Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pics/Shadab Khan

Always without my entourage
Actor Konkana Sen Sharma sets a refreshing precedent by carrying her own umbrella and footwear as she attends an event without a gaggling entourage unlike her contemporaries.

Interiors of Kaama

Bringing tradition to Kamla Mills
Kamala Mills is set to welcome yet another restaurant. Delhi-based Sudhir Gouchwal, who has a stake in Summer House Cafe at Lower Parel and Unplugged Courtyard in Delhi, will launch Kaama next week. The restaurant hopes to resurrect rarely talked-about Indian dishes and traditional techniques of cooking. "One of them is sous vide, which is slow cooking. Although it takes a lot of effort, the eventual flavour and benefit adds value to the dish.

Sudhir Gouchwal

Another technique is cooking with Himalayan rock salt," he says. The ambiance, too, will be desi. "We have Warli painting on our walls and hanging bulbs, rather than using tube lights or LED," he says. On July 7, Gouchal has invited famous Rajasthani musician Kutle Khan to play along with modern electronic musicians.

Ramesh Krishnan

40 years ago, an Indian favourite at Wimbledon
Our in-house souvenir collector thought it's a good time to pull out his 40-year-old Official Souvenir programme that was sold (£2) to those who witnessed the second day of the Wimbledon Championships of 1987 in London. The 104-page publication is filled with information about the blue riband of tennis events as well as amusing advertisements like the McDonald's one that says, Love One Now.

From India's point of view, it is heartwarming to read that Ramesh Krishnan was considered a favourite for the title - right up there with the defending champion Boris Becker and Ivan Lendl and of course, the eventual winner, Pat Cash.

BBC commentator John Barrett, who profiled Krishnan in the souvenir, wrote: "No man in this year's draw will feel safe facing him for here is the elegant artistry of yesteryear. With a little more conviction this year it would not be impossible for Ramesh to become the first Indian champion at Wimbledon."

However, Krishnan, then World No 29, and a quarter-finalist the previous year, lost in the second round to American Matt Anger.

Harsha Bhogle and wife Anita

The formula for success
Six years after sports commentator and writer Harsha Bhogle and his wife, advertising and communication consultant Anita, first explored the question of 'what goes into making a champion team' in The Winning Way, they are back with a revised edition titled, The Winning Way 2.0. "In the six years since we first published the book, much has changed in both sport and business. Widespread innovation has meant that managers are required to adapt. Interestingly, the IPL, which has now become the dominant format in cricket has also demanded the same from players. Gen Y players are redefining concepts like risk and loyalty. We have tried to capture these changes," Harsha told this diarist.

Why don't you write me a letter?
This one's for those who still like to cling onto old school ways of connecting and keeping in touch. Sumedha Sah, a resident artist at the Industrial Design Centre at IIT-B, has started The Snail Mail project where she invites people on her Tumblr blog, The Umbrella Bar, to write her a letter. She responds by sending them an original artwork she has made. "What I make is inspired by the letter I receive," she says, adding that the first ever letter she received was from Poland. "I was surprised to find that someone from there had read my tiny blog and responded!"

The idea took shape two years ago when she moved to the city from Nainital. "I've always loved writing and receiving letters, which is why I thought why not make it into a project of sorts?" Till date, she has received letters from Scotland, Japan, Turkey, Singapore and London, besides various parts of India. "You can write to me about anything, a book you're reading, a place you've visited or any other ideas. It could be anonymous or otherwise." She posts the letters along with her replies on The Snail Mail Project.