Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Shraddha Kapoor

Stray close to me

That's what the friendly canine seems to be telling Shraddha Kapoor during a shoot at a Goregaon studio on Wednesday. Pic/Satej Shinde

Anoushka's decade of sobriety

Musician Anoushka Shankar penned a heartfelt note on Instagram recently that was accompanied by a video of her walking in the rain, which also marked 10 years of staying clean. Speaking about how humbled she is by the fact that she can get things wrong and that things can be different in reality than in her limited perception, she wrote, "Life hurts sometimes. It just does. And today I'm hurting. But I'm also here, and alive, and feeling. And trying to let the pain wash over and through me, because I've learned that's the only way to truly heal... I'm not numbing this pain with a substance. I'm growing every day [sic]."

She went on to express gratitude saying, "My children have a sober parent. I'm so grateful for what recovery has brought to my life: for the delusions it helps me to untangle." Actors Poorna Jaganathan and Richa Chadha voiced their support, while fellow musician Annette Philip, who started the Berklee Indian Ensemble, also opened up about daily struggles and how some days can be "draining, beat-myself-up for every little thing kinda day," which is when reading posts like this help. More power to you, Anoushka.

Give it up for Greta

In an attempt to mock climate activist Greta Thunberg, Donald Trump retweeted a video of her UN speech saying, "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future..." But Thunberg gave it back to him simply by changing her Twitter bio to just that.

That reflects the spirit of the girl who never gives up. Encapsulating the journey of the gutsy teen, Simon & Schuster is now ready with Greta's Story: The Schoolgirl Who Went on Strike to Save the Planet. Written by Valentina Camerini the biography will trace her story from Stockholm to the corridors of world policy. Here's hoping it serves as ready inspiration for Mumbai's young minds.

Aisha will live on

Born with severe combined immune deficiency, Aisha Chaudhary started giving motivational talks on various platforms since she was 15. In 2014, when her condition worsened, she began penning down her feelings. On January 23, 2015 her first book My Little Epiphanies was published and she passed away the following day.

Starring Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar, The Sky is Pink is based on her story and is set to release on October 11. Bloomsbury India has just announced a movie tie-in edition of the book to ensure her legacy lives on, as Danny Boyle best puts it, "Aisha's body had been failing her but she had a continent-sized spirit and it was impossible not to be touched by her bravery, her grace and her wisdom."

A meeting of museums

A collaborative workshop between the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) and The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute today will see professionals from diverse fields coming together.

The line-up ranges from gallerist Dadiba Pundole and poet Ranjit Hoskote to theorist Kaiwan Mehta and architect Rahul Mehrotra. But more importantly, it is a gathering of museum professionals from across the country, including Mallika Ahluwalia of The Partition Museum in Amritsar, Karni Singh Jasol of Jodhpur's Mehrangarh Museum and Nilabh Sinha of the INTACH Art Conservation Centre.

Not cool about the coffee anymore

Ask any restaurateur and they'll confirm that running a restaurant in India is a different beast altogether, what with a cumbersome licensing procedure and tax structure.

Adding to their plight, is a new regulation, that will come into effect on October 1, raising the GST on caffeinated beverages to 28 per cent from 18 per cent, with an additional 12 per cent cess.

So, all bottled and caffeinated beverages, including energy drinks will now cost more. "It is concerning that bottled tea and coffee which contain no preservatives, sugars or artificial flavourings, are included in the same category as energy and soft drinks.

This means our cold brew bottle prices are going up," Matt Chitharanjan, co-founder, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, told this diarist.

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