25 January,2016 08:40 AM IST | | Team mid-day
The city — sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Stars on date
Shooting with the stars: Last weekend saw the launch of the Shooting Stars 2016 calendar that showcased designs by jewellery designer Roopa Vohra and her daughter, entrepreneur Mitaali.
Raveena Tandon
Some of the celebrities who graced the glitzy almanac included fashion designer Vikram Phadnis (above), actress Raveena Tandon (top), entrepreneur Schauna Chauhan and politician Shaina NC.
Here are two of our favourites in this exclusive peek into the calendar.
Overheard: The unedited version
oddities and funny ones Our mole at the big, fat literature festival in Jaipur sent us a few howlers that were overheard from base camp:
Anuskha Ravishankar and Anouskha Shankar
1) While walking past a chai stall at the venue, a grey haired lady, in knee length boots and rimless glasses mentioned to a middle-aged gentleman, "Did you hear, Mrinalini Sarabhai has passed away?" The gentleman responded, "Yes, but I'm not much into classical things."
2) A Mumbai based author commented, "Nobody likes us in Jaipur. They like goras because they tip well. We don't tip at all."
3) A teenage student was very excited at the thought of seeing musician Anoushka Shankar at the festival. He was sorely disappointed when he learnt that Anushka Ravishankar who was at the session, was a children's book author. He expressed his displeasure by leaving the session but not before he wondered aloud to why would Pandit Ravi Shankar have two daughters with the same name! Mr, you've got some serious reading up to do.
Window to Mumbai
We were piqued when we came across a mailer about Arresting Developments, a collection of images of windows of Bombay by Mumbai-born photographer Parhad Goghavala. When we prodded, he told us that being the son of the landlord of an old Mumbai building, he had taken the responsibility of having a plaque made in stone for the building.
Parhad Goghavala
The main market for stone and engraving in South Mumbai is in an area called Gol Deval, he said, adding, "Gol Deval is a beautiful old Hindu temple built in the middle of the road. The traffic flows on either side. I was on my way to Gol Deval from Opera House when I got stuck at a traffic signal for what seemed like ages. I looked up at a beautiful old derelict buildings and this one window caught my eye. The old wooden window frames were intact and so was the beautiful facade around the window, but there were no windowpanes; instead, a blue and green plastic sheet was used to protect what was inside from the elements," he adds.
"Being a professional fashion and fine art photographer, I felt it would make for an amazing photograph, with its contrast of old world architecture and the harsh reality of life. It made me curious to ask questions," he says. Goghavala returned to the spot; this time, with his camera until he could capture the perfect frame.
Soon, he became obsessed with shooting beautiful windows and with it, their intriguing stories. See more of his passion by dropping by the exhibition that kicks off this Sunday at Gallery 7, Kala Ghoda.
Extending the Olive branch
Sabina Singh, Ash Chandler, A D Singh and Nethra Raghuraman at the 15th anniversary party of Bandra's Olive Bar and Kitchen on Sunday.
Shilpa Shetty, now an award-winning author
When this diarist had interviewed the Bollywood diva in October last year, prior to the release of The Great Indian Diet, she admitted that the book was her effort to bring the focus back to the Indian kitchen for fitness.
Shilpa Shetty Kundra won the award for Best Celebrity Author. Pic/Satej Shinde
"I have tried to bust pre-conceived notions about Indian food. People think Indian food is fattening and high on sodium, which is untrue. A simple dish like rajma chawal is a complete meal; it has the right amount of protein, nine amino acids; it's equivalent to eating an egg. But people are tucking into quinoa instead," she had said.
Well, it seems her words have found resonance with the jury of the Lions Gold Awards. Ms Shetty Kundra tweeted over the weekend that she had won an award for the same title.
