The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce.
Pic/Sameer Markande
In happy waters
Kids make the most of their lockdown vacation by swimming in Mulund's Navghar lake on Monday. Pic/Sameer Markande
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Loaded birthday greetings
Late Balasaheb Thackeray was known for plainspeak and cracking jokes, while his son, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray can floor anyone with his intended puns. However, on Thackeray's birthday yesterday, the outspoken deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, rarely known for his diplomacy, and driven by instinct, had his cake and ate it too. Wishing him on his birthday, Ajit tweeted a picture of him driving a NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) with the CM beside him.'
The post received high traction on social media because it was seen as Pawar's way of saying who was in the driving seat of a three-wheeler called the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. His timing seemed perfect as Thackeray said in his recent interview to Saamna that he was steering the MVA from the front seat with the NCP (Pawar's party) and Congress in the back seat; he had cautioned leaders that they wouldn't get what they wished for from their new party, if they switched over to the BJP. Neither Ajit nor the Sena responded to the reactions that the birthday greeting received.
However, this diarist has learnt that the post could create a distance between the two just when they had begun bonding this past one month, overlooking how an unpredictable Pawar had joined hands with the BJP to form a short-lived government before the MVA came into being. Last evening, Pawar drew the curtains on the episode by visiting the CM at his Kalanagar residence.
Comics for the win
Nadya (Scholastic India) illustrated by Debasmita Dasgupta is a nominee
As part of its Pop Culture Forum, the nominees for this year's edition of the Comic Con India (CCI) Awards have been announced. The categories include Best Graphic Novel/Comic Book of the Year, Best Children's Illustrated Book of the Year, Best Writer, Best Colorist and Best Web Comic.
And the competition looks tight with big publishers like Penguin Random House India and Scholastic India, and independent ones such as Holy Cow Entertainment and Bakarmax in the pool.
Speaking to mid-day, CCI founder Jatin Varma said, "As this is the first-ever digital event for us, we were slightly nervous about the engagement but as we conclude day one, we are overwhelmed. The response and attention showed by fans of pop culture and the burgeoning artist community is gratifying."
Serving SoBo humour
Diya Parakh, a 22-year-old Colaba resident, never anticipated that she would wake up to over one lakh views on a video she posted on Instagram. The clip detailing the charades of SoBo kids and their drivers gave everyone, including Karan Johar, a good laugh and went viral.
Parakh, who works with a production house, made an account for her videos only in end-May — the first one was about introducing your non-Parsi boyfriend to your Parsi parents and her most recent one, is about SoBo kids chasing their dad's will. Parakh told this diarist that she plans to continue with the series and go beyond that, too. "I find life humorous. I've always been interested in theatre and imitating people. With that [viral] video, I was also subconsciously trying to deliver a message. The way we talk to our drivers is ridiculous," she said.
95 years of Tyeb Mehta
Shireen Gandhy with Tyeb Mehta and Darryl D'Monte. Pic courtesy/Chemould Prescott road
It's been over a decade since the city, and the world at large lost one of its great modernists. But Tyeb Mehta's legacy lives on, and gallerist Shireen Gandhy of Chemould Prescott Road took a moment to relive it on social media with heartwarming pictures from the archives — celebrating both the painter and the person.
About her family's relationship with Mehta, she shared, "Tyeb came to understand my father and was able to steer him to his own needs in his own way. Whereas [with] my mother and Tyeb, there was mutual respect. There was little Tyeb could joke with her about (She was the 'strict one' in this equation!)"
Look who's making new tunes
Anyone who has been following the Bangash brothers, Amaan and Ayaan, on social media would know that they have an affinity towards attire in a combination of black and blue, and fashion in general. No wonder, then that the sarod maestros, who have now decided to launch their own fashion line, have concentrated on those two colours — so much so, that they are even calling their label Black Blue.
The clean-cut designs will feature inspiration based on the siblings' favourite instruments. Ayaan told this diarist, "It's been a long-standing desire for us to start some kind of clothing line that conveys and resonates with the ethos of who we are. Music and fashion are two things that amalgamate beautifully and also is a reflection of us, the individuals."
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