Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

The court will be in session again
After remaining shuttered for four years, the food court at CR2, Nariman Point, will finally get a new lease of life. deGustibusHospitality, that runs Indigo, has won the tender to manage and revamp the entire food court at CR2 with an initial project investment of R5 crore. The place, we hear, will be renamed 11 Kitchens, and will house Indigo Burger Project, Dakshin Rasoi, Pao&Bao and Zoodles among others. "Our biggest challenge was to get the right brand mix for 11 Kitchens.

Anurag Katriar

Keeping in mind the fact that we didn't just want to be another food court but a progressive one, it took us a while to finalise the brands. Of course, the fact that none of the brands could be serving the same kind of food was a factor, but maintaining quality of offering was the main challenge," says Anurag Katriar, CEO and executive director. While Indigo Burger Project will offer the quirky soya mince-Kolhapuri burger and the good ol' Goan chicken burger, Dakshin Rasoi, a vegetarian outlet will serve authentic and fusion South Indian fare.

Brearley and the art of captaincy
Mike Brearley, the former England cricket captain, will be in Mumbai during the first week of February for a Literature Fest and will be in conversation with cricket writer Ayaz Memon. Brearley, who in the 1980s, wrote the bible of cricket leadership entitled The Art of Captaincy, has recently written a book called, On Form.

Mike Brearley

Erstwhile Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg once aptly described the practising UK-based psychotherapist as a man with a degree in people. Brearley, 75, was an excellent captain who got the best out of mercurial all-rounder Ian Botham. And while India cope with the throes of defeat, suffered at the hands of South Africa, this diarist remembers what Brearley told Ian Botham in the first part of the 1981 Ashes. The selectors had recalled Brearley to lead the side that had flopped under Botham.

Before the Leeds Test, Brearley asked Botham whether he would like to play. The all-rounder uttered emphatically, "Of course I want to bloody play." And Brearley said, "Good, because I think you will get 200 runs and 10 wickets." Brearley was pretty close because Botham slammed 199 runs and claimed seven wickets to make it an Ashes to remember for England.

A platform for architecture
This week's literary interest in the Pink City might just turn artistic, with an exhibition on contemporary architecture that opens today at Jawahar Kala Kendra. Curated by Mumbai-based architect Rupali Gupte and urbanist Prasad Shetty, When is Space?, uses the ideas of visionaries Charles Correa and Sawai Jai Singh as inspiration and the pivot for discussion. On till March 31, and free to the public, the exhibition has a stellar cast of artists and architects.

Rupali Gupte and Prasad Shetty

The works of Parul Gupta, Vishal Dar and Mark Prime are responses to "mathematical provocations" of Correa and Singh. Vikas Dilawari's work addresses environmental pursuits, bringing to light the practice of repair and retrofit, rather than constantly building anew.

A short success story
Hinged on the #MeToo campaign, short film Kajal could not have chosen a more relevant subject. Directed by Pakhi A. Tyrewala, the 20-minute film has an all-female crew and a score by AR Rahman. It won Best Short Film at the prestigious River to River Florence-Indian film festival, and from what we hear, was widely applauded at film festivals in New York and Chicago.

Pakhi Tyrewala

Now, it has been nominated for the Best Short Film award at the upcoming Filmfare awards. Kajal revolves around a nameless protagonist who encounters abuse both at home and at work. "I am so happy that audiences are able to feel the emotions that we wanted them to feel. I believe that true equality will emerge not through laws and rules but when women will choose to stand up for themselves, much like Kajal."

For mothers and kids
Writer, filmmaker and painter Gautam Benegal is a master of many strokes. His latest venture is a read-aloud, untitled illustrated children's book (Pickle Yolk), which will see him collaborate with writer Richa Jha for a rather, bold and thought-provoking tale on "unconventional mothers" and their relationship with their kids.

Gautam Benegal

Benegal, who is doing the artwork for the book says that the drawings, which are intended to strike a chord with both young children and parents, are actually going to be standalone paintings that he will first create on canvas. The paintings will later be exhibited at the launch of the book, which is slated somewhere in the second half of this year. This is going to be unlike anything else ever done in this genre, Benegal said, without divulging too much. "I try to out-do myself each time."

An old school bromance

Theatre legend Jabbar Patel is seen giving quick sartorial assistance to director Ramesh Sippy at an event held in Nariman Point on Friday. Pic/Atul Kamble

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