Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Sameer Markande

Just angling around

Since the gates at Sassoon Dock are shut during monsoons, some fishermen were seen scaling the walls to get out of their boats.

O, Pia Pia

Pia with her kidney pudding

On Friday, Promina Dasgupta Barve, known for her delicious bakes and lip-smacking Bengali-style cooking passed away at her Bandra home. The daughter of legendary culinary author Minakshie Dasgupta who ran Kolkata's first Bengali food restaurant, Kewpie's Kitchen, Pia wore many hats. She began Food Boutique, a professional catering service in the 60s. She was the first woman in the country's meat packing trade, and played a crucial role in exporting frozen mango pulp for Mafco. She hosted sit-down meals in her home and catered her famous bread rolls, succulent roast turkey, crabs and fish curry. Remembering her, home chef Ananya Banerjee says, "When she was hospitalised a few days ago, she asked me to do a special meal for her husband and son, which was a rare request. Once back home, I cooked her a Bengali fish curry. She said that the food reminded her of home."

Before Stokes, there was Lloyd

West Indies captain Clive Lloyd warming up at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 1, 1982. Pic/Getty Images

There are quotes and there are immortal quotes. "We are not cars, you can't just fill us up," uttered by England all-rounder Ben Stokes as he decided to quit one-day international cricket, will go down as a memorable one. However, he's not the first big-named cricketer to relate cars with excessive cricket. This diarist recalls interviewing West Indies legend Clive Lloyd in Mumbai nine years ago when, while speaking about then India captain MS Dhoni needing a break, the 1975 and 1979 World Cup-winning captain, remarked: "Cars break down and they are made of steel. You must think about whether they are playing too much cricket and are they playing to potential."

Ben Stokes

Excessive cricket was a sore point even in earlier eras, but only few players spoke about it. Ravi Shastri did when he was India's stand-in captain in 1988. He told Sportsworld magazine: "I will pick my matches in the future. I will not play the full county season [for Glamorgan] in 1988, nor the full domestic season. There is a great danger that most of us, like Bjorn Borg, will leave the game and retire by 26. Mental exhaustion has been killing for us cricketers; we play all through the day and often take the evening flight or coach out to the next venue. Would you believe it, I have not spent more than 30 days in a year put together at home; have not had a holiday at home for a week at a stretch in the last eight years; have not been home in eight months combined in the last 96 months! Ravi Shastri would be a better player if he had three months off in every 12!" And the cricketing world will be a better place if there are more voices like Stokes, Lloyd and Shastri.

Racing off into the sunset

Mahendra Mallya, racing's man about town, or, in this case the turf, has decided to hang up his racing boots and enjoy a retired life. Mallya has been associated with Indian racing, especially the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) for more than 30 years. ‘MM' now has decided to take the easy chair, "remote in hand and good ol' bubby by my side," he said with a laugh. Mallya was seen and heard (both literally) at the Mahalaxmi turf. He used to do commentary at the Mumbai and Pune race courses since 1990 till a few years ago. Of late, he was also writing on racing for a portal. He was omnipresent at ‘The Breakfast of Champions' an early morning pre-Derby event where the media interacted with trainers, jockeys and owners. The commentator is now going to learn a new skill - the very fine and especially admirable art of doing nothing.

Tryst to get another makeover

Tryst owner Gurmeet Arora

Our SoBo khabri has told us that nightclub Tryst is shutting down. Don't be disappointed just yet - we hear that it's getting a makeover, and will be back soon. The club, that opened in 2015, has been a go-to for all townie kids who wanted to let down their hair. Launched by co-owners Gurmeet Arora, Rishi Acharya, Jeetu Navlani and Rajiv Tandon, in years pre-2015, it was known as Ra. The club was supposedly the home for all big spenders - there were rumours of the Ambani kids hanging out there - and was known for its glitzy lighting and private tables. Well, at a time when Mumbaikars are itching to go out every night, a new improved Tryst will surely add to the exciting mix.