Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

All the worldrsquos a fieldA band of boys play cricket during low tide at the waterfront in Khar WestTelling the Tata storyMircea RaianuA professor at the University of Maryland Mircea Raianu has turned his interest towards India with a forthcoming title which will offer a portrait of the 150yearold Tata corporation The book Tata The Global Corporation That Built Indian Capitalism Harvard University Press which will be published by HarperCollins India is a oneofitskind attempt to trace the fortunes of the familyrun business Raianu who is a historian of global capitalism and modern South Asia dipped into the companyrsquos archive for his research to understand the lessons its story may hold for the future of global capitalism Among other things the book will look into Tatarsquos connections with America its control over natural resources and most importantly its understanding of philanthropyPedal missionCycling enthusiast Anand Vanjape has started a new mission He wants to donate old unused cycles to the needy When we spoke to him he said ldquoIn metros and towns of India a large number of unused old and faulty bicycles are lying on the premises of many housing societies I am engaged in promotion of cycling and have started an initiative to repair old bicycles and give them to the needy students through public participation I am receiving help from Nilesh Shinde a social worker from Kothrud Pune with logisticsrdquo His Pune initiative has even reached Mumbai and Panvel now If any philanthropist would like to donate their oldnew bicycles please contact Vanjape 9890998644 Pune or Pallavi Girish Oak 9820298180 MumbaiThe chefrsquos chef says goodbyeRameshrsquos place was Goarsquos bestkept food secret since the late rsquo80s when he set it up with his wife Sushma Pics CourtesyBawmra Jap right Chef Bawmra Jap often spoke of Ramesh as the ldquochefrsquos chefrdquoBut how do we find Ramesh The instructions to that oftposed question were specific And they came from Goa boy and designer Saviojon Fernandes ldquoTurn right from German Bakery at Anjuna into a snaky lane Take the road up to Wandererrsquos Hostel and take the left to follow the redsoiled road until you see a nonrestaurant Ask for Ramesh Donrsquot leave without trying the smoked mackerelrdquo Ramesh Laxman Kambi it took a while for this diarist to unearth the full name of a man who was simply known as Ramesh in Goarsquos food circles ran a restaurant that was sincere much like the gharguti khanayalayas that dot the Konkan coast In a shirt that soon came off in the heat Hawaiian print shorts and flipflops he stood at the entrance flashing a big smile That picture bore no trace of a man known as the ldquochefrsquos chefrdquo by some of Indiarsquos wellknown culinary talents including Bawmra JapHis famed smoked mackerel was rubbed with rock salt stuffed with Goan green chillies and wrapped in banana leaf before it was smoked on a makeshift brick oven in the courtyardA blackboard scribbled with the dayrsquos menu reflected the simple fresh catch he served using local produce rustled up in the adjoining yard where his wife Sushma assisted him the dayrsquos laundry hung to dry and cats roaming like neighbourhood thugs Ramesh was always on his feet shuttling between the kitchen and outdoors in quick strides popping by our table to revisit short stories of famous chef friends A fiveminute break while the bangda cooked in banana leaf on a makeshift oven saw him pour a drink and have a smoke with his feet up He was unhurried unrehearsed as the smoked mackerel with a side of lime and crab curry he served while reprimanding us ldquoYou city girls donrsquot eatrdquo We couldnrsquot have left the place without taking a bite of his jaggerycoconut pancakes Ten minutes ago we had heard Sushma scrape the coconut for it With local gud and a pinch of nutmeg it was a burst of flavours and texture Ramesh was Goarsquos bestkept culinary secret Just as he had lived quietly he passed on silently last Wednesday He is survived by Sushma and two daughters Divya and MithaliGreat pair figured outDesmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge PicGetty ImagesOur inhouse cricket nut saw a Facebook post earlier this week which said that Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes West Indiesrsquo opening pair of the 1970s and 1980s were the best of alltime Sure the Barbadians were exceptional and tormented the opposition when they played under Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards However our man points out that Greenidge and Haynes were not allowed to put on threefigure stands often against India in Test cricket The two occasions on which they did were in the Antigua Test of the 198283 series 296 runs and at Kolkata in 198788 114 runs across 18 Tests More trivia flows Swing bowler Balvinder Singh Sandhu had them dismissed for ducks at Queens Park Oval Trinidad in 1983 Later in the series at Barbados the hosts had a victory target of just one run and India opened the bowling with wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani Guess who scored that solitary run Greenidge or Haynes None of them as Kirmani bowled a noballA question of authenticityItrsquos been a battle of good content on Instagram during the pandemic The ones that have spread hope have done so with dance reels humour music and of course poetry But what is truly an original thought This question came up last week when poet Priya Malik added a new video verse to her Instagram in partnership with the brand Taj Mahal Tea House on May 27 The video soon sparked a debate as it borrowed stylistic and visual elements from poet Nirmika Singhrsquos AurSuno series While Malik posted the video in May Singhrsquos videos were posted between January and March earlier this year Malik is also seen in an identical white saree and blue blouse as Singh wore in her videos Singh took to her Instagram to address the issue and was eventually blocked by Malik ldquoI decided to address the situation as I found my artistic aesthetic identity and authenticity infringed upon by Malikrsquos video Both an artiste and a brand have profited off my art and vision This sets a terrible precedent for all artistes Priya refused to engage with feedback as well My management has written to the brand and Irsquom awaiting a responserdquo said Singh