Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Only Gmail for Garfield
We totally dig the OMG trivia that these guys post on social media.

Clearly, they take their name (OMGFacts) seriously! Being fans of the cool cat, Garfield, this diarist had to share this one with our readers: At one point, Gmail was the email service of the Garfield website. PIC COURTESY/@OMGFacts

The Bard's books are ready to go under the hammer
There's great news for collectors of the Bard's works. Auction house Christie's is set to auction William Shakespeare's first four folios. These are the first four editions of his collected works and will be offered in a four-lot auction celebrating the 400th anniversary of his passing.

The most important item of the sale is the First Folio that contains 36 plays, 18 of which had not been printed previously and would have otherwise been lost forever. The First Folio is also widely regarded as the most important publication of the English language, estimated at £800,000-1.2 million.

The Second Folio is celebrated for containing the first appearance in print of John Milton, whose epitaph on Shakespeare is included. The Third Folio is more rare than the second due to many copies of it being lost in the Great Fire of London (September 2-5, 1666). It also includes the play Pericles for the first time.

Londoners will be treated to a public display from April 20 to 28. The works will later be exhibited for pre-sale view in May. The auction is set to take place in London on May 25. We wait for could very well be a historical moment. The sale of the complete set is expected to realise in excess of £1.3 million.

Chandigarh to Mumbai
Celebrated photographer from Chandigarh, Ajay Bhatia is in town. An ardent admirer of artist and architect Le Corbusier, Ajay hails from the first planned city in India - indeed, the first and only inhabited city in the world to be fully conceived and designed by the French visionary.

The Open Hand Monument at the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh was designed French modern architect Le Corbusier. Pic Courtesy/AFP

Using ‘the play of light', Bhatia will illuminate what he finds fascinating about his hometown Chandigarh and what he finds beloved about his hero. We wish him the best for his upcoming exhibition at a Juhu hotel. But being quite proud of our city, we are glad to share that the same hotel has teamed up with Alliance Bombay for our very own photo competition.

All you need to do is click a photograph of Mumbai's architecture, give it an original description and post it on the Facebook page of the institute. There's a cool gift awaiting the winner of the contest as well. Time to go trigger-happy in Mumbai.

It's a band new day

Later this week, Gino Banks (drums), Sheldon D'Silva (bass guitar), Reenie (vocals), Ravi Chary (sitar) and Tubby (keyboards) will launch their new band, Violet Chords. The musicians will jam together for a fusion concert at a nightclub in the city.

Community stew
The Anglo Indians remain one of the tiniest communities in the city, and in their own quiet way have assimilated into the melting pot that is Mumbai. Throwing light on them, a recently-released documentary, The Forgotten Stew, received special mention at the just-concluded Nashik International Film Festival.

Writer-producer Cheryll Rebello with the citation at the Nashik International Film Festival

Written and produced by Cheryll Rebello and directed by Richard Kazn Young, the acknowledgment (just two entries were felicitated) is a shot in the arm for the filmmakers. Sharing the news with this diarist, Rebello says, "The main objective was to bring awareness of the community's existence and survival.

Amelia (Greene) D'Souza, a singer at Gaylord's in Churchgate in the 1970s, is featured in the documentary

Those interviewed (ranging from 21 to 96 years) had compelling stories to share, and so, the final edit, especially, was tough. Such recognition at a festival is a confidence-booster for the community." Filled with delightful anecdotes from its members, it offers deep insight into the community. The filmmakers hope to travel with the documentary to several festivals in India and overseas.

Vino encounters
Mumbai has a visitor from Turin, Italy. Stylish winemaker Polina Bosca from Italy's famed Bosca family will be in the city tomorrow to launch an entry-level semi-sparkling wine for women that will be introduced in the market by a popular Indian brand.

Polina Bosca

The event will be held in a suburban hotel, where the sixth-generation businesswoman will take the select audience down memory lane about the family's legacy in making some of the world's finest and most celebrated wines, and about the business of winemaking. The heritage buff that we are, it was interesting to learn that Bosca Cellars in Italy was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

Chillin' with the boys
Maybe we're missing sunny Goa.

Pic courtesy/benny dayal's instagram account

We stumbled upon singer-songwriter Benny Dayal's click that he posted on social media with buddies Salim Merchant (who gave it a thumbs up), Abhijit Vaghani, Karsh Kale and Aftab Khan during a chill trip to the scenic state. The frame mirrors the ‘Dil Chahta Hai' vibe, no?