Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Loo and beholdSinger Amaal Malik breaks into a laugh while actor Taapsee Pannu tells the audience at an event in Lower Parel that her new film is so good that people wouldnt even want to go to the washroom while watching it PicSayyed Sameer AbediLebanese bites in a Bandra eateryThe intrigue about Mediterranean cuisine in the city has seen a steady growth be it in the mushrooming of several faux shawarma stalls across the suburbs or the rise of Levantine finedining spaces And it looks like the trend is here to stay as we have news of a new eatery opening in Bandra Indian couple Atiq Kapadia and Zareen Baigs brainchild Bandras new haunt Arbab opens today and comes with the promise of authentic fareAnd to ensure that that promise is lived up to Kapadia and Baig have roped in Lebanese chef Raed Askar who is currently in town But the question is will the schezwanloving Mumbaikar warm up to the delicate intricacies of this nuanced cuisine Over the past four months of my stay in Mumbai Atiq and I have researched extensively to understand the local palate This included trying out every place serving Middle Eastern cuisine from small joints to finedining restaurants in MumbaiBut we couldnt find the real taste of Lebanon at any of the places the chef explained Speaking about the venture which will flaunt a French cafeacutelike ambience Kapadia told us Lebanons food has transformed and were happy to bring these layers of fascinating history in the freshest form right onto our diners platesSome sweet newsIf you are of a certain vintage then you would remember iconic candies of the 1980s and 90s like Kismi Melody Poppins and Phantom cigarettes And youd also remember Rola Cola the black circular sweets that had a sour tinge Its been years since its manufacturer Parle stopped production But that might be changing soon after the authorities at Parle took notice of a tweet that urged the company to bring the candy backSo they have now promised that if a post they have put up seeking public opinion on whether bringing back Rola Cola is a good idea is retweeted 10000 times they will indeed start manufacturing it again Is this a joke one particular user asked to which Parles reply was that it definitely isnt So you know what to do if you too want to pop one into your mouth again and relive your childhood Otherwise all it will remain is a sweet memoryNewage nutrition for modern kidsApart from being a celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar wears another hat mdash that of an author And having written seven books on food before mdash such as Dont Lose Your Mind Lose Your Weight mdash she will now launch her eighth title tomorrow Its called Notes for Healthy Kids and no prizes for guessing that its targeted at children We asked Diwekar what the biggest challenge was to work on a book like this for todays newage fussy kidShe said The main challenge was to talk to parents about what they could do for their kids without it sounding like instructions or judgmental It was also about writing it in a way that would appeal to kids which is why I have a section each for parents and kids on both diet and exercise But overall I must say that the book has been a joyride for me and I hope that it inspires families to keep up with their heritage of health and happinessA song to help you stay on trackIt seems like everybody and their uncle wants a slice of the Gully Boy pie From fashion labels to comedy crews people have constantly fed off the movies hype to come up with inspired content And Western Railway WR is the latest to jump on that bandwagon WR recently released a spoof track based on the films song Apna Time Aayega Called Tera Time Aayega the song serves as a warning to all those people who think they can get away without buying train ticketsThe lyrics include lines like Mere jaisa shaana TT tujhe naa mil paayega Bina ticket aya hai tu pakda zaroor jayega You wont get a more cunning TT than me You came without a ticket and are bound to get caught And there is also one that goes Jahaa tera ticket hai wahi tak tu jaayega Aisi meri nazri hai ke tu na bach payega Youll go only to the place you have a ticket for I am so alert that you wont be able to escape me Nicely done we feelThespians who play their partAt the ongoing Jaipur Navras Festival in the Pink Citys Jawahar Kala Kendra theatre artiste Abhishek Majumdars play on Kashmir Eidgah ke Jinnat was stopped from being staged when a group of protestors stormed the venue on Monday While the incident has once again stoked the debate on the frequent stifling of artistic expression in India thespians have taken it upon themselves to register their protestSameera Iyengar and Sanjna KapoorIt started soon after the incident when Purva Nareshs theatre group which staged a performance that evening maintained silence after the curtain call The cast members also showed their disappointment when fellow artistes gagged them in an impromptu act An online petition to the government of Rajasthan has been floated calling for ensuring the safety and security of all those involved in the play as well as the staff and premises of Jawahar Kala Kendra which has been signed by Sanjna Kapoor Sameera Iyengar Sunil Shanbag Jehan Maneckshaw among other wellknown artistesCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates