Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Tiger Shroff with a young fan in Juhu

Give him a big hand

Tiger Shroff was spotted trying to woo a young fan into a handshake outside a studio in Juhu on Monday. Pic/Satej Shinde

The inconspicuous Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, he of those impossibly long words, was conspicuous by his absence at a number of party events held in the city recently. A panel discussion at a Worli venue, with Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha and journalist-writer Anil Dharker, was meant to feature Tharoor too. The audience was informed that he had the flu and had been advised two weeks of bed rest by a doctor. There were two such meets scheduled for Sunday too (morning and evening), which have been cancelled. A Congress party member claimed that Tharoor has been laid low by a throat infection. This diarist also learnt that the meets have been rescheduled to April now. Well, get well soon and we are happy you do not have pneumonoultram- icroscopicsilicovo- lcanoconiosis, which is a supposed lung disease. We couldn't resist that.

Football fans or Alia Bhatt fans?

The handful of spectators in the hospitality stands of the Mumbai Football Arena in Andheri were in for a surprise on Friday during the Indian Super League match between Mumbai City FC and Chennaiyin FC. While team owner and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor is a regular at matches, fans were thrilled to see his girlfriend and actor Alia Bhatt in tow as the couple walked in just as the second half began. Sadly, for the few hardcore football lovers in this section of the stands, the next few minutes were rather inconvenient as Alia's fans immediately whipped out their cell phones and began jostling for space with each other as they tried to click pictures and videos of the star couple, ignoring the exciting game that was in progress. It was Mumbai City FC's last league match and they had to win to progress to the knockout phase. The hosts lost, but it hardly seemed to matter for the Bollywood fans in the stands because they thoroughly enjoyed their unexpected fan moment.

Playing it safe in the city

A Lower Parel mall is celebrating Women's Week from February 28 to March 8, and one of the highlights is a meet-and-greet session with Internet sensation Kusha Kapila, who enacts the popular character of Billi Masi online. Talking about what makes Mumbai better for girls than her hometown Delhi, she told this diarist, "The feeling of stepping out at 3 am, finding a taxi or rickshaw, and not fearing for your life is a privilege that only women in Bombay have," adding that Delhi lags woefully behind.

Style runs in the family

It's no secret that the Kapoor khandan has a sense of style. While Anil is known for his quirky choices, Rhea is among B-Town's top stylists and Sonam is the original Bollywood diva since the 2000s. Now, the girls' maternal aunt, Kavita Singh, has opened a new store in Raghuvanshi Mills Compound in the city. The store has cosy corners, bedroom options, artwork and wooden handicrafts. But if you want your interiors done, get in line for she is busy doing up Sonam's new home.

Nostalgia for all, in a bread

Goan poee vendors

In a day and age when sourdough bread and gluten-free breads are selling like hot cakes, it's nice to take a step back and dip into flavours of the past. One such dish is the Goan poee — soft, wood-fired buns, which form an integral part of the cuisine and culture of Goa. BKC eatery O Pedro will host a workshop this Wednesday to teach Mumbaikars how to bake it. "The art of making bread was taught to us by the Portuguese and Goa takes great pride in artisanal breads. Some still bake it the traditional way, using a wood-fired oven. We learnt this art from the local bakers of Goa and want to show Mumbaikars what we learnt, sharing the process, some insights on this bread and its history," Hussain Shahzad, executive chef, O Pedro, who will be hosting the workshop, told this diarist.

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