Mumbai Diary page: Tuesday Tales

On a serious noteCity lounge Blue Frog is not only about the music From time to time in fact each month as they say the Frog ldquoincubatesrdquo ideas through discussions and presentations during its Avid Idealogy Series This Friday it is hosting a panel discussion on ldquoNew narratives of economic progress for a connected worldrdquo from 630pmInspired by the book The Connected Age by Sudhakar Ram the discussion will envision a future world order that works for the people and the planet with Ram Grameen Capital India CEO Royston Braganza and Rajni Bakshi Gandhi Peace Fellow at Gateway House author and expert on the opensource economyYes itrsquos Friday evening a time when yoursquore probably thinking of getting frivolous rather than serious But the discussion is scheduled to end at 830pm mdash so you have plenty of time to kick back and chill Or of course continue thinking profound thoughtsIn a puff of smokeWith the price of cigarettes having gone up practically immediately after the duty on them was hiked in the Budget we hope the result will be fewer smokers and tobacco chewers too If health warnings donrsquot work perhaps making the fiery sticks too pricey to afford will do the trickAs it is people donrsquot seem deterred by the statutory messages on the packets and the clearcut messages sent out in the promo films that are shown in cinemas and on television In fact we heard a rumour recently about Mukesh Harane the young man who was shown in one of the films while he was in hospital being treated for cancerHarane subsequently passed away and his story is shown as a cautionary tale against smoking and tobacco use However the rumour says that he is still alive and it was only a publicity stunt Well this is an urban legend from all accounts and we hope people stop claiming to have seen him on public transport because itrsquos simply unjust to his memory as well as to the campaignSure there are lots of people who say they smoke and chew tobacco and are in good health but the correlation between tobacco and harmful diseases is just too strong to ignore Moreover smokers should note that besides nicotine they also take in tar and carbon monoxide as well as additives in the tobacco Might as well go and breathe deeply on a crowded highwayTongue tiedThe monthlong period of dawntodusk fasting and dusktodawn feasting is upon us And during one such feasting trail the discovery of a new delicacy left us tonguetied literally In a tiny lane just ahead of the famous Minara Masjid is this little eatery that mushrooms only during the month of RamzanRamzan eats include this tonguetickler PicWaleed HussainIt serves soup and its speciality over and above the spicy chicken soup is an even spicier tongue soup Served hot and laced with dollops of meat the zabaan soup retails at Rs 160 a bowl Now what better way to start a night of feasting than a bowl of awesome soupOnce your tongue has been tickled the next item on the plate is the liver kidney heart and fried chicken sauteacuteed on a flaming tawa And while taking a small walk to digest the kingly feast in your belly you can sample some more kebabs on the wayProfit and looseThe apex body for consumer issues the Consumer Guidance Society of India CGSI has discovered that there is largescale adulteration in the edible oil sold loose in the marketDrs MS Kamath and Sitaram Dixit of CGSI at the press conference PicSameer MarkandeAt a press conference yesterday they cited findings which they say prove that as high as 64 per cent of samples were adulterated cheaper oil such as palm oil are mixed into more expensive oils like groundnut and coconut for profitAccording to the society they started their study by enlisting volunteers and students who were told to buy loose oil from across the city Malad to Mahim Mulund Navi Mumbai A total of 269 of loose edible oil samples were collected and were checked for poisonous substancesNone were proven poisonous harmful to health but there were instances of mixing Palm oil palmolein is the oil of choice when it comes to mixing which is done for profit say Dr M S Kamath Secretary of CGSI and Dr Sitaram Dixit Chairman of CGSINow the society is marching off to the Food and Drug Administration FDA with these findings Cynics must know that the FDA had cracked down on milk sellers when adulteration was found in milk in an earlier Consumer Guidance complaintWhile action is one thing the consumer body says the aim is to tell the state government to stop allowing oil to be sold loose ldquoAction and prevention that is our twopronged aimrdquo they said as they were peppered with questions about why they have not tested packed and branded oilIn the end the press was served vada pav and kothmir vadi in bread When talking about oil perhaps it was apt that the snacks were fried