The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce.
Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Easy rider
A child enjoys a drive on her toy car, safe on a pavement in Dadar West on Wednesday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
ADVERTISEMENT
Ranveer's food for thought
This year has been a great equaliser of sorts for the F&B industry. There are some big-ticket restaurants that have bitten the dust in the wake of the pandemic while on the flip side, a whole host of home chefs have sprung up to display their culinary chops for the first time. Chef Ranveer Brar sought to reinforce this positive aspect in a video he posted on social media on International Chef's Day recently. In it, he pointed out how it has indeed been a tough year for many of his colleagues. But at the same time, it showed them that they have a skill set, which means that they don't necessarily have to be tied to their jobs. Many people in the industry started bakeries and YouTube classes, discovering a new side to themselves. Brar told this diarist, "I've always believed that food is a giver. Be it the commercial chefs who were hit by the lockdown or home chefs, we all realised that as long as we believe in our skill — cooking — we can always bounce back in any way, shape or form." Wise words.
A short at fiction
Next month, Padma Bhushan awardee and social reformer Sri M is set to release a work of fiction. Titled The Homecoming and Other Stories (Penguin Random House India), it will comprise 13 stories that essentially explore the world in a different light — answering questions such as 'Can a thief ever reform his ways?' or 'How do you solve a murder with no witnesses?' About the form of his book, the author shared, "To me, a short story is like the lovely little stream that trickles down my backyard when it rains. Before the monsoon stops and the stream vanishes, I rush to catch its subtle movements, as the stream winds its way to the river nearby. And the river, it continues to flow in its own 'novel' way, come rain or shine."
A generous dose of grace
This diarist remembers KS Narayanaswamy walking up on stage to receive his award in the Best Comeback category at the inaugural edition of mid-day's The Guide Restaurant Awards in 2018. The founder of Mani's Lunch Home had been grace and dignity personified, and it was sad to hear the news of him passing away after a long illness. Devavrath Kamath, who runs Café Madras, a South Indian eatery in Matunga — which is where Mani's Lunch Home used to be before shifting to Chembur — shared the same sadness with us. "He was the only person in Matunga who did a 100-dish sadhya every Onam. He also kept his prices affordable throughout because he wanted everyone to eat his food. It shows how generous the man was," Kamath said.
Get fit again, but with precautions
Gyms across the city are all set to open later this week, following the peaceful protests by various gym owners' associations. Celebrity fitness instructor Shalini Bhargava, who was at the forefront of these meetings, told this diarist, "All gym owners have been issued SOPs on safety that have to be followed. Some of these include keeping all the machines six to eight feet apart, working at 50 per cent capacity and allowing a limited number of clients at the gym subject to prior bookings. The Aarogya Setu app is a must. Apart from thermal and oxygen-level checks, gyms must invest in hospital-grade sanitisers to disinfect every machine before and after use, and sanitise the space every three to four hours."
There is no masking the truth
Benny Dayal in a still from the video
The Prime Minister had an important address for the nation on Tuesday. He reminded citizens that the Coronavirus is still a clear and present danger, so we shouldn't believe that everything is hunky-dory once more. We should continue taking all the necessary precautions. Singer Benny Dayal reinforced this on Wednesday, though in his own quirky manner. Dayal put up a video on social media that had him acting to a famous Daft Punk song called Something about us. When the lyrics said, "I want you more than anyone in my life," he held up a sanitiser. And when they said, "I need you more than anything in my life," he wore a mask. Smart.
Keep scrolling to read more news
Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.
Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
