Mumbai Diary: Saturday dossier

Jackky Bhagnani

Serenading Steve
Jackky Bhagnani, who never hit bulls eye with acting seems to finally have made news for the right reason. After his much publicised meeting with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai to champion the cause of girl child empowerment, Bhagnani will now host former Swedish House Mafia member, Steve Angello.

Jackky Bhagnani

Bhagnani, whose latest film as producer is all set for release, will be arranging a traditional five-course luncheon for Steve and his teammates on a special request from the organisers apart from giving him a tour of Film City, Siddhivinayak Mandir and Bandra's Linking Road.

Post the gig that expects to see a crowd of 15,000 insane fans, he will invite close B-Town buddies for a private party at his residence. Steve, we hear, is going to go away with souvenirs fit for a Mughal court guest - ethnic sherwanis and ayuverdic fragrances.

Mumbai's Gorkhali is now an ambassador
We see her at running events, and she is a familiar pair of feet at the Mumbai marathon. Now, Navi Mumbai native, Roshni Rai, who straddles her time between Darjeeling and here, carries a feather in her cap. She has been named Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon (THEM) 2016 Ambassador by organisers of Himalaya Expeditions in Nepal. This is one of the most challenging trail runs in the world.

Roshni Rai. Pic/Shadab Khan

To be flagged off on May 29, the annual marathon is a tribute to Tenzing-Hillary, the first duo to scale Mount Everest, on May 29, 1953. The peak has been conquered so many times since, but the first is always special.

Roshni, who has dedicated her life to raising awareness about Gorkhas and Northeastern culture, will soon be leaving for the mountains. Every year, THEM starts from Everest Base camp (EBC) to Namche Bazar but runners need to get acclimatised with 10 days of trekking from Lukla to EBC. So, ever onwards Roshni Rai, the first lady pushing North East long distance running talent. Go for it.

Vile Parle's juice doc
A visit to Bajaj Road, the mecca for streetfood lovers, is incomplete without sipping on a juice from Hari Om Juice and Milkshake Centre. Owner Suresh Gupta isn't like any other juicewallah in the city.

Hari Om Juice and Milkshake Centre

Along with 60 varieties of juices, he also keeps a spiral-bound book that lists fruits with their benefits.

"Dragonfruit helps fight dengue; grapefruit is good for diabetics; passion fruit helps with blood pressure and soursop is recommended for cancer patients. We've combined some juices depending on their benefits," said Gupta, flapping the diary when this diarist visited his stall. Glug.

Snow by Expressway
Just when we decided that we've had enough of this weather, we received some rather cool news. Pooja Shetty and film distributor dad-owned Imagica amusement park has launched its newest attraction - a Snow Theme Park that claims to be India's largest.

Located in Khopoli, off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the park boasts of sub-zero temperatures and a 50-feet snow dome. They offer you snow boots, jackets and gloves while you slide down the toboggans and rafts, and climb the snowy Rockies. Who needs Shimla?

Cheers to this chutney
You know what they say about first birthdays being special, right? Well, two nights ago, the first anniversary of Todi Mill Social was certainly memorable. The Lower Parel pub hosted a gig by stand-up comic and singer Vir Das and his comedy rock band, Alien Chutney, who brought the packed house down with some of their popular tracks.

Vir Das and Alien Chutney at the performance. Pic/Shadab Khan

However, the cheers reached a crescendo when Das began singing, 'Mama I'm so hungry, just got home from school…' the lyrics of his latest viral hit, Maggi Song.

Keeping the flavour of the season in mind, he also enthralled guests with The Winter Is Coming Song, his version of the popular Game Of Thrones theme. We are glad we were there.