Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

Sky's the limit

A man cleans a model fighter aircraft hoisted at Bandstand in Bandra

Bake in the game at Santacruz

The newly minted Santacruz outlet is currently their third in the city

Old-time residents of Santacruz will remember that Willingdon Colony once housed an outpost of the iconic American Express Bakery. Opened in the mid-1930s, the bakery served its delicacies from the outpost till 2002, post which a popular café chain sprouted in its place. The café shut down in 2018. We now hear that American Express Bakery has quietly reopened its doors again at the spot. Yohann Carvalho of the Carvalho family, the founders, shared that the space survived substantial damage due to redevelopment work on the building, which was later stalled. The newly minted outlet is currently their third in the city, and also houses a café. "With this outlet, we have tried to envision how we want our other outposts to look like in the future. We are gradually increasing our product range, and in good time, we'll serve a veg eggless menu. We will also be serving fresh sandwiches, rolls, and a few baked items soon at the café," Carvalho told this diarist. He added that they are also showcasing and retailing a few products from Goa, such as organic brown rice, Goan pickles and chorizo at the store. They are still doing up the décor, which he described is a combination of their traditional brick maroon palette and a few modern touches. Welcome back to Santacruz.

Nizami notes

Greeted by a honeyed aadab, this diarist wonders if chef Dilnaz Baig's sweet voice results from the khubani ka meetha she prepares in her kitchen. The Nizami cuisine chronicler, who is in the city for a collaboration with Ummrao, the Juhu fine-dine, reminisced about her city connections, "Bombay, like New York, is quite a verb! I have lived here for seven years with my husband, including when the 1993 bomb blasts happened. I used to work as a grassroots' level welfare worker. I would visit Dharavi with my colleagues." Baig vouches for preserving recipes from Nizami cuisine. "Before being Nizami, they are my family recipes. I cook what we eat, what's part of my nanihal and dadihal. I miss my father while cooking as he was my biggest critic and admirer. He used to tell our guests that whether they like the food or not, taarif is a must." She is looking forward to meet her friends who live in Juhu and South Mumbai.

Hooping up for a cause

AP Dhillon playing basketball at the session

Before his performance tonight at Lollapalooza, artiste and record producer AP Dhillon warmed up with a charity game of basketball earlier this week. The game saw two teams of children under the age of 14 from across 12 BMC schools. The kids were trained in the game over four years under the Hi5 Youth Foundation and BookASmile initiative. He shared, "Basketball has always been my favourite sport to watch and play. Although my life has taken a different path, I have been looking for a way to give back to the community I grew up in, to help provide resources for the next generation to chase their dreams."

Watch 'em zoom

A skater boy spotted on Gurunanak Road in Bandra

People-watching can be a lovely pastime on the streets of Mumbai. And, Bandra - the eclectic hub that it is - tends to offer interesting vignettes. Recently, this diarist spotted a skater girl and skater boy glide on Gurunanak Road, zipping through the lane at top speed, making small leaps on and off the sidewalk. It's exciting to spot the rising popularity of this aspect of hip-hop's street culture. Apart from the cool factor, we also feel it is a quicker way to commute and beat the traffic.

A city of its people

A map of words to describe Shillong

Have you ever thought of impersonating a city? In sync with the spirit of Republic Day, Kommune - a platform known to house words and artists - launched their Republic Of Us initiative. Over 30 artistes were asked to choose being a city and the reason for their choice. About the idea conceived by their director Tess Joseph, content lead Shantanu Anand said, "It was a means to see cities through people. I loved how netizens shared their thoughts in the comments section. While this year, we have created maps of words and published them digitally, next year, we want to make this a physical event." They have also received city-specific footage which will be compiled into a video. Joseph said about being Mumbai, "I'd be the hope of a redevelopment scheme."