Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

It will be all rightAs if mirroring the despondency the human race feels while caught in lockdowns and infection waves a pair of squirrels at Shivaji Park give each other TLCTales about love and lossMumbaibased writer Kashif Mashaikh who has worked closely with author S Hussain Zaidi on several writing projects and currently works for a startup is set to release his debut fiction titled Mortuary Tales Westland Set in a mortuary in the fictional Grand Trunk Hospital in Mumbai the book revolves around Jeevanram who joins as a young apprentice and displays discomfort when confronted by death Through the nine dark tales the young man begins to understand the purpose of life ldquoThe tales explore themes like death loyalty love and loss They give us the courage to look for the light as well as the hope that itrsquoll all be okay in the endrdquo says MashaikhWhen Milkha brought up dopingMilkha Singh was never one to hold back the tough talk PicGetty ImagesLegendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh who passed away on Friday night was no stranger to controversy In September of 1978 he said something that shook the Indian sporting scene and the brickbats came rushing in for the Flying Sikh Disappointed at Indiarsquos track and field performance at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton Milkha said that some Indian athletes were on drugs during the trials for the big event The massive difference between their timings at the trials held in Patiala and at the Canada Games was enough for him to smell a rat Sportsworld magazine sent a reporter to Patialarsquos National Institute of Sports and a few athletes did reveal that doping was prevalent in some cases Milkha was not off the mark after all However in Mumbai Jal Pardivala the then vicepresident of the Maharashtra State Athletics Association ruled out doping but not the possible manipulation of timings ldquoFor us Indians referring to athletes a free foreign trip is difficult to resist By hook or by crook they must go on the jauntrdquo Pardivala told the magazine And Joe Crasto the athleteturnedcoach and sports journalist slammed Milkha called him a ldquofrustrated manrdquo Crasto added ldquoHe is mentioning doping because he is not on the committee Nor are many of his favourites in the India team This remark is against those whom he does not like But on the other hand one canrsquot blame Milkha for what he has said because everything in this country connected with athletics is in one hell of a messrdquo That was quite a storyUp and upLooks like sky is the limit for Sanchit Goyal cofounder and director of Desi RecordsmdashHaryanarsquos most premium music label set up in 2018 Their title 52 Gaj ka Daman has received immense appreciation since its release in 2020 With catchy Haryanvi beats the song has reached a recordbreaking moment by clocking in the highly coveted 1 billion views mark on YouTube in just 255 days becoming the fastest Indian track across all languages and genres to achieve this colossal feat Speaking to this diarist Goyal says ldquoWe knew that the song has come out really nice and the video has been well produced Itrsquos one of the best from our library but honestly we never thought that it will become the fastest song to hit a billion views on YouTube from India and bring Haryanvi music on the global map We are very surprisedrdquoDAG has an iconic new addressDAG is moving from Kala Ghoda to the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers in Mumbai While renovations are underway to create a worldclass gallery at an address that is synonymous with the city DAGrsquos temporary home will be the Taj Art Gallery located in the hotelrsquos heritage wing DAGrsquos flagship gallery is based in New Delhi and in 2013 with a show titled Mumbai Modern the gallery opened in the city going on to expand its activities to New York in 2015 With a researchled focus it has worked towards gaining recognition for Indiarsquos modern mastersCrown goes toAudrey Dsilva former Miss India Goa is set to launch Audreycious her own label in power dressing and pageant wardrobe Being in this industry for almost a decade Dsilva says she realised how important it is to work on looking and presenting a powerful image ldquoBuying that perfect outfit for ourselves can either get difficult or expensive thatrsquos when I decided to customise outfits that will help people look and feel confident These outfits are designed and made to suit every skin tone at affordable costs While I have targeted corporates Irsquove also focused on outfits for pageant aspirants because you want to look your best every day when you dream of winning that crownrdquo