The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Atul Kamble
All the world’s a field
A band of boys play cricket during low tide at the waterfront in Khar West.
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Telling the Tata story
Mircea Raianu
A 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 150-year-old Tata corporation. The book, Tata: The Global Corporation That Built Indian Capitalism (Harvard University Press), which will be published by HarperCollins India, is a one-of-its-kind attempt to trace the fortunes of the family-run business. Raianu, who is a historian of global capitalism and modern South Asia, dipped into the company’s 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 Tata’s connections with America, its control over natural resources, and most importantly, its understanding of philanthropy.
Pedal mission
Cycling 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, “In 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 logistics.” His Pune initiative has even reached Mumbai and Panvel now. If any philanthropist would like to donate their old/new bicycles please contact Vanjape 9890998644 (Pune) or Pallavi Girish Oak 9820298180 (Mumbai).
The chef’s chef says goodbye
Ramesh’s place was Goa’s best-kept food secret since the late ’80s when he set it up with his wife, Sushma. Pics Courtesy/Bawmra Jap (right) Chef Bawmra Jap often spoke of Ramesh as the “chef’s chef”
But, how do we find Ramesh? The instructions to that oft-posed question were specific. And they came from Goa boy and designer Saviojon Fernandes. “Turn right from German Bakery at Anjuna into a snaky lane. Take the road up to Wanderer’s Hostel, and take the left to follow the red-soiled road until you see a non-restaurant. Ask for Ramesh. Don’t leave without trying the smoked mackerel.” 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 Goa’s 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 flip-flops, he stood at the entrance, flashing a big smile. That picture bore no trace of a man known as the “chef’s chef”, by some of India’s well-known culinary talents, including Bawmra Jap.
His 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 courtyard
A blackboard scribbled with the day’s menu reflected the simple fresh catch he served using local produce, rustled up in the adjoining yard where his wife, Sushma, assisted him, the day’s 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 five-minute 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, “You city girls don’t eat.” We couldn’t have left the place without taking a bite of his jaggery-coconut 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 Goa’s best-kept culinary secret. Just as he had lived quietly, he passed on silently last Wednesday. He is survived by Sushma and two daughters, Divya and Mithali.
Great pair figured out
Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge. Pic/Getty Images
Our in-house cricket nut saw a Facebook post earlier this week, which said that Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, West Indies’ opening pair of the 1970s and 1980s, were the best of all-time. 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 three-figure stands often against India in Test cricket. The two occasions on which they did were in the Antigua Test of the 1982-83 series (296 runs) and at Kolkata in 1987-88 (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 no-ball!
A question of authenticity
It’s 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 Singh’s #AurSuno series. While Malik posted the video in May, Singh’s 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. “I decided to address the situation as I found my artistic aesthetic, identity and authenticity infringed upon by Malik’s 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 I’m awaiting a response,” said Singh.
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