Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Listen to CharlieOn the 132nd birth anniversary of Charlie Chaplin a mimicry artist drives home the most important message of the hour outside Shivdham Crematorium in Goregaon East A 55ft mask was also unveiled at the spot to spread awarenessA raily special birthdayA before top and after glimpse of the Thana viaduct eastern Great Indian Peninsula RailwayDid you know that yesterday ie on April 16 1853 on a Saturday afternoon the Indian Railways had operated its first passenger commercial run between Bori Bunder and Thana now Thane Our inhouse railway historian Rajendra B Aklekar shared that the train had three engines 14 coaches and 400 passengers In his book Halt Station India The Dramatic Tale of the Nationrsquos First Rail Lines he has documented how men women and children thronged the highest viewpoints to witness the spectacle He informed us that West Bengalrsquos Howrah and erstwhile Bombay were in a race to operate the first train ldquoHowrah was in fact ahead with 38 miles of track ready by 1853 when the Thana line opened but two mishaps left them without rail cars and locomotivesrdquo he shared adding that railway pioneer George Stephensonrsquos son Robert was the consulting engineer for the Thana line In fact a year before this milestone moment when the ldquohissing and puffing first engine arrived there was awe fear and excitement as it was pulled down a public road by more than 200 coolies near Bycullahellip Many equated it with a supernatural powerrdquo he added No wonder this cityrsquos lifeline continues to be the local train till todayA curry to rememberAs part of a series of cooking classes called Meals Ready conducted by Bengalurubased publishing house Reliable Copy artist Pushpamala N is set to perform her late friend and renowned journalist Gauri Lankeshrsquos in pic Urgent Saaru or lsquourgent curryrsquo recipe A dish taught to her by her neighbour Lankesh who was murdered in 2017 this performance also serves as an act of remembrance The recipe features in 1Shanthiroad Cookbook a collection of recipes from more than 70 contributors ldquoShe will be performing a recipe that her friend Gauri shared with her This cooking class is approached differently instead of a conventional class Pushpamala will take a more theatrical approach making food while donning the attire of Mother India The online performance is somewhere between a theatre piece and a demonstration In a way itrsquos also an extension of Pushpamalarsquos other artistic venturesrdquo said Nihaal Saizal founder of Reliable CopyMasking up for survivalLike many other sections of society the ongoing crisis has dealt a blow to the tribal community residing inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park SGNP slamming the brakes on employment opportunities Amisha H Parekh a trustee of Seva Charitable Trust which has been working with the community for six years told this diarist ldquoThe forest department recruits a lot of people But with SGNP shut again theyrsquore desperately looking for a means of livelihoodrdquo The trust has been working with these women to produce breathable cotton masks proceeds of which will go towards meeting daily expenditures Parekh added To lend them a helping hand call 9594888516 or head to sevaofficial on FacebookArt on the roadAs a part of their Outsider Moving Art and Film festival the NGO Hers is Ours is set to begin a crosscountry art journey from September 6 to November 7 ldquoWe plan to travel in a van to 18 villages from UP to Rajasthan We are inviting artists to join us Their travel accommodation and food costs will be covered Through activities like painting walls we hope to open up conversations about gender discrimination in the villages we visitrdquo founder Naomi Jahan left said To hop on to this journey write to them at hersisoursgmailcomGoila does the delivery mathWith restaurants shutting again therersquos been a lot of buzz about why orders through food aggregator apps canrsquot save them Chef Saransh Goila recently decoded the math behind this in an Instagram Reel explaining how an eatery loses Rs 2025 on every Rs 100 earned visagravevis expenditure on ads commissions offers etc Goila told this diarist that he put out the widely shared explainer to tackle the wrong impression that the entire business of restaurants shifts to delivery when theyrsquore shut ldquoOnly a part of the revenue in all likelihood around 25 per cent will move to delivery The amount we spend while dining out is more The threshold for ordering in is a maximum of thrice a week whereas earlier you were possibly going out twice a week and ordering in twicerdquo he explained Best known for his butter chickenthemed delivery kitchen Goila pointed out that aggregator apps do provide discoverability ldquoMy business thrives on these apps but restaurants donrsquot have that luxury as their bread and butter is dinein When delivery becomes their only bread and butter the economics doesnrsquot work out as they have high rentals salaries and utility bills to tacklerdquo he shared The only plea restaurants have from us is to order directly he said adding that he hopes to put out a detailed explainer to spread awareness