Around the world in 80 plates

Great chefs never rest Soon after he stirred the Indian FampB pot in Mumbai and Delhi with his famous molecular gastronomy dinners last month Kolkataborn and Bangkok based Gaggan Anand rated as one of the worldrsquos greatest chefs his restaurant Gaggan in Bangkok was listed third amongst Asiarsquos fifty best restaurants this year was off on another adventure This time to Moscow where he held fort at Door 19 Arthouse ldquoDay one begins we start cooking tonight Wherever we travel we carry bags of ingredients and equipment but when come we back we do so full of new ideasrdquo said the man who interned at the legendary El Bulli in its glory days NiceGaggan Anand in MoscowSmart Art moveldquoIrsquove been thinking about ways in which I can share my work with an engaged public while continuing to innovate and experiment with my visual languagerdquo said artist and curator Sharmistha Ray about the launch of Bellevue Brunches a kind of athome art adda held yesterday at her residencecumstudio in KharSharmistha Ray with Devita Saraf and Saloni Doshi in front of Rayrsquos lsquoCity of ErosrsquoRay who used to live in New York before moving to Mumbai says ldquoI am opening up my studio and practice to allow access to a range of people and allow them into the process and in turn it opens up the worlds to which I engage with This is partially a social experiment The closest thing I can think of is Warholrsquos famed New York studio The Factory which became a legendary hangout for a crosssection of people Eventually these hangouts led to famous collaborations with his workrdquoWe have always liked it when people rethink how to infuse spaces with new meaning Kamala Das holding poetry readings at her home at Churchgate in the eighties Art being exhibited recently at High Street Phoenix flash mobs dancing at Churchgate Station book readings at the Tasting Room street theatrehellip urban living calls for innovative ways to express ourselves and Rayrsquos concept could be just what the art world needsldquoItrsquos on this Sunday from 1130to 230rdquo shersquod said ldquoand about 60 people are invitedrdquoAnd though we didnrsquot meet all 60 from the looks of it Bellevue Brunches launched yesterday with a strong representation of Mumbairsquos art and media crowd like Gieve Patel Tasneem Mehta Gitanjali Dang Anupa Mehta Ranjit Hoskote Nancy Adajania Shilpa Gupta Manrsquos World editor Radhakrishnan Nair and Elle magazinersquos Aishwarya Subramanyam along with Amrita and Sumit Chowdhury Saloni Doshi Devita Saraf was off to a flying startldquoI was prompted to do this because I felt that Bombay has a dearth of cultural spaces especially the further up north you go Art is also almost viewed in the manner of commerce or transactionally in galleries I am always crossing the sealink to go to town for an exhibition or lecture and the brief engagements with people at these events always leaves me wanting for more direct engagements A continuation of the conversation hopefully in time the direction of traffic for these events will flow in the opposite direction from South to Northrdquo said Ray with a tiny smite at prevailing SoboNobo snobberyMumbai boy makes goodCongratulations are due to Mumbai boy the LAbased Rohit Shukla who has been appointed to the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship advising the US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker last week Shukla who has a degree from Cambridge University was Founder CEO at the Larta Institute a private nonprofit consulting firm contracted by governments around the world to help create initiatives to promote entrepreneurshipRohit ShuklaWe used to know Shukla in our college days and have been in touch again after many years through Facebook ldquoWe are committed to innovators and entrepreneursrdquo he said about his appointment adding ldquoIn the words of Doug Larson lsquosome of the worldrsquos greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossiblersquordquoFirst week on the jobShersquos always stood out for her style and spunk which is why when we heard that Anisha Oberoi the attractive INSEAD alumni had been hired by Amazon India as its Fashion Editor we were not surprised A cancer survivor Oberoi had not allowed her disease to stop her from fulfilling her lifersquos ambition of studying at the premier European biz school and had worn her shorn head with as much eacutelan as she had her Jimmy Choos And unsurprisingly there was not a dull moment for her on her first week at the job with Amazonrsquos legendary creator Jeff Bezos dropping inAnisha Oberoi and Jeff Bezosrsquo selfieldquoWelcome to Amazon Anisha what an exciting first week for yourdquo ldquoThrilled to be here Jeff But first let me take a Selfierdquo she posted along with this delightful pictureGiving back in styleldquoIt is an initiative started by Vidit Bhandarkar Aditi Guha and my daughter Ameesha Durazi all three students of the Cathedral and John Connon School in the 12th grade to raise funds for sports equipment uniforms and other suppliesrdquo said designer Shahab Durazi when we asked him about the striking graphics that that wersquod chanced upon for the Childrenrsquos remand home in Umerkhadi ldquoThey got to know about it from a teacher who himself is involved in helping the children for some yearsrdquo says DurazildquoAmeesha has designed the posters Aditi has designed the website ndash their main goal is to create awareness and initiate a collection driverdquo said the designerItrsquos a pleasure to see these young children give back to the community with selfless devotion GROW Give Remandhome children Opportunity and Will is the brainchild of these three wonderful kids