25 April,2016 08:56 AM IST | | Team mid-day
The city — sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Begum Parveen Sultana
When the Begum was all smiles
Pics/Bipin Kokate
(Above) Hindustani Classical music icon Begum Parveen Sultana had something to chuckle about with santoor exponent Pandit Satish Vyas before her performance at Nehru Centre last weekend; (below) the legend tunes her sitar on stage.
A salaam for these songs
A band from Cathedral and John Connon at a Lower Parel club. Pic/Atul Kamble
Over the weekend, students of Cathedral and John Connon School let their music do all the talking. The school's musical group WE performed at a Lower Parel club to raise funds for underprivileged children from Salaam Bombay Foundation. The event, in its fourth consecutive year, witnessed gigs ranging from Pop and Jazz to Contemporary. The funds raised at the musical gala will be directed to aid children with lesser opportunities to receive advanced training in their chosen vocation of art, music and theatre. We like.
A porky affair
Mumbai's foodies, especially those who have a soft spot for pork, would have tasted the culinary magic of chef Gresham Fernandes' (in pic) creations. For long, Fernandes has been hosting community dinners called Swine Dine, where he makes over a dozen dishes using every part of a pig. The first week of May will see the event return to the city, where it will be held at a Bandra café. While the dates haven't been fixed, we'll keep you posted on how it turned out; after all, this is one dinner where seats get filled up quickly. On your marks, get set, oink!
Mumbai kicks off its sundowner
A frame from an earlier sport-themed event at the same venue
In a city where the need to stand out in a crowd extends to party themes all the time, this one might catch the attention of the party-hopping junta. Recently, this diarist learnt that Copa, a popular nightclub in the 'burbs, has decided to embrace being healthy by tying up with a few big gyms and fitness platforms. They have planned a sundown fitness party unlike any this city has ever seen, they claim. This, we were told, will include fitness routines and dances such as Zumba, Bokwa and Masala Bhangra. Bollywood and TV celebrities are expected to attend this one-day event. We are supportive, but a tad confused. Although fitness enthusiasts may rejoice, what guilt prompted our nightclubs to take such a one-off measure? The verdict is still out on the coolness quotient of this one. Watch this space.
April joy for the RBI
A file photo of Raghuram Rajan taking over as the new Governor of RBI in September 2013. Pic/ Suresh KK
We'll call it a pleasant coincidence. Recently, TIME magazine included RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in their list of 100 of the most influential people of 2016. Around the same time, this diarist stumbled upon a few notes to discover that it was in the month of April, back in 1939 when the present Reserve Bank of India building was opened. The imposing structure was built on a plot in the angle formed by Mint Road and Bazaar Gate Street. JA Ritchie of the famous architectural firm Palmer
& Turner was the chief architect. The bank had commenced operations much earlier, on April (again!) 1, 1935 with Sir Osborne Smith helming affairs as the first Governor.
