The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Smile. it improves your face value
Varun Dhawan tries Shah Rukh Khan's trademark pose. The amiable star is thankfully nothing like the sour iconic cartoon character he sports on his tee.
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Ma Sheela loves her miso
The web series Wild Wild Country was a runaway hit when it released last year. It documented the rise and fall of Rajneet Singh aka Osho, the spiritual guru who set up a vast empire in the US before being embroiled in various cases related to financial irregularity. But Osho wasn't the only central figure in the show. Ma Anand Sheela, his right-hand woman, was also a major part of the narrative. Born Sheela Ambalal Patel, she lived a checkered life that involved running the administrative affairs at Osho's vast ashram, and later being convicted in a murder case in the US, for which she spent 39 months in prison.
Ma Anand Sheela (centre) with Lakhan Jethani and an unidentified guest
Now settled in Switzerland, Sheela was recently in the city and was seen enjoying a meal at Mizu, a pan-Asian diner in Worli, with a couple of other people. "She had the veg giyoza, veg bao and veg miso soup. The others at her table ordered for non-vegetarian dishes, but I don't know if she had any of them. She was really quiet and kept to herself. But I know that she liked the food because she broke into a smile at the end of her meal. You could tell that there is something about her that is beyond what we can perceive," Lakhan Jethani, the eatery's co-owner, told this diarist.
Curtains for another bookstore
There is a raging debate about whether physical books are on their way out since digital versions will take their place. This also leads to obvious questions about the future of bookstores and libraries. And for those who would rather prefer to curl up with a paperback instead of an e-book, here's some unfortunate news. The iconic Crossword store in Bandra is shutting down. The place has been a haven for bibliophiles over the years.
It has a wide range of titles and also offers other products such as toys and DVDs. But business had been dipping over the past few years, and the place has been a ghost of its former self in recent times. And now, the curtains will fall once and for all. We'd love to see a new bookstore come up in
its place.
A class act for the LBGT+ community
How many times can you think of gay or transgender people being portrayed in a positive, or even neutral, light in Hindi films? Chances are, few. Instances like Kanta Bai, the domestic help in Kal Ho Na Ho, fainting in a supposedly-humorous manner every time she saw Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan hug are easier to remember. Sure, there are some movies that are exceptions, such as My Brother Nikhil and Tamanna, in which Paresh Rawal played a transgender character's role.
But otherwise, it's usually been a bleak picture when it comes to sensitivity about gender roles and sexual orientation in Hindi films. That's why it's heartening to hear that hotel tycoon Keshav Suri and director Faraz Arif Ansari are joining hands this November to start TRANSaction, a series of acting and empowerment workshops for the city's LGBTQ+ community. The idea is to prepare them for a career on stage or in films, and give them the confidence for it. Here's hoping that more people take a leaf out of their book.
Kipling connect
Born in Mumbai, Rudyard Kipling is one of the best-known writers in the late 19th and early 20th century. But not many will know the Britisher's connection to Vermont in the US, which novelist Kamila Shamsie pointed out on social media.
"#rudyardkipling wrote #thejunglebook at the home he built in Vermont, and further that he named that home #naulakha after the pavilion in #LahoreFort," she wrote, posting pictures of the wall plate and the room where Mowgli was conceived.
This eatery bites the Big Apple
The hoo-ha around city-based eatery The Bombay Canteen perhaps has a lot to do with its ties to a foreign land. One must agree that having a chef trained in New York City at its helm, and a partner with a restaurant in Lower Manhattan, does add a certain allure. But this is not to say that the food itself is not good, and well, it must be.
For now, after five years of extensive research into Indian cuisine and whipping up exciting riffs on traditional dishes, this Lower Parel favourite is travelling to New York City. Next week, chefs Cardoz and Thomas Zacharias will host a special dinner at the prestigious James Beard House, where they will showcase Indian cuisine before an American audience.
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