Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Of Brabourne Bocelli and batonsThe sounds of various stringed instruments led us to the side of the CCI Brabourne Stadium where maestro Zubin Mehta along with the The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was rehearsing for the grand finale concert that marked his 80th birthday celebrations After several security checks we entered the arena and spotted MC Rajit Kapur rehearse his lines A smaller section of the ground will be used to seat up to 8000Opera legend Italian Andrea Bocelli rehearses along with maestro Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra on the eve of the third and final concert that will be held at the Brabourne Stadium later today PicSuresh KKldquoWe will be using just one of the stands at the back with a screen placed at the side Those tickets will sell at Rs 500rdquo an organiser told us Giant speakers lined the stage while strobe lights along with spotlights followed the singers as they walked in to perform their piecesldquoOver 100 technicians have been at the venue since April 14rdquo he added Seating has been divided into zones and numbered similar to an auditorium setup ldquoThe birthday is going to be as grand as the old man himselfrdquo a spectator was overheard telling anotherCrew on walkietalkies with different coloured badges darted across mouthing lastminute instructions Iconic tenor Andrea Bocelli and Mexican soprano Maria Katzarava were immersed in rehearsal The maestro arrived dressed in a casual Tshirt and trousers and took his seatIn a moment he raised his baton and the magic began The rehearsal opened with Verdirsquos overture La Forza del Destino As the violin bows rose and fell the crystal clear voice of the soprano pierced through the arena this diarist was spellbound It will be Mumbairsquos night to cherishGateway gloryIts time to reveal the results of middayrsquos online poll that we ran on World Heritage Day Monday April 18We shortlisted five landmarks mdash Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Horniman Circle Elephanta Caves Gateway of India and Flora Fountain and invited readers to pick their favourite The Gateway was the outright winner Check out the pie chart above to see how each landmark fared in the popularity ratingsBirdwatchingThe Angry Birds movie trailer is out in Hindi now It has been egging us to watch this film due to release in May The pirate pigs and the brazen birds are due for the clash of a lifetimeScreen grab from an Angry Birds gameBut will Red Chuck and Bomb fight back to beat the pigs black and blue Or from the looks of it have the evil plans hatched by the pigs already succeeded Our diarist cries fowl and plans to watch this film which might soar to great heights at the box officeWill you be tweeting and hooting about our feathery friends We think not being able to fly is reason enough for the birds to be miffedA mockery thisA month ago this paper had carried a positive anonymous review of Mockingbird in Churchgate A few weeks later this diarist dropped by and had a pleasant eveningFinally SoBo could boast of a coolmeetsmature chic space we thought Last weekend we decided to give an outoftowner friend a taste of it Greeted by a packed house bar stools were the lone option on the ground floor Hoping for quieter respite we headed to the mezzanine floorWith its low ceiling and groups imagining that they were at a T20 game we had no such luck Two minutes into our chat and we were asked to shift to another table since a group had to be accommodated Sound levels had reached a crescendoWhen we requested our attendant if we could shift to the ground floor in case a table cleared he cheekily remarked that wersquod refused the bar stool option earlier The food arrived and in sharp contrast to earlier visits it was a mixed bag During the wait on two occasions incorrect orders showed up at our tableUnused chairs and cutlery were repeatedly cleared from our table making it impossible for an uninterrupted conversation As a fitting finale to our forgettable evening the tab was handed to us though we were contemplating dessertIt was disappointing to note that another space had fallen into the nowfamiliar pattern of poor service as popularity rises this despite it being early days This ainrsquot a good sign especially with SoBorsquos discerning foodies lurking aroundThreersquos companyPicAtul KambleSangeeta Bijlani centre with global fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra and Lubna Adams caught up at a fashion show held at a Worli fivestar earlier this weekHipHop all the wayThe desi HipHop scene is all set to get a muchneeded boost Urban youth video platform 101India will launch its critically acclaimed web series HipHop Homeland that kicks off on April 27 with the spotlight on some of Indiarsquos finest underground HipHop talent including upcoming rappers MC Mawali MC Tod Fod Mumbairsquos Finest and Delhirsquos Prabh Deep Sagar Mumbaibased rappers Divine will headline the eventA poster about the HipHop Homeland festivalRap was born as a political movement to bring AfricanAmerican art to the forefront of American culture and now the online platform wants to highlight the fact that HipHop artists from all over India too are using the genre to voice their opinion One of the rappers MC Tod Fod is looking forward to itldquo101India is bringing together such great HipHop artists and it is a big opportunity for me to work with them A lot of people would be turning up for the event due to the line up of popular artists and performing on such platforms will pave the way for my bright futurerdquo HipHop fans this is your time to groove