The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Nishi Khanna with husband, Dinesh in a file photo. Pic/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
Farewell, Nishi
Nishi Khanna, co-founder of Andheri's popular recreational venue, The Club, and hotelier Dinesh Khanna's wife, is no more. The couple was in Vaishno Devi when 61-year-old Nishi suffered a cardiac arrest. Upon reaching the shrine, her blood pressure started dropping, but despite taking a chopper ride down to a hospital in Katra, the doctors couldn't revive her. "She went down like a rose," a shattered Dinesh, executive director of Novotel, told close friends.
Her friend, publisher-entrepreneur Farzana Contractor, shares her memories of Nishi. "I am still to come to terms with the news. Anybody who knew Nishi will know that she was the nicest, kindest, sweetest person who had such a zest for life. Three nights ago, we [a few friends] were having dinner at The Club. Nishi had refurbished and renovated a restaurant at the venue. She was so full of life and warmth, looking after all the guests.
She had no history of illness. I simply cannot believe that she is gone and the messages of shock and grief have not stopped; my phone has been ringing constantly." Even as we spoke, we could hear callers trying to get through on her line, "most probably to ask about this shocking news," she finished. Nishi's final rites will take place at Vile Parle on Saturday.
Live like a desi in India
Keeping up with the times, the Ministry of Tourism announceda partnership with Google Arts and Culture yesterday to unveil a 360-degree virtual reality video for the global Incredible India tourism campaign. In addition to that, we also came across a new ad by Backpack Films.
While the usual suspects such as Mumbai's seaface, Cafe Mondegar, the sweeping ghats of riotous Varanasi, Kerala's backwaters and tea plantations form part of the video, what appealed to us was the focus on the experience of living like a local rather than ticking off heritage sites on a must-visit list.
Pic/Bipin Kokate
Eyes wide open
Something seems to have caught actor Yami Gautam by surprise at an event at a SoBo five-star on Thursday.
Life in a metro
Dilli chronicler aka @thedelhiwalla manages to keep us engaged about the sights, sounds, smells and junta with his astute reading of the city through the eyes of a layman.
His nuanced reading of the capital often makes hardcore Bombaywallas like us look at the city through a softer lens, like the time we came across this slice-of-life vignette. He wrote: 'pity the Modern Man...They into Mobiles...Envy the Modern Woman...She into Books.' Hmmm. In this respect, Delhi is no different from Mumbai.
Japan's Michelin starry surprise
Recently, we had the pleasure of catching up with one of Mumbai's first truly world-class chefs, whose travels across the globe would put both a backpacker and a food historian to shame. When talk veered to Michelin stars, Japan came up for special mention.
The worldly-wise chef told us that it boasted of an unusually high number of Michelin-starred restaurants. And when we enquired the reason for it, he dropped a bomb. Apparently, a whopping price tag is the going rate for any restaurant aspiring to earn a star (or stars!). The tougher the competition, higher the rates. Phew. We're glad that this sort of horse-trading hasn't reached India's culinary establishments.
Curating the Junoon
Since January 2014, Junoon's co-founders Sanjna Kapoor and Sameera Iyengar have been bringing artists and scientists directly in conversation with people, in the Mumbai Local sessions at venues across the city every month. The numbers are fascinating: 185 sessions, 120 artists, 25 scientists.
In fact, in July 2017 they even went live on Facebook and had people from across India and as far away as Sydney and Atlanta tune in. Now they've added more heft to their curatorial process by roping in cultural heavyweights Paromita Vohra, Ranjit Hoskote, Ramu Ramanathan, Bishakha Dutta, Arnab Bhattacharya and Vijay Kenkre.
Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
