Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

Leap of faith

Kids somersault and dive into the sea near Versova Jetty

When Kapoor ate like a Keralite

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor recently showed his fondness for Malayali fare when he drove down to Bandra's thattukada or street food cart-style joint, Nair On Fryer. Kapoor, this diarist learnt, was at the newly opened eatery to dig into their Eid-special offerings and turned up in style. He was seen decked up in a black shirt and a white mundu. Co-founder and chef Vinod G Nair, who served the masterchef, shared that Kapoor is quite a fan of Keralite food. "He has visited Kerala and one of the things he had seemingly loved then was the thattukadas (street -stalls). So, he came and ordered almost everything. He enjoyed our signature Kerala fried chicken, Dubai chicken - a fusion of tandoori and Arabic grilled chicken - with the kuboos, Kerala chicken curry with parotta, mutton keema, and banana fry, among others," Nair recalled.

A cold case of justice

Kiran Manral and Vish Dhamija. Pic Courtesy/Wikipedia

Bandra saw a thriller unfold, quite literally, as Vish Dhamija's latest legal adventure, Cold Justice was launched at Title Waves bookstore last weekend. The British-Indian author was in town to celebrate the launch of his book. Author Kiran Manral, who hosted a conversation with Dhamija, reminded us, "I don't think there are any others writing in the space of legal fiction in India." The UK-based author is often referred to as the John Grisham of India for the same reason. Manral revealed that he now gets annoyed with that epithet. About the latest book, she said, "The book is interesting in the sense that he has a female judge at the centre of the crime, and the lawyer has to prove her innocence. It turns everything around on its head." The use of a female protagonist always brings drama, the author noted. While she would not reveal more about the plot, Manral shared, "Although the story is a standalone, some of the characters flow from an earlier novel." Dhamija has repeated characters famously in his novels; for instance with the Detective Rita Pereira series. Is it the start of a new series then? We wondered. "Only Vish can answer that," Manral said playing safe.

Owl's well with the NFTs

An owl-inspired NFT by Suvigya Sharma

With every passing day, artists are using Non-Fungible Tokens more creatively than one could imagine. Artist Suvigya Sharma has teamed up with Samuel Zekri's OwlUnited project for a multi-pronged cause - spreading awareness about NFTs and saving endangered wildlife species. "It is more of a philosophical movement," he explained adding, "It is going to be NFTs only based on owls (top), and all of them will be in 3D." The artist revealed that he had first started learning about NFTs in 2017. In 2021, he launched Perishious, his own NFT collection to help fund environmental causes. The collaboration, Sharma added, will include digital artists from across the country to create works to be auctioned at the pre-sale event. A part of the proceeds from the sale will go to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). "The idea is to save endangered species, and so I was happy to associate with them," he concluded.

A snapshot of a chance

Anishka Varma Pic Courtesy/10x10 photobooks.org

10 x 10 Photobooks has declared their new grant cycle for photographers. The invite is part of the organisation's annual photobook research programme. This year, the non-profit organisation for photobooks has picked the theme of ‘What They Saw: Historical Photo Books by Women, 1843-1999'. Considering the subject matter, the organisation has offered a special invite to female photographers from Asia, Africa and Oceania. It is a rare opportunity since the organisation is offering three grants to the amount of $2,500 each. These will be open to researchers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, or Bangladesh exploring photobook history till September 16. The Indian representation extends to jurors - Anshika Varma, Ben Krewinkel and Daniel Boetker-Smith.

Plastic wars

Ashok Kurmi in costume at Gandhi market

If you walked through Sion's Gandhi Market last Sunday, you would have been greeted by a strange sight. Ashok Kurmi hit the market dressed in a unique costume to convince vendors to promote the ban on single-use plastic. "I collected all single-use plastic bags that I could find, which were disposed of or discarded and made a suit out of it, including one to cover my face," he said. The idea was to convince vendors of the threat that plastic poses to nature and to humanity.