Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Smoking GoodA civic worker fumigates a road in Borivali East as a precautionary measure against malariaFood for thoughtSince the first lockdown last year Mumbairsquos restaurants have been shut for 256 out of 496 days whereas in Delhi restaurants were shut for 180 out of 496 days Moreover although retailers are now allowed to stay open till 10 pm restaurants are expected to close at 4 pm These are some thoughts Pankil Shah director and cofounder Neighbourhood Hospitality Pvt Ltd which runs Woodside Inn and The Pantry Cafe shared in a recent post on social media He believes that the cityrsquos civic body considers the restaurant industry special Special because although itrsquos one of the worsthit sectors the industry hasnrsquot received much help from the authorities in riding out this crisis In the post Shah highlighted several such reasons to feel special ldquoThe industry was expecting a bit more relaxation based on whatrsquos happening in other metros like Delhi The problem for the majority of restaurants is that most of our business is done post 6 pm So restricting us to 2030 per cent of our business isnrsquot helpingrdquo he shared He also reminded everyone that the future of 86000 restaurants and 10 lakh employees is at stakeA sweeter RakhiTogether Foundation is a nonprofit that not only works with young people with autism and other intellectual disabilities but also runs an Andheribased bakery which is managed by these adults Foundertrustee Sangeetha Chakrapani shared that theyrsquore currently working with a group of 24 adults with disabilities who earn from the enterprise And for Rakshabandhan theyrsquove whipped up fruit and nut chocolate bars that can be packaged in customised wrappers bearing messages for your loved ones ldquoFrom a range of muffins to chocolates laddoos cakes and healthy bites we have a huge variety of products For the Rakhi chocolates suppose you want to write a note for your sibling we can do that for you It lends a more personalised touchrdquo she added To lend them a hand when you celebrate the festival this year calltext 7021184634 to order in or drop by at their bakeryA Goan tribute for MarioDid you know that cartoonist Mario Miranda was a jazz aficionado ldquoHe was always invited to the Jazz Yatra in Mumbai and given the front row seat every year He would sit there and sketch the musiciansrdquo Goabased jazz musician Colin DrsquoCruz told this diarist And now most of these sketches will come alive in an annual global event that Jazz Goa an organisation set up by DrsquoCruz is putting together virtually to mark World Goa Day on September 12An illustration by Mario Miranda Pic CourtesyMario GalleryldquoWorld Goa Day is celebrated by Goans spread all over the globe in an effort to stay united This year we came up with the idea of animating Mirandarsquos cartoons depicting musicians and tuning them to Konkani and Portuguese songs This has never been done beforerdquo he added The broadcast will also include performances by some of the best musicians of Goa he revealed adding ldquoSince it is World Goa Day I thought of showcasing a Goan icon Mario left behind a legacy that will now come to life in songrdquo Look out for it on Jazz Goa on YouTubeStreaming benefitsOK Listen a platform for independent musicians is offering artistes another platform to monetise their art form Through their partnership with Gramrphone a UKbased audio streaming app theyrsquore enabling artistes to curate and host their own livestreams ldquoWhile hosting our live series Music For A Cause where nine artistes came on board to conduct livestreams we found that the medium offered an intimate and versatile means for artistes to connect with their audience Further many musicians are reluctant to take to video livestreams an audioonly format ensures a highquality listening experience while removing any inhibitions or barriers on the part of artistes Audience members will be able to share their feedback making for an intimate listening experience Artistes also get paid within two days of hosting and retain a 95 per cent share of their revenuesrdquo founder Vijay Basrur saidWhatrsquos brewing in BycullaSubko Coffee Roasters is slowly emerging as one of the hipster forces in the coffee roastery circuit We now hear that after their Bandra outpost they have set up shop in Byculla with Subko The Craftery ldquoIt is a specialty coffee roastery bakehouse design and subculturefocused hub adding to its original flagship specialty coffee experience in the bylanes of Bandra Westrdquo shared Rahul Reddy founder while cofounder Daniel Trulson added ldquoThe space is located in a converted warehouse in Byculla East An opening date for the public is expected soonrdquo