Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Sir Garfield Sobers

A sobering thought on the deal bowlers get
Sir Garfield Sobers, the greatest all-rounder ever to walk the earth, was in his favourite home-away-from-home country recently - Australia. His first wife, Pru, is Australian and he played Sheffield Shield cricket there in the 1960s. Sobers (80) was in Toowoomba, Queensland and according to former Australia batsman Dean Jones, regaled an audience of 500 who listened to him speak about the past and present.

Sir Garfield Sobers

Jones in his Sydney Morning Herald column revealed that Sobers admires India Test captain Virat Kohli as well other young batters Joe Root, Steve Smith and veteran AB de Villiers. At the same time, Sobers reckoned batsmen are enjoying a far more comfortable life now. He wants no restriction on bouncers since the batsmen have all the protection they need. And, when it comes to helmets, he would never wear one had he played in this age: The logic? "He played 20 years of Test cricket without them, so why start now," wrote Jones.

And the award comes from...
Tucked in a discreet lane in Goregaon, is a shop that has been supplying the film industry with its trophies since 1986. The Award Gallery, started by a commercial arts graduate Vijay Sonawane, initially only specialised in golden and silver jubilee trophies that would be internally given out to honour the film crew. Their first film was Patal Bhairavi that celebrated its silver jubilee in 1986. Sonawane's sons Vinit and Vibhash took on the reigns in 2,000 when they did their first Filmfare award.

Vijay Sonawane. Pic/Nimish Dave

Today, they make trophies for all Bollywood awards, including IIFA, and recently they did the Kids Choice Awards India trophy, too, and now they have bagged KCA US and Indonesia contracts, too. "After my brother Vibhash and I took over, Fiza was the first film award we did. In 2,000 when we did our first Filmfare award, we changed the structure. So, the pre-millennium trophy looks different from what it does now," says 30-year-old Vinit, adding that with the awards season kicking in, the busiest time of the year has only just begun for them.

Frankly speaking
Rishi Kapoor, most known for his wit and candour, is all set to release his autobiography that has a rather fitting title, Khullam Khulla - Rishi Kapoor Uncensored (HarperCollins). "I'll probably be the first Kapoor to write an autobiography," he says.

Rishi Kapoor

In the book, the star will open up about his 40-year journey in cinema. "By God's grace, I've had a very celebrated life. Thanks to my father, I became a celebrity when I was two years old. I have lived with a family full of celebrities. This book is an honest and truthful recollection of my life with them," he says.

"It's funny, motivating, inspiring and might even give you a lump in your throat. Don't expect sensationalism, because I haven't really had a sensational life," he adds. He hopes to launch it at a literary festival in Chennai on January 16.

Christmas, Christie's style
It's been a bubbly couple of days at a plush sea-facing Colaba hotel where international auction house Christie's has set up shop for its fourth India Art Sale. As a run-up to this evening's sale of 173 lots, Christie's hosted a lecture series by notable names, including the very dapper and articulate Amin Jaffer, Christie's international director of Asian art. It was heartening to see full attendance by the city's glittering crowd for these talks.

Deepanjana Klein. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

This diarist also had a chat with the elegant Deepanjana Klein, who heads Indian and Southeast Asian antiques, modern and contemporary art at Christie's. Klein tells us that the first session of the sale - entirely dedicated to classical Indian art - is a dream come true.

"This is our first standalone classical Indian sale. In 2013, we started off with just three National Treasures. One has to be extremely sensitive about handling antiquities and it is the right time for us to put together an independent sale of miniatures, folios and sculptures. We have done our homework," she says. The second session will see Modernist pieces, right from a striking Tyeb Mehta to rare Meera Mukherjee sculptures. Will collectors be spoilt for choice? Oh, we think so.

Sonu sings for the kids
Singer Sonu Nigam is trying to do his bit for malnutrition, musically, of course. He has released a song called Hope in the Future for the NGO Fight Hunger Foundation.

Sonu Nigam

"I hope that people get inspired by this tune and will contribute generously. These children are the future," he told us.