Mumbai Diary: Sunday dossier

Step up for a home brewer
When Ghatkopar-based Pratik Bavishi didn't like the commercial beer he was drinking, he turned into a home brewer two years ago. He began home brewing while he was in USA. Last October, at a home-brewed beer sampling session, he met Navin Mittal, a home brewer who had co-founded Gateway Brewing Co. at Nariman Point.

"I had made a coffee stout, which is a dark beer and gets its robust flavours from the dark-roasted barley. Navin liked it and offered to introduce it as a special beer for their second anniversary celebrations," says Bavishi, who has a day job as a data consultant.

Navin Mittal, co-founder of Gateway Brewery (above) and Pratik Bavishi brew a beer called Kaapi

The beer, which will be launched on January 29, will be on tap all month. "I began as a home brewer in 2006 when I was in the USA. Many people there brew their own beer. That got me hooked. The home brewers are a close-knit community, and when I tasted Pratik's beer, I knew it would work well," says Mittal. Then began trials of smaller batches of eight to 10 litres. "On January 10, I made my first batch of 400 litres at Gateway's brewery," says Bavishi.

For the beer, which has been named Kaapi for obvious reasons, the duo sourced coffee from Karnataka. Cheers!

Hidden talent at the museum
On a recent visit to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya, we were intrigued to see the sketch of a woman's face, in half of a heart, on the cover of the visitor's book. The security officer on duty said it was the work of Mangesh Gaikwad, a security officer at the museum. "He constantly sketches and you will see evidence of his work on various notebooks across the building," we were told.

It took some amount of digging for information to confirm that this man was a serial sketch artist. "I have been sketching since childhood, but it's only in the last 10 years that I have pursued it more," says Gaikwad, adding that he sketches on any blank sheet of paper that he finds. "Hobby hai," he adds.

Mangesh Gaikwad at CSMVS

In the Waugh zone and enjoying it
APART from his tenacious batting exploits and astute leadership of the Australian cricket team, Steve Waugh is also known for his tour diaries - nine in nine years from 1993 to 2002. And after writing that gigantic autobiography, Out of My Comfort Zone, in 2005, Daily Dossier thought he full-stopped his literary pursuits until cricket enthusiast Sachin Bajaj gifted us a copy of The Meaning of Luck recently. This 2013 book lives up to its "stories of learning, leadership and love" sub-title. Among the many Waugh stories in the book, we found the one about him visiting a mall in Delhi a few years ago, long after he had retired, most touching.

While moving from one store to another, Waugh discovered that his mall visit was not as quiet as he had expected.

Somehow, shoppers came to know that a VIP was in the building. There was a sea of people around him. But he did not instruct his security men to lead him to an unfamiliar exit. He walked with the crowd to a normal exit, "mini-brawls" notwithstanding. Waugh enjoyed being with them. It moved him to write: "I will always like and appreciate the exuberance of India's cricket fans. It would have been a mistake on my part if I had ducked out via a back door." Steve Rodger Waugh ducked bouncers, but never ran away from challenges.

Straight from the book
Literati travelling to Jaipur Lit Fest should be pleasantly surprised by the larger-than-life sculptures that Orijit Sen's People Tree Studio have created.

Approached by Anubhav Nath, who curates art for the literary fest, Sen has made six literary characters from literature around the world come alive in paper and bamboo. The New Delhi-based graphic artist, who recently did the visual identity of the Freedom Jatha tour, which stopped by Mumbai, says, "Like the Booker, I had a long list, and a short list. But I can pick no winners." These sculptural installations, among which are Anna Karenina and Napolean from Orwell's Animal Farm, will be spread out on the lawns. Conversation starters, anyone?

From Brooklyn to Mumbai
Musician Karsh Kale, who is known for seamlessly blending classical and modern music, is back with a new album at the end of this month.

He says UP is inspired by his own life. It's about dividing time between Brooklyn and Mumbai; the first is where he plays father, the latter is where he plays working musician. "Within the stress of that constant commute between two very different worlds, I found the sound and inspiration for UP," he says. The album is full of collaborations - from Mumbai musician Warren Mendosa to American songwriter John Shannon and even Chinese pop sensation Sa Ding Ding.

This already sounds divine.

Eat some pasta to go fasta

Fauja Singh, British Indian centenarian marathoner, who is 104-years-old, is snapped at the traditional pasta cookout or carb loading at the Trident on the eve of the Mumbai marathon. The event is an annual affair. Pic/Atul Kamble