The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Kartik Aaryan
Dono haath se khilao
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Ananya Panday and Bhumi Pednekar ensure that Kartik Aaryan has his mouth full during an event in Kandivali, which coincided with Aryan's birthday. Pic/Satej Shinde
Play time
A children's play that Junoon produced being staged
Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalaya launched its Children's Museum earlier this year, and it's been buzzing with activity ever since. We had reported earlier this month how an installation that acts as a travelling library was launched on its grounds. Now we hear that the Children's Museum has joined hands with Junoon, a noted Mumbai-based theatre company, to stage plays for kids on a regular basis. The idea is to open up their imagination by staging professional theatre performances that create a magical experience. The initiative will see the light of day in December. We are looking forward.
The Trump card
We are wondering what former Congress spokesperson, Priyanka Chaturvedi, who joined Shiv Sena just before the Assembly elections, must be thinking now that a Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance is imminent in the state. At the time of her defection, Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha had lashed out at Chaturvedi. We had documented Jha's opinion on this page, when he had said, "There is nothing wrong in nurturing political ambitions but to use a circuitous deception to hop on to a diametrically opposite ideological platform is political immorality at its worst. The Congress and Shiv Sena are as different as Dalai Lama and Donald Trump. Shiv Sena is a parochial, polarising fundamentalist Hindutva organisation that has scant respect for democratic, secular sensibilities. Their misogynistic attitude towards women is legendary." That was then, and this is now, when Dalai Lama and Donald Trump are looking to come together.
Banaras has a new address
Palak and Bharat Shah. Pic/Bipin Kokate
Bharat Shah had us at Mumbai, when he said: "Mumbai is full of life and emotion — just like Banaras [his hometown]." Shah and his daughter Palak are the leading lights of Ekaya Banaras, a bespoke brand rooted in the inimitable textiles heritage.
Kanika Kapoor at the launch
Thursday evening saw the launch of the brand's first outpost in Mumbai with an intimate guest-list curated by Priya and Anjali Gaekwar. Mumbai is about chaos, but also about contemplation, of colours in equal measure of raucous and restrain, about a diverse fashion sentiment — one that dashes towards extra-opulence, and another that prefers a subtle social realism with its clothes. The store's interiors, designed by Ambrish Arora of Studio Lotus, manage to capture the dualism of its people at first glance. Our favourite: the swirling chandelier in tissue silk made by origami artist Ankon Mitra. "The easy elegance of the fabrics denotes the fast-moving everyday life of Mumbai," Palak said. And we are already sold.
Off to university
Noted poet Imtiaz Dharker has been named chancellor of UK's Newcastle University (NU), and will take on the post starting January 2020. Speaking of her role, she told this diarist, "The role is honorary, but in inviting me, NU has reconfirmed that it places poetry at the heart of its activity... I am proud to take on this role, especially when I think that this was the only university in the UK to give Dr Martin Luther King an honorary degree during his lifetime, and that he came and stood in this place to receive it."
Delicious news for Mumbai foodies
What's the food capital of India, Mumbai or Delhi? Well, going by a new list that top restaurant guide World's 50 Best, called Discovery, has launched, that answer is pretty much settled. It highlights restaurants across the world that are fit for gastro-tourism, and of the 27 Indian eateries that have made it to the list, a whopping 17 are from Mumbai, while only six are from the Capital. The city-based restaurants on it include The Guide Restaurant Awards 2019 winner for Best Restaurant, Miss T, Masala Library, Trishna (in pic) and Gajalee. Miss T co-owner Gauri Devidayal, whose contemporary American cuisine restaurant, The Table was also included, told this diarist, "This recognition of both the teams' hard work and passion is an incredible endorsement from a revered restaurant body."
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