Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Back in the nest
Love was in the air at the city's international airport on Saturday when Virat Kohli and wife Anushka Sharma, and Deepika Padukone and husband Ranveer Singh, returned to the bay. Pics/Datta Kumbhar

Hardik Pandya

Hardik in, Shankar out?
For those who have doubts regarding the selection of naughty boy Hardik Pandya for the forthcoming World Cup in England, India captain Virat Kohli provided you an answer in Delhi the other night.

It must not have been the most pleasurable press conferences to attend after losing the match and series to Australia 2-3, but Kohli didn't duck any bullets from the media. And while he did that, he also indicated that the side will only profit from the return of Pandya, who was not part of both limited overs series against the Australians due to stiffness in his lower back.

Vijay Shankar

"Hardik Pandya will come back to the team. With him, there's batting depth, and bowling option opens up. We know where we have to go as a combination. The XI is clear in our head. We just have to take better decisions in pressure situations to go far in the World Cup," said Kohli.

This means young Vijay Shankar from Tamil Nadu can kiss his World Cup dreams goodbye. Or is there a twist in the tale, which will emerge when the selectors finalise their World Cup squad? In Indian cricket, anything's possible and a surprise or two cannot be ruled out. Watch this space.

Samir Bangera

Bringing pop back
Digital content agency Qyuki's new initiative is all about giving India's indie music scene a much-needed push. They launched Nexa Music, which is a nationwide hunt for emerging artists who are making original English music. Now that's a rare endeavour. When we spoke to Samir Bangara, MD/CEO of Qyuki he said, "Interestingly, there has been a remarkable growth in the consumption of English music among the digital-savvy audience recently. We are confident that a new breed of artists writing in English will find their loyal audience." The entries are in, and the list of top 24 will be out next month.

Dutta Samant leads the Great Bombay Textile Strike. File Pic

Bombay strike 2.0
Nearly three decades after Dutch anthropologist Hub van Wersch's iconic book on the city's textile strike of the 1980s was first published, the non-fiction account is set to get a new lease of life with Speaking Tiger. Known to be the first full-scale study on the strike, the book, titled The 1982-83 Bombay Textile Strike and the Unmaking of a Labourers' City, spoke of how the strike impacted lakhs of workers. Based on the author's own extensive fieldwork and sample survey, it also provided a detailed analytical account of the events leading up to the strike and its aftermath. The new edition of the book, the publishers told this diarist, will release later this month and is currently up for pre-order.

Jason Tan

A juicy treat for Chef Jason Tan
The inaugural night of the World Gourmet Festival at Four Seasons saw a sparkling line-up of Michelin-starred chefs. But the highpoint was an endearing confession by the usually reticent chef Jason Tan of the Corner House in Singapore (No. 36 on Asia's 50 Best). In his quest for mouth-watering vegetarian food, Tan went to Swati Snacks at Tardeo and devoured 30 pani puris at one go, breaking the restaurant's record. "For somebody who has grown up hating vegetables, it's amazing how I fell in love with this preparation. It was so yummy," he told us.

Artists Ankush Safaya and Rekha Rodwittiya

Balancing between Baroda and Mumbai
After being part of five group shows at Sakshi Gallery, Baroda-based artist Ankush Safaya is going to present his first solo at the space. Mentored by artists Rekha Rodwittiya and Surendran Nair from the Baroda Collective Studio, Safaya works in clean, abstract lines. His new show, Anantata: hymns of graphical notation, will present works in graphite pencil or oil on canvas. Gallery director Geetha Mehra says, "Ankush's works are silent prayers: meditative and contemplative. The fine lines vibrate with a sense of peace and harmony, peace within oneself and with the universe. There isn't a single jarring note." Mehra first encountered his work in the Baroda studio, from where Safaya is the second protégée she's representing today. The first, Schon Mendes, had presented a phenomenal show, Cameos of a City, in 2016. We can't wait for this one as well.

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