Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Flight of fancyA young man leaps from the top of one vanity van to another as his friend awaits his turn at Goregaon EastSmoking out a caseOver the weekend fans of Baker Streetrsquos most famous fictional resident Sherlock Holmes celebrated his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doylersquos 162nd birth anniversary This diarist had recently reviewed a book The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer by Shrabani Basu that revealed the authorrsquos friendship with a Parsi George Edalji Doyle helped clear his name in one of Englandrsquos most dramatic cases of the 20th century The book unravels minute details about Doylersquos craft while creating the worldfamous detective including the Indian connection throughout his mysteries Holmes was so well informed about Indian tobaccos that while solving his cases he could immediately identify when a man smoked an Indian hookah or if the residue was the famed black ash of Trichinopoly or Trichy todayrsquos Tiruchirappalli Tamil Nadu In fact these cigars were believed to be a favourite of Winston Churchill as wellPlay for a causeCitybased theatre group Rage is paying homage to people who work behind the scenes in theatre with the online screening of their production One on One India Special All the proceeds from it will be donated to TheatreDost an initiative that helps such backend theatre workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic ldquoIf you love live entertainment and have been enriched by it this is a cause worth supporting These people are in dire need of help and there is no real government supportrdquo shared Rage cofounder Shernaz Patel Log on to insiderin to purchase a ticket for the show which is available on demand till May 30Look whatrsquos brewing in ColabaLast year the excise department tweaked laws to allow craft beer manufacturers to sell directly to their customers instead of via restaurants Gateway Brewing Company GBC has now gone a step further and launched its firstever retail store near the Gateway of India in Colaba Itrsquos a 200ft space that stocks signature brews including White Zen and Doppelganger ldquoWe are only delivering from the outlet at the moment but people can come physically to the shop when the situation normalisesrdquo shared GBC founder Navin MittalRecipe for reliefChef Anahita Dhondy made a difference while celebrating her birthday over the weekend She hosted an online class where she shared recipes that her mum would make on her birthday when she was little All the proceeds from the tickets were donated to NGO Kalap Trust to help with their Covid19 relief efforts in Uttarakhandrsquos Tons Valley ldquoMy mother would make chocolate cake oldschool sandwiches and Parsi croquettes for my birthdays which I shared the recipes forrdquo Dhondy told this diaristMumbai on our mindThe folks at NGO Project Mumbai have their hands full They have launched three initiatives to not just help people out during the pandemic but also save the environment One of the drives is titled Plastic Recyclathon with people being encouraged to drop off waste plastic from their homes at 25 locations across Mumbai The accumulated plastic will be recycled to make benches for municipal parks in the city That apart they have started a campaign called Each One Plant One where they are offering plant saplings free of cost to Mumbaikars to grow in their homes The organisers tell us that they have also started a facility to provide oxygen concentrators to any Covid19 patient in Mumbai for 15 days free of cost If you need one from them call either 9821563248 or 7304036046