Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

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Champion boxer Mary Kom and celebrated wrestler Geeta Phogat stand out among a bunch of pahalwans as they collectively strike a pose during the launch of a TV show, at a venue in Andheri East on Friday. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Dream hacked
Dreamhack, one of the world's premier gaming events — featuring music, video games, cosplay and other forms of entertainment — launched yesterday in Mumbai, which was a first for Asia. The set-up is grand and so are the prices of the online tickets, starting at '2,999. However, there were rumours about low sales and some gamers scooped up super-premium tickets at the venue for a fraction of the original price, which stood at '15,000.

And if that was not enough to put you off the event, the organisers were also running pirated versions of games in their retro arcade section. The makeshift arcade machines constituted empty boxes that housed 76,000-in-one gaming consoles that you can pick up off the streets for '500. Not to mention the board game section, which had a knock-off Monopoly board, creatively titled Moneyply: A Trade Game.

Here's a model way to turn back the clock
The '90s is when Indian models really came into their own, after the country finally broke free of its economic shackles.

Candice Pinto, Noyonika Chatterjee, Carol Gracias, Aditi Govitrikar, Aanchal Kumar et al were suddenly household names, enjoying the sort of fame and fortune that others before them could only dream of.

And recently, designer Rohit Verma brought a whole bunch of them together for a fashion show, turning time back in the process. Check out this picture and see if you can identify the face that's been superimposed in it.

Good on you, Pal
Anuvab Pal is one of those rare Bengalis who doesn't mind poking fun at his community. But that doesn't mean that the comedian doesn't hold his home city close to his heart.

And on a recent visit there, he received a rather special gift — a waistcoat designed by Sharbari Datta, one of Kolkata's best-known fashion designers. Turns out, though, that Pal doesn't hesitate poking fun at himself either. "I look like a Tahitian warlord or Gaddafi's first cousin. Anyone casting for those, I'm ready," he captioned this picture.

A bar where honesty is the best policy
The owners of HYDE, a bar opening up in Kala Ghoda, seem to have paid extra attention to their moral science teachers in school. For, they have taken the value of honesty and turned it into a unique business model. At this soon-to-open "honesty bar", one can pay whatever they want depending on the quality of their drink — a first in the city.

So, you're essentially expected to be truthful to the bar. You can choose from exclusive cocktails prepared by resident mixologist and co-owner Gaurish Rangnekar. And to top it all, there will be limited editions of spirits and wine on offer. Frankly speaking, in an area frequented by lawyers, investment bankers and stock brokers, we do expect people to pay like they are expected to — honestly.

A sweet ending for Maria Goretti
It was earlier this year that Maria Goretti had embarked on a culinary adventure that she will remember for life. The TV show host-turned-chef had enrolled for a patisserie course at Le Cordon Bleu in France, one of the world's foremost hospitality schools. In between her studies, she made the French capital her second home — taking up an apartment on rent, eating croissants for breakfast, sipping coffee at roadside cafés and generally living the life of a local.

Now, that episode in her life has come to a close, since Goretti has completed the course. She announced the same with this picture that she put up on social media. All that remains now is for her to put her education into practice back here in India.

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