Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Chair pe charcha
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's sister Bhanumathi Narasimhan is helped by philanthropist Neerja Birla at the release of a book on the founder of Art of Living at a SoBo venue on Wednesday. Pix/sneha kharabe

Pic/instagram.com/priyanksukhija

A royal treat
Restaurateur Priyank Sukhija (of Tamasha, Lord of the drinks and JLWA fame) has been dropping hints on two massive upcoming projects in Mumbai on his Instagram account. The first byte is about the second outlet of Lord of the Drinks, in Lower Parel, which boasts of the longest bar in Asia and the longest island bar in the world, [so you don't have to wait for your drink again]. This space will also double up as a retail space for decor. The second is Dragonfly, a Cantonese restaurant and lounge that will open at JW Marriot by June or July. The surprise element in this venture, however, is the announcement of rapper Badshah as partner. The duo are set to share more details about the property soon. Seems like celeb partners are a new trend on the F&B scene.

Now, a Buddhist circuit in Mumbai
The gods at Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) seemed to have finally woken up. Recently, they tied up with Global Vipassana Pagoda in Gorai to promote the landmark site as part of a Buddhist circuit. A tour to this place will include a visit to the main pagoda, the Bodhi tree, Ashoka pillar, Aanapaan meditation along with a visit to the library and art gallery. It will be interesting to see how they plan to also create new Buddhist circuits in Mumbai to attract spiritual tourists from around the globe. With the city known to be a business and Bollywood hub, it will be quite a task for our babus to get tourists into spiritual mode. And then, hopefully, the Buddha will smile.

Cyrus Dastur with Jignesh Mevani

Nothing short of a houseful
It's not uncommon to see elected representatives organise free health camps or even mass weddings in their constituencies. What one doesn't come by often is a short-film night to which an MLA invites the entire town. But that's what happened at Vadgam in Gujarat recently, where MLA Jignesh Mevani invited Shamiana - The Short Film Club's founder Cyrus Dastur to bring select shorts to his constituency.

The Vadgam screening

"We chose a bouquet of animated shorts and Gujarati short films, and the response was phenomenal! Whoever thought short films are for a niche audience should have seen the 5,000 plus people who turned up for the screening," Dastur told this diarist, adding that a few other politicians have also extended him an invitation for a similar event. "The reason we see so much violence or even trolling around us today is because the art and culture streak in people has gone missing. The job of an MLA or MP is not just to get a road repaired or build a school, but also to expose the people of their constituency to art. And I would be happy to take short films to more events," he said.

Say it with a book, and a biscuit!
The 2018 Women's Prize has been announced, and South Asia's women writers have done us proud, once again. In the running are Meena Kandaswamy for When I Hit You and Kamila Shamsie for Home Fire. But what added to the good news was when the folks behind this prestigious literary prize decided to announce the shortlist in an innovative way - they roped in UK's customised biscuit-makers, Biscuiteers, to bake the covers of shortlisted titles. We like the sweet endings.

Wildly interesting encounters
Janaki Lenin posted this photo of her husband, Rom Whitaker reading her book dedicated to renowned herpetologist, wildlife, conservationist and founder of the Madras Snake Park and Madras Crocodile Bank. Aptly titled, My Husband and Other Animals, she, also an animal lover, admitted that there was never a dull moment in his wild exploits.

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