Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Going live againWe had reported in these pages earlier this month that live gigs at Lower Parel venue AntiSocial were being stopped due to rising COVID19 cases in the city after a state government advisory stating the same That situation remains but Khar Social another outlet of the same chain in the suburb is hosting a gig on April 1 featuring EZ Riser in pic and debutant Rehh Rehh Mayank Bhatt brand head of Social explained that they have police permission for it since itrsquos a large venue with an outdoor section meaning crowds can be managed better ldquoIt has a capacity for 200 people but we will keep it at 50 per centrdquo he sharedFun memories with FloydFloyd Cardoz centre with Sameer Seth and Yash Bhanage right coowners of The Bombay Canteen O Pedro and Bombay Sweet ShopIt was on March 25 last year that the pandemic claimed one of the giants in the Indian foodscape mdash Floyd Cardoz The celebrated chef was a global icon who headed the kitchen at Tabla a finedine in New York and launched Paowalla later redesigned as Bombay Bread Bar in the same city In Mumbai he was one of the brains behind popular eateries The Bombay Canteen TBC and O Pedro and dessert hotspot Bombay Sweet Shop Tributes poured in for Cardoz on his first death anniversary considering the shining legacy he has left behind Speaking about it Sameer Seth coowner of TBC told this diarist ldquoChef was such a prankster he had this naughty smile after each prank and it was always a fun time working with him We miss his warmth and the ability to make everyone feel comfortablerdquoRahul goes to GoaFoodies in Goa are in for a treat next month Rahul Akerkar of Lower Parel finedine Qualia will be hosting a 10day popup starting April 2 at Ahilya by the Sea a boutique hotel in the sunshine state The event will witness the hotel opening its doors for nonresident guests for the first time They will start their meal with sundowner drinks and nibbles set against a backdrop of the sea After that Akerkar will serve two seatings daily of his set menu which partly draws inspiration from Akerkarrsquos own familial connection to that part of the country ldquoMy fatherrsquos family is from a village called Sawantwadi just north of Goa And the kindof cooking they do is similar to the Gaud Saraswat Brahmin cooking common to Goan householdsrdquo the celebrated chefrestaurateur shared Digging a well of hopeWater shortage is one of the biggest crises that the adivasis at Chinchwadi village near Neral face An initiative called Vanfeva decided to address this issue recently when its volunteers joined forces with locals to dig a well there thatrsquos equipped with waterharvesting solutions Dilip Jain of Vanfeva told this diarist that the process involves blasting rocks on one day villagers clearing the rocks the next day and a JCB boring holes on the day after that with the entire process being repeated till the well is ready ldquoWe will have it functional before the monsoonrdquo Jain in pic said adding that the aim is to help women who have to walk around four km a day to fetch waterAnd the award goes toOrganised by Margaobased publishing house CinnamonTeal Publishing the Publishing Next Industry Awards were instituted to recognise the efforts of publishers big and small The winners and runnerups for the 2020 edition were announced yesterday While Rahul Soni was declared Editor of the Year Vishnu M Nair won Illustrator of the Year Veteran actor Pankaj Kapur made quite the splash as his debut novel Dopehri won two awards Cover of the Year Indian languages for designer Bonita Vaz Shimray and Printed Book of the Year Indian languages Ruskin Bond added another laurel to his kitty as Words From My Window was voted Illustrated Book of the Year It was also refreshing to see diverse narratives in childrenrsquos literature receive recognition Nagalandbased artist Canato Jimorsquos Snip won in the Ages 0 to 8 category while Inside a Dark Box by Ritu Vaishnav emerged as the winner for eightplussers