Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

I rest you slogIt is nap time for this dog while its human friend sweats it out at an open gym in Five Gardens MatungaAlive and kickingLast weekend marigolds mdash saffron and yellow lined the entrance of Khotachiwadi Girgaumrsquos most famous heritage neighbourhood dating back to the 1800s when a wealthy Pathare Prabhu gentleman leased land out to the East Indian community One of its mostloved residents veteran designer James Ferreira who is also cofounder of the Khotachiwadi Welfare and Heritage Trust was flying around his cottage ldquomelting from the heatrdquo checking if things were in place for Khotachiwadi Alive a weekend popup bazaar selling fashion baked goodies handcrafted jewellery antiques plants and homegrown Marathi food ingredientsEvery door of his personal residence flung open the house held no secrets as his friends rank strangers and celebrities meandered in and out before they snaked down the lane to a new design gallery that has found home here Kiran Rao Pheroza Godrej Ankur Tewari Aditi Rao Hydari Jackie Ayesha and Krishna Shroff Gauri Shinde Shyam Benegal Brinda Chudasama Miller Kunal Vijayakar Anaita Shroff Adajania Paul B Mehr Jesia Sangeeta Raghavan and Sameer Seth among others spent a few hours soaking in the kinship wersquove all missed during the pandemic A kid ran behind a mortified stray cat a couple took a selfie outside a 19th century chapel erected to pay thanks for saving the residents from the 1890rsquos plagueGallery 47A was a magnet attracting connoisseurs press and art enthusiasts for its unique take on design practices and histories air conditioning on a sweltering day and crisp beer and rose on the house Housed in the blue and yellow Crasto family home itrsquos likely to become the second cultural punctum of Khotachiwadi after the Ferreira residence East Indian treats including buff roast chicken moilee and fugiyas were sold in tiny foil parcels from Ferreirarsquos living room in a sort of culinary celebration of his familyrsquos Catholic East Indian roots A gallerist joked ldquoWhat about usrdquo She is vegetarianOutside on the street a live BBQ counter was dishing out burgers and hot dogs making it a busy corner Residents pedestrians and visitors to the gallery and popups snaked around the meat loverrsquos assembly including a few Jain sadhvis who walked by gracefully without a peep Some lanes down JSS Road a makeshift stage was hosting a play on the occasion of Ram Navami It was just another harmonious Sunday in the multiethnic neighbourhood of Girgaum Back home the TV played news of a Ram Navami shobha yatra attacked in Himmatnagar Gujarat What a let downBack to the rootsFor over a decade Panvelbased artists Rupali and Gautam Patole have been wondering how to bring their art to the general public beyond the realm of studio visits and exhibitions During the pandemic the couple found themselves moving closer to nature trying their hand at farming and even setting up a studio under a giant banyan tree in Karjat With a simple lively exposedbrick faccedilade the space started attracting local artists tribal artisans and women looking for work ldquoWe then decided to set up an art cafe there to serve homely seasonal farerdquo Rupali shared about the Roots Art Cafe which opened on Gudi PadwaLocated minutes away from ND Studio the colourful rustic hangout serves up pithale bhakri organic poha multigrain thalipeeth juices salads and more ldquoWhile you wait for your order you can experience the art Therersquos pottery our sculptures poetry on the walls and we plan to introduce block printing Even if you drop by just for a cup of tea yoursquoll return with a dose of motivationrdquo Rupali promised Gautam said the studiocafe is oneofitskind in the area ldquoItrsquos great help for farmhouse owners there who can add creativity to their spacesrdquoWorldbuilding at PrishtinaMumbai artist Sahej Rahal will showcase his work at the preliminary programme for Manifesta 14 Prishtina in Kosovo from July to October The European nomadic biennial explores the relationship between culture and civic society and investigates social change through art and architecture Approached by creative mediator Catherine Nichols Rahalrsquos art will be in response to the Kosovo Museum famous for its prehistoric artefacts In keeping with her larger curatorial aim his work will follow themes like worldbuilding and archaeological histories he intends to use discarded objects from Prishtina to create a new world in an installation that will reflect collaborative storytelling with the cityCloud coverHad it not been for cloud kitchens our cravings during the twoyear house arrest wouldrsquove had to wait In the postpandemic world the boom in the cloud kitchen space prompted brickandmortar restaurant owners to sit up and take note With the sector set to morph into a R2billiondollar industry by 2024 in India the National Restaurant Association of India NRAIrsquos Mumbai Chapter is hosting the countryrsquos first Cloud Kitchen Convention today Experts such as Anurag Katriar Dhruv Dewan Zorawar Kalra Ranveer Brar below left and Rashmi Daga among 40 others will gather to exchange notes and shed light on the way forward ldquoThe cloud kitchen business is the toughest vertical in the sector because of the disconnect with the real customer While overheads are lower the struggle to get orders and be profitable is also a big challenge The convention will lend valuable insights on how to be profitable how to stand out among the crowd and how to raise money and scale uprdquo shared Pranav Rungta right Mumbai Chapter Head NRAI and director Mint Hospitality Pvt Ltd