building boasts of a "heritage facade with Peruvian-style architecture and French-style windows" — elements not particularly associated with the way the Art Deco architectural style shaped up in Bombay in the 1930s. We do like the idea of going beyond clone-like glass facades that have become synonymous with office buildings, but if the inspiration is to be rooted in history, we'd say it's best to get your research right. Meanwhile, in the many takedowns floating on social media, this one's our favourite: "If this is #ArtDeco, I'm Deepika Padukone."
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