<h2>Goddess&rsquo;s work</h2>
<p>Shopkeepers &nbsp;in Lalbaug arrange figurines of <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/culture/article/how-maharashtrians-in-mumbai-celebrate-goddess-gauri-homecoming-23310223" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Gauri ahead of Gauri Pooja</a> on Friday.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Wild frames</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Indian-Chameleion_e.jpg" alt="Indian Chameleion; Grey Crowned Crane. PICs COURTESY/KARAN SOLANKI; VRUSHALI KISHOR UTEKAR" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Indian Chameleion; Grey Crowned Crane. PICs COURTESY/KARAN SOLANKI; VRUSHALI KISHOR UTEKAR</em></strong></p>
<p>Ace photographer Dabboo Ratnani (right) is set for a meeting with showstoppers of a different kind this month. As part of the jury of the Accord Equips Wildlife Photography Exhibition and Awards in Bandra, Ratnani will join wildlife photographer Apurv Isaac and filmmaker-photographer Kenneth Lawrence to pick the best shots from more than 300 submissions. Fifty of these shots will be on display at Bombay Art Society later this month.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Dabboo-Ratnani_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Mumbai&rsquo;s young photographers have brought out some real lookers from the wild &mdash; Andheri-based photographer Karan Solanki&rsquo;s Indian Chameleon, for instance. &ldquo;I was herping in the wild near Alibaug when I spotted the chameleon resting on a short bush. We had already packed up for the day, so I chose to capture a shot on my smartphone. It was serendipitous that the photograph has now been shortlisted in the mobile phone category,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<h2>A movement of hope</h2>
<p>While some global artistes have chosen to take the middle road this week, for Aditi Mangaldas, it was &lsquo;impossible to not be affected&rsquo; by the events of global conflict, and the traumatic repercussions they continue to leave behind.&nbsp;Her own expression of the experience forms the crux of the upcoming production, The Absence of Presence, which will open at the NCPA on October 31.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Aditi-Mangal_e.jpg" alt="Aditi Mangaldas. PIC COURTESY/NCPA" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Aditi Mangaldas. PIC COURTESY/NCPA</em></strong></p>
<p>Speaking about the production at the SoBo venue, Mangaldas shared that the contemporary dance showcase will unite the Western orchestration of the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/culture/article/ncpa-to-host-symphony-orchestra-of-india-autumn-2026-season-this-august-check-all-the-details-here-23643000" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI)</a> with the Indian musical strains and Kathak-based movements of Mangaldas&rsquo; team. &ldquo;It is not a fusion though,&rdquo; she smiled, warning this diarist.</p>
<p>Rushil Ranjan, associate artiste at the Royal Albert Hall, will take on collaborative duties as composer. The production will feature a live orchestral accompaniment. &ldquo;It is a continuation of the NCPA&rsquo;s efforts to pioneer artistic collaborations. It is also a subject that is necessary, contemporary, and artistically exceptional,&rdquo; shared Khushroo N Suntook, chairman, NCPA.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Cooking it up from Mannar to Mumbai</h2>
<p>We like chefs who travel before they cook. This weekend, chef Goku aka Gokul Kumar Mohit (right), co-founder of Chennai&rsquo;s Tamil Quarter and a chef trained in Michelin-starred kitchens, brings the Gulf of Mannar to Mumbai as part of Uncharted India at MSK (formerly Magazine St. Kitchen), Byculla.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Chef-Goku_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>His research took him to fishermen, home cooks, artisans, and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, helping him understand the region&rsquo;s foodways. The 12-course menu travels from Tuticorin to Ramanathapuram, drawing on the Gulf&rsquo;s shared food geography of fishing, preservation and dryland cooking.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Think Manja Vaada with Maasi (dried tuna) and Eral Thoppa, featuring squid and shrimp, among others. The menu also explores Tamil Muslim cooking through Kayalpatnam Ahani Biryani, a white biryani made with coconut milk, pandan and Seeraga Samba rice. Goku&rsquo;s approach is simple: research first, technique later. Rather than reinventing the cuisine, he says he wants to understand the people, ingredients and practices before deciding where his own technique belongs.</p>
<h2>All&rsquo;s well at Cafe Mysore</h2>
<p>Foodies who are missing Caf&eacute; Mysore&rsquo;s crispy-golden dosas and gadbad idlis dearly, amid the temporary closure, can rest assured. Following queries from hungry readers, many of whom were concerned by rumours of an <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/maharashtra-fda-crackdown-tukaram-mundhe-led-team-seizes-adulterated-food-products-worth-over-rs-10-lakh-three-arrested-23650337" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">FDA crackdown</a>, this diarist dialled owner Naresh Nayak for the real scoop.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/sep/Cafe-Mysore_e.jpg" alt="A signboard outside the restaurant informs patrons of the break. PIC COURTESY/REDDIT" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>A signboard outside the restaurant informs patrons of the break. PIC COURTESY/REDDIT</em></strong></p>
<p>&ldquo;We have had no issues with authorities, or licences. We have been a 16-hour-a-day, six-day-a-week operation for the last six years, without a real break. We have used this period both to complete an extensive modernisation and infrastructure programme. Most of the transformation work is now substantially complete, but we have not fixed a reopening date yet,&rdquo; he informed this diarist. No gadbad here, folks.&nbsp;</p>

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Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

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