Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Write like an IndianThe Commonwealth Short Story Prize regional winners have been announced and once again an Indian has won it After Siddhart Gigoo last year this yearrsquos award goes to Parashar KulkarniThe assistant professor of Social Sciences at Yale NUS College Singapore has said ldquoI have been trying to write for many years now and I feel encouraged to continue I am thankful for the opportunity to share my work with Commonwealth Writers and with Granta I am also looking forward to reading new and exciting voices that emerge from this initiativerdquo We look forward to reading the story in GrantaI can almost hear this voicePicBipin KokateActor Tom Alter speaks at the release of Kamlesh Purirsquos centre book My Father The Villain Madan Puri at a Fort bookstore last evening The book is a tribute to one of Hindi cinemarsquos famous villains Also seen in the frame is the authorrsquos wife poet and writer Jane BhandariLisa the dancing Leicester fanWhen Lisa Ray posted this frame on her Instagram account we nearly missed the reason for this jig She wrote ldquoJust stress testing my broken toeand celebrating LeicesterCity you guys make great cheeserdquo A true fan isnrsquot sheCuppa for a causeWe like our chai and we like caring hearts and this is a bit of both Chai for Cancer Day will be held this Sunday It will be the third year of this campaignThe brainchild of Viji Venkatesh Chai for Cancer Adda is A tool to assist patients and caregivers battling cancers like chronic myeloid leukemia CML and gastrointestinal stromal tumor GIST to help generate awareness and raise funds for cancer patients by hosting a chai adda in the localityOver the last two years the movement has grown with addas having spread across 37 Indian cities Addas have been held in the homes of wellwishers hospitals and parks with requests pouring in from volunteers to host them in newer cities Those keen to know how it works or attend can log on to wwwchaiforcancerorgNo takeoff as yetThe Royal Western India Turf Club RWITC takes a break after the Mumbai season till racing resumes in the smaller western India race centre of Pune in July It usually is flythecoop time for the gentlemen of the RWITC committee who get into globetrotting mode many head to Europe or the USThe men on the dais at Mahalaxmi post the Derby One man in that picture Vijay Mallya is already in the UK though File picSome have holiday homes in England where they catch up on the gentlemanrsquos game or the races This time though work has extended beyond Mumbai season time because of a controversy that arose recently after the curtains fell on the Mumbai seasonThe RWITC committee has to find a way to present their case to CM Devendra Fadnavis next week to remove a condition that states only those who attend 15 per cent of racing are eligible to vote during the clubrsquos committee electionThe need of the hour is some quick brainstorming and a convincing explanation about why this condition that has been attached to their lsquoLicense to Racersquo should be scrapped Said one gent rubbing his hands in glee ldquoThey need to park their posteriors on the chair and work for a while no flying off to UK or US or wherever They have to earn their seats ha hardquo Well like they say temporarily grounded for matter of work The European summer can wait gentlemenBattle of the sodaRecently this diarist dropped by a new watering hole in Andheri that opened in place of Apicius called Soda Water Restaurateur AD Singhrsquos in pic hip BKC restaurant SodaBottleOpenerWala popped in our head and we wondered if there was a connectSoon we learnt that the eatery that serves mainly IndoWestern fusion eats with cocktails like ruminfused Masala Chai and Pani Puri Mojitos had no connect with AD When we asked Singh if he felt the nearsimilar name was a breach he said ldquoYes we would Didnrsquot know about itrdquo adding ldquoWe will request them to amicably change their name Perhaps they were not awareIf we meet with no luck our legal team will take it forwardrdquo OuchGoila butter chicken at your doorstepThis diarist was invited to a secret supper club by Saransh Goila author of India On My Platter where he confessed that we were guinea pigs on whom hersquod test drive dishes for a delivery service he plans to launch in Andheri at the end of this monthSaransh GoilaHe hopes to take it to the rest of the city country and later to Dubai Joining him is his friend from culinary school Vivek Sahni The conversation was flavourful with guests discussing their scuba diving expedition among sareeclad women in Tarkali to Delhiites swearing by the capitalrsquos butter chicken as they munched on beetroot tikkis mutton kebabs and baolike kulchas stuffed with mushroom and chickenButter ChickenGoila even donned his colourful aviators to demonstrate how he smoked his paneer makhani and butter chicken When we dug in both dishes lived up to the hype While we devoured the baked mango rasgulla a humble Goila confessed the tikkis were salty All in a dayrsquos work for guinea pigs we say