The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Jacqueline Fernandez
Touched by a star
Jacqueline Fernandez blesses a fan outside Mumbai airport. A sweet gesture, though it seems the little boy was going for a handshake. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
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UK notes in India
By now, British djent band Tesseract are India veterans, having visited the country first in 2010. They have returned a number of times since then, adding to their fan base in this part of the world. And now, their legion of admirers is only going to grow bigger, because TesseracT is going on an India tour once again, with a show in Mumbai slated for January 19.
The band had once said, "It seems that the rock and metal scene is getting bigger and bigger each year in India. It'll be fantastic for us to see how it's developed over the last two years." That was ahead of a tour in 2013, and it will be interesting to see what they make of how the scene has evolved over the past five years.
Modern family
Family bonding was quite evident in the Akerkar household in Breach Candy when this diarist had dropped by recently for an interview with veteran chef Rahul Akerkar and his older daughter Shaan, who will be launching their new restaurant together in February. Now, the chef reaffirmed the observation with a sweet post he shared on social media wishing his father.
"'I wish you all to have a birthday like this one.' That's what dad wished for everyone as he cut his 95th cake tonight," Akerkar wrote. Restaurateur Karyna Bajaj wrote, "Happy Birthday, Rahul's Papa!" and celebrity photographer Atul Kasbekar, too, chimed in, "Adore this gentleman. Such a class act. My namaskars to him."
Eat like an East Indian
A slew of pop-ups over the last few years have helped foster Mumbai's diverse culinary fare that borrows from local communities like the East Indians as well as strong migrant flavours from the Deccan and beyond. But it also left us pining because a pop-up, after all, is transient.
As an answer to our wishes, we've just heard that the city will have its first brick-and-mortar East Indian casual dining space, Eastern Sunset, that will open its doors on January 7. Valencia Misquita Irani and Avion Misquita's hospitality chain are helming it. Veteran chef and East Indian Michael Swamy has been roped in as a consulting chef to curate the menu.
"It was high time someone did this. Our chefs have made regional food famous abroad, but we don't have the same here. The menu will feature authentic fare like moilee, fugias and vindaloo," he told this diarist.
What's the twist?
A couple based in Kolkata are in a passionate 10-year relationship. But the man suddenly leaves the woman to chase his dreams in Mumbai. This sets the plot for a new play, Ballygunge 1990, which will debut in Mumbai on January 12.
Written and directed by Atul Satya Koushik, it stars film and TV personalities Annup Sonii and Nishtha Paliwal Tomar. Catch the plot unfold at a Bandra venue if you're as intrigued about the twist, because there surely is one.
Matchbox art for Khushwant Singh
The late Khushwant Singh was known to be one of the country's most prolific writers, with more than 50 titles to his credit, including the iconic historical novel A Train to Pakistan that was published in 1956.
HarperCollins India released a series of eight collectible editions of his work last year that are a compilation of short stories written by Singh that feature cover art inspired by a matchbox design done by an in-house designer.
And we hear that more titles will be released in batches through the year. What's also exciting is that the publishing house has collaborated with book blogger Resh Susan, who is hosting a free giveaway on Twitter.
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