Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Safety comes firstThe otherwise packed Lalbaughcha Raja pandal respected Covid protocol and discouraged crowds as seen here on SaturdayGender meets artGoetheInstitut Bangalorersquos Gender Bender festival in collaboration with arts collective Sandbox is back this year for their 2021 edition This time the festival is set to be held entirely on a virtual platform To kick off the plan theyrsquore inviting submissions from artists focusing on themes around the concept that gender is art itself ldquoWersquove been doing this in collaboration with the Sandbox Collective for seven years Itrsquos our attempt to let artists give new interpretations about the topic of gender in the broad definition of the term We will select 10 to 12 grantees from across the country People usually apply to us with projects they think would offer a fresh perspective to the topic of gender We give these individuals a trigger grant to help them get a startrdquo said cultural director Maureen Gonsalves in picA British salaam for MumbaiPic CourtesyTwitterBritish High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis has been touring the country and is currently experiencing the city like a true blue Mumbaikar In a recently posted video of his trip Ellis shared how he spoke politics education climate change and business with policy makers and entrepreneurs He also dipped his feet into the culture of the city meeting our dabbawalas grabbing a vada pav every now and then and greeting Bappa We enjoyed how his social media updates have been accompanied by very Bambaiya phrases like lsquolai bharirsquo lsquokasa kai Mumbairsquo and finally a resonant lsquoGanpati Bappa moryarsquo Now thatrsquos a lsquojhakaasrsquo itineraryAll things rice for BappaAs Mumbai celebrates its favourite festival by bringing home idols of Ganesha for the past 55 years Bombay High Court solicitor Rajan Jayakar has been following a different tradition mdash one that has been passed down in his family for generations Every year Jayakar creates his own Ganesha made with rice grains as opposed to an idol which is not considered auspicious for his family he revealedldquoI took on this tradition from my father in 1964 Before that he had been handed down this tradition from my grandfather who mustrsquove learnt it from his forefathersrdquo he explained As per the tradition the quantity of rice to be used for the Ganesha and the mouse is very specific mdash one tippri a unit of measurement a fistful and three pinches ldquoIt takes me one and a half hours to two hours to complete the Ganesha The best part is itrsquos completely ecofriendlyrdquo he sharedFuel up at Pedder RoadPedder Roadrsquos popular New Kampala Service Station is offering fuel and fodder The gas station is now home to a new vegetarian convenience store and takeaway joint Gourmet To Go Set up by cofounder and sourcing head Priyal Shah the space will offer allday breakfast bowls Indian bowls and Asian bowls appetisers freshlybrewed coffee other beverages and desserts Wersquore told that therersquoll also be something for vegans those with glucose and lactose intolerance as well as those who prefer Jain preparations ldquoThere werenrsquot enough eateries in the neighbourhood that offered healthy yet indulgent meals So we decided to bridge this gap by offering clean fresh meals snacks and other items from mostly homegrown brandsrdquo Shah told this diaristBaking good times in ColabaIn the early months of the first lockdown when restaurants were still hoping the pandemic would be a brief bad dream Mag St Bread Co by restaurateurs Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousuf was one of the first ventures to start delivery The bakery was a lifesaver remembered Devidayal Over a year on it is set to get a dedicated retail space in the form of Mag St Cafe an allday diner which opens doors this month Devidayal revealed that the cafe will occupy the same space as the nowshuttered Miss T and Mei 13 in Colaba ldquoMei 13 opened in March 2020 for only 10 days As three of our main chefs had to return overseas there was uncertainty Instead of waiting endlessly we decided to focus on something more localrdquo The dinerrsquos centred on comfort food and being conscious and communitydriven she shared adding that theyrsquod like to tap into the localityrsquos history heritage and culture