The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pics/Satej Shinde
Tum log bhi na!
Farah Khan gives the mid-day photographer a priceless reaction as she exits a salon in Bandra with her cute-as-a-button daughters.
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Look east with an exhibition
Political relations between India and China might be frosty. But that hasn't stopped the two countries from embarking on cultural exchanges. And the latest of these is the Chinese Buddhist Cultural Heritage Photo Exhibition, which was inaugurated at an art gallery in Nariman Point over the weekend.
As the name suggests, the 70 photographs displayed at the event are meant to showcase the rich heritage of Buddhism in China. And keeping with that theme, a total of 42 monks - dressed in grey and saffron robes - were called from the far-eastern country to inaugurate the exhibition, which has been jointly organised by People's Republic of China in Mumbai, China Federation of Literary and Art circles, the Buddhist Association of China, and NCPA.
Some of the more fascinating photos to watch out for are of the Jokhang Temple, a statue of the Sleeping Buddha, the Dunhuang and Yungan grottoes, Datong city of Shanxi province, and a statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in the E'Mei mountain. The event is on till March 21, and so you still have a window of opportunity to learn more about a country from which not much information filters out.
Pic/Atul Kamble
Polo is in style
Weekends are about the outdoors, and so, Saturday saw Mahalaxmi Race Course welcome the swish set at the Millionaire Asia Polo Cup. The match between ARC India and Argentina was followed by Pria Kataaria Puri's (seen here with Anuraag Bhatnagar, GM of The St Regis, Mumbai) designs walk the ramp before the crowd settled in for a sundowner. What better way to call in Sunday than over champagne and hors d'oeuvres?
A Goan rendezvous
The iconic blue door and white walls of AD Singh's restaurant, Olive, have seen and heard a lot of good times and stories. A landmark in the city's restaurant scene, the brand has been going strong for almost 18 years now. One of his many inspirations has been the relaxed life of the sunny state of Goa. So much so that he even started Lady Baga, a Goan food restaurant with a beach shack vibe.
Singh was also responsible for bringing Goa's Thalassa to Mumbai for a pop-up. With restaurants in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, one always wondered when Goa would be on his radar. Turns out 2018 will be the year, as Olive is set to open in Vagator. What's interesting is that Vagator is also home to Thalassa and Sarah Todd's Antares. We are looking forward to some sausage and susegaad at the new space.
LA not so confidential
Considering that one has the world's most famous movie industry and the other has the world's largest one, filmy relations between India and the US have always been like the dosti between Jai and Veeru. And one of the crucial aspects of this bond is the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. It's held in April, and the line-up for this year's edition has just been announced.
The 12 that have made the cut include The Hungry (in pic), an adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, and Omerta, Hansal Mehta's biopic on British-born terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who is believed to have funded 9/11. A bunch of shorts will also be screened, apart from the film Chandni, as a tribute to Sridevi, which will follow the tribute that the late actor received at the Academy Awards.
Sewri's grateful dead
It's never spotted on tourist itineraries or is a part of city walking trails, but the sprawling cemetery in Sewri sure has plenty of fascinating insights to offer about Mumbai's history and timeline, especially if you happen to be a heritage buff. As this diarist found out, it was in this very month back in 1867 when the site was consecrated to become the main burial ground for the English.
With time, and the city's increasing importance as a port, it served as the final resting place for several nationalities, including the Germans, French and Italians, as well as Indian Christians. Eminent architects FW Stevens and George Wittet and city poet Dom Moraes lie buried here. And then there are those like the brave George Lawrence, deputy conservator of woods and forests in the Bombay Presidency, who died of wounds inflicted by a tigress! Now that's a cool fact you won't find in a history book.
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