Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

The final ride!
This autorickshaw stuffed into the back of a mini tempo was making its way across Bandra East's T-junction road yesterday afternoon. The aged-looking three-wheeler was probably heading to one of the scrapyards in Kurla. Going by this final ride and the separate carrier involved, it bowed out on quite a high.

And now, the book broadcast
There is always a little more to know about books and authors to pique one's curiosity and make one pick up the new tome. Moreover, how would we know that it was reading Kafka that led to Gabriel Garcia Marquez overcoming his writing knots and that Arundhati Roy sharpened her piercing prose while writing love letters, if not for those long interviews that delves into the world of the writer.

Amruta Patil

With shrinking space for all things literary in the media, there is good news for readers. Harper Collins has decided to announce their journal, the Harper Broadcast. The latest edition features an interview with author Amruta Patil, previews of what's expected on the Indian and international scene. Happy reading.

Of marketing mantras and temple runs
Last week, well before Chetan Bhagat's book release (it was launched over the weekend), the author went into promotional overdrive to ensure there was enough buzz around One Indian Girl. Known for gimmicks and cool promos to launch his earlier titles, this time, we weren't taken by surprise.

Kangana Ranaut looks enquires about a section of Chetan Bhagat's book at its launch at a suburban mall over the weekend. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

From temple-hopping across town to seek the blessings at ISKCON, Siddhivinayak and Swaminarayan temples (including frames of visits at each spot) to tying with an e-store and delivering the first copies of his book to lucky readers, he has done it all.

And of course, the marketing genius that he is, Bhagat documented it all on social media, one moment at a time. Let's see if this one lives up to the hype.

Back to college
Students and professors of SoBo's Jai Hind College were pleasantly surprised by the clarity and articulate thoughts when alumnus and Union Minister (Power, Coal and Energy) Piyush Goyel delivered the inaugural Professor Shivdasani Memorial Lecture.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal addressed the session at Jai Hind College

The event was organised by the Alumni Association of the college in the memory of the professor who was a dynamic leader. Every year one alumnus will address the students. The minister spoke about how good governance can lead to sustainable development.

This was followed by an engaging Q&A session where he addressed a range of queries from the concerns about Monsanto BT's seeds to corruption around Government contracts. Goyal went on to urge the youth to write to the government directly with the promise of action.

The suave minister seemed to have earned quite a fan following post this visit, going by feedback from those who were at the session.

Grant Road station's gets arty
By the time we went to print, frames from this cool initiative hadn't reached our desk.

The artistic alumnus of NGO Akanksha put their imagination to good use on Sunday, and painted some parts of Grand Road station. Going by the rough sketches of what they had in mind (see below), we are keen to take a local there to find out.

When Springsteen saved the day
We're still tripping over this one. According to agency reports, a schoolboy in Philadelphia skipped class to meet music icon and his hero, Bruce Springsteen.

Bruce Springsteen at a concert in Washington. Pic/AFP

Well, that's not the cool part. Turns out, the boy handed the note of absence straight from The Boss. The typewritten note for fifth-grader Micheal Fenerty was necessary because the little fan ended up missing school to meet the Rock legend at a meet-and-greet in the city's Free Library.

The boy's father was clear that they wanted to follow school rules and procedure to ensure that the guitar god's signature was on the absent note. Now, that's what we call a true souvenir!