Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Chehra kya dekhte ho?
Tabu trains all her attention on Ayushmann Khurrana even as he seems lost in thought, during a promotional event for their latest film on Thursday. Pic/Yogen Shah

So long, Moshe's, and thanks for all the bread
The legacy of Moshe's, a popular name on Mumbai's food and drink scene since 2004, came to an end on September 30 with the shutting down of its outlets at Palladium in Lower Parel's High Street Phoenix, Kemp's Corner and Juhu.

The development comes after its founder Moshe Shek was involved in a long-drawn battle with the new owners of the chain of eateries. He had alleged that they had forced him to cough up the fine for BMC licence violations. While the owners of the premises at Juhu and Kemps Corner confirmed that the outlets are no longer operational, they added that their dues are yet to be settled. Shek alleged that ASDA Media and Entertainment Private Limited, which purchased a majority in the company in 2017, still owes him over Rs 20 lakh.

"They owe me rent for the production facility they were using at Vashi. While vacating the premises, they sold my equipment and damaged the property. I feel bad that Moshe's had to go the way it did but they [ASDA] got what they deserved," Shek told this diarist. He added that the company had been incurring losses for a while. Attempts to reach out to Mark Anthony of ASDA came to naught. For a brand that gave Mumbai one of its earliest whiffs of artisanal breads and baked items, the news sure is a sad ending to another culinary landmark in the city.

Aarey wah, Masaba
The narrative in the whole tu-tu-mein-mein around the felling of trees at Aarey Colony seems to be gradually shifting towards the side of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited. It was only last week that its workers had a field day with their chainsaws, cutting down 200 trees over two days, and claiming that they have permission to fell 2,702 trees in total in the only green cover available in the suburbs. This had the city's green activists immediately taking up cudgels against this perceived injustice to the locals in the region. And now they have found an able supporter to their cause in designer Masaba Gupta. She has lent her signature to a campaign called Let Mumbai Breathe, which has garnered 21,592 signatures already. Let's hope this has an impact on what's fast appearing to be a lost cause.

Shanghvi's pleasant surprise
Fresh off the release of his engaging adult fable, The Rabbit and the Squirrel, author Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi decided to do a bookstore hop across the suburbs recently, and was in for a pleasant surprise. "I'd become such a cynic, thinking that no one reads. How wrong I was, and thankfully so, as I traipsed around the streets of Juhu and Bandra, meeting the best sort of people: those who serve bookstores," he told this diarist after a day spent moving from Crossword in Bandra and Juhu, Title Waves, Bandra, and Granth, Juhu. "I'd forgotten, also, the profoundly civilising forces of the bookstore, and the privilege and pleasure of pages. There is a special kind of heaven for bookstore owners and librarians, and one day in the future I will be serving at its bar all the fine folks I met today, and hope to meet in the days ahead." Nice touch, SDS. These silent workers sure need all the support they can get.

This festival is far out
We had written in these pages recently about how the city lacks warehouse parties despite the abundance of defunct mills. And we had also written about how Far Out Left offered a glimmer of hope, since the underground music fest is slated to be held in Byculla's New Great Eastern Mills. Now, the event's line-up has been announced, and it's truly left-of-centre, with acts like Kohra and Twokid Wickid (in pic). Haven't heard of them? Well, then attend the festival on November 10 and 11 to find out.

It's time to get Sunburnt
When the Sunburn festival was first held 12 editions ago, it had ushered in an era of big-name electronic producers finally starting to come down to our shores. Over the years, everyone from Aarmin Van Buuren to Axwell to Paul Van Dyk have headlined the annual event, which now returns after a gap of two years after it ran into a spot of bother with its location. And this time, British EDM act Above & Beyond (in pic) - which, incidentally, had played at the festival's inaugural edition in 2007 - returns for another headlining act. The others in the fray include Dutch DJ Yellow Claw, Northern Irish spin-doctor Kristian Nairn (who is also known for his portrayal of Hodor in Game of Thrones), and the Notorious hit-maker Malaa. Get a feel of all these acts in the city over this weekend, in a build-up to the mega event slated for Pune in December. That's like getting two fests for the price of one.

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