Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Andheri on a high
The competition seems to be hotting up in Andheri. The ground floor of Fun Republic will open its doors to Tipsy Gypsy, set to open next weekend. Not just a watering hole, the space aims to host live gigs, with some of the best Indian and international music artistes every week. The owners plan to set up multiple outposts in the suburbs in the next year.

This diarist is looking forward to a heady time at the bar since head mixologist Nupur Joshi (in pic) will be helming affairs. We hear she graduated from American Hotel & Lodging Association in Hotel Management and also finished her Level 2 from WSET (Wines & Spirits Education Trust of U.K.), the foremost authority on beverage education and training, worldwide. Hic, hic Andheri.

Pic/Suresh Karkera

I've got my eyes on you
Actor Ileana D'Cruz makes it clear about her choice when it comes to her favourite set of wheels at an event in Bandra Kurla Complex yesterday.

Now, an autobiography on Mithali Raj
Earlier this year, a YouTube video of India's women's cricket captain Mithali Raj grooving with teammates Veda Krishnamurthy and Mona Meshram on the team bus to hit number Mukkala, Mukkabala became a viral sensation. While the video didn't exactly showcase Raj's dancing skills, few might be aware that she is a passionate and accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer.

After a relatively late shift to cricket, she emerged as an overnight sensation for her fearless stroke play and calm cricketing brain, and wore India's colours as a 17-year-old. The Arjuna Award, Padma Shri, and more recently, being included in BBC's prestigious 100 Most Influential Women list, Raj has helped steer her girls to new heights and earned them a huge fan following after their heady show in the Women's World Cup.

She has just inked a deal with Penguin Random House to release her autobiography set for a late 2018 release. While she has announced that the 2017 World Cup will be her last, we're hoping the book will continue to remind and inspire Indian sportswomen that it can be an equal playing field, after all.

A slice of Riverdale in Mumbai
People of a certain vintage in India would have consumed Archie comics in their childhood with as much fervour as Bengalis of all ages consume maachh-bhaat. Now, there's good news in store for them, since Comic Con India has just announced a collaboration with the comic's publishers for this year's edition scheduled for later this year.

This means that every pass holder for the event will be presented with an Archie edition that has a customised cover for the city in which they are attending the convention. So, expect the gang from Riverdale to be placed against a backdrop of the Gateway of India or India Gate, depending on whether you are in the city or in the national capital.

There's a crowd behind Dhruv
In 2016, Dhruv Visvanath undertook an interesting journey. The musician, who was the only Indian to feature on the 30 Great Guitarists Under 30 list by America's Acoustic Guitar magazine, travelled across the length and breadth of India to reconnect with his family history.

The journey got him thinking about how the quest to find oneself is nothing but a search for something that isn't truly there. "It's a manifestation of something we yearn for and we interpret it in a way which makes us look at it as a literal journey," says Visvanath. The rumination resulted in an eight-song album, Lost Cause, and to raise money the project, he floated a crowd-funding campaign on September 23.

A much-loved name in the music industry, he managed to raise 50 per cent of the funds within 48 hours with support coming in from Vishal Dadlani and Clinton Cerejo. And now, Vishvanath's target of R3 lakh has been achieved. In fact, the contributions have gone a little over it. Such camaraderie warms our hearts.

Gauri and Wendell pick Goa's best
Where do you go when you're in Goa? Tito's, Britto's, and everything else that's been done to death? How would you like to see Goa from a local's perspective? Now, with Airbnb's just-launched Goa Insider's Guide, you should be able to dive deeper into the Goa experience.

Gauri Khan; Wendell Rodricks

In case you're wondering how different this is from any other guide you've seen to the sunshine state, this one lists homes that have been hand-picked by Gauri Khan. Additionally, it includes information about the state's hidden gems from "insiders" such as fashion designer Wendell Rodricks, artist Subodh Kerkar and entrepreneurs Hans Tuinman and Sucheta Potnis. Goa, here we come!