Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Chicken leg in mouth
On Sunday morning the concluding day of a literary festival hosted in Bandra by a media house, eminent novelist and poet Vikram Seth was in conversation with columnist Shobhaa Dé.

He declared you are not an Indian if you hate another for what they eat, whom they love, and who they pray to. As audiences bowed to the master's pithy and powerful words, the Q&A session that followed saw an audience member pose a question to the two speakers.

"I couldn't help but wonder, why all the food stalls are serving vegetarian? None seem to serving non-veg fare." To which, the co-curator of the fest and veteran journalist, clarified, "Our organisers are Jain. We would like to promote vegetarianism as a healthy eating option." Intellectual posturing makes for a delicious snack.

Take a cab to the Philippines
Philippines is on our mind. Or our map, actually. The reclusive Rajshree Birla, Consul General (A.H), Republic of Philippines, was at Churchgate last morning, inaugurating a branding exercise for The Department of Tourism, Philippines.

Consul General of Philippines Rajshree Birla hands over the key of a branded radio cab to promote Philippines tourism. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

The department branded 100 radio cabs and 100 BEST buses in Mumbai. Birla was seen smiling as she handed over the keys to the drivers of the cabs. Smart marketing move in a city that commutes non stop, we think.

SRK and his golden tweet
For those who think star power has nothing to do with popularity on Twitter, think again. Actor Shah Rukh Khan has beaten every Twitterati in the country by earning the Golden Tweet of 2015 on the social media platform.

SRK with Zayn Malik

In April, SRK had posted a selfie with Zayn Malik, former member of the British boy band, One Direction, while attending the Asian Awards in London.

According to Twitter, the post took social media by storm, recieving 1,41,000 retweets, the highest in India in 2015. It was viewed nearly 18.3 million times. That's not all, the actor also ranks second in number of followers at 16.5 million followers, after Big B (18.1 million) and is ahead of prime minister Narendra Modi (16.4 million).

mid-day and WSD say, go click
With the year coming to an end, The Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD) is ready with its Heart Of Giving Calendar 2016 that celebrates the power that comes with the act of sharing. mid-day and WSD now bring you an opportunity to be a part of this project. Mail us photos of a friendly street dog or cat from your neighbourhood.

WEEK 5 WINNER: This frame was sent by mid-day reader Savio Mascarenhas, of a pup from a building in IC Colony, Borivali. "This puppy, along with some other doggies, lives in our society and they protect our buildings from every nrook and corner. We are proud of them," says Mascarenhas.

Tell us the story behind their name, a touching anecdote, or a special trait. Every week, we will print the best photograph selected from entries received until the end of 2015. The photographer of each winning frame will be gifted WSD Calendar 2016.

Email: wsdindia@gmail.com with your photo entries.

The morning rave
Alive and kicking: Fitness buffs enjoyed Zumba and Yoga sessions at a morning fitness party organised by an online fitness portal.

The party was held at a popular pub in Khar at 6.30 am and according to the organisers, it will be a regular feature in Mumbai before it extendes to 15 more cities.

A Cuff link
We like how publicists always use quirky methods to try and get our attention. The diarist received an email with the subject line ‘Cuff Parade it is…' Curious about developments in Cuffe Parade or even New Cuffe Parade, we opened the email to find details about how ear cuffs are an emerging trend.

Machimar Nagar at Cuffe Parade. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Good gimmick by a designer who launches a new collection of ear cuffs. Good time, we thoughtto share some trivia on how this South Mumbai area got its name - The City Improvement Trust (CIT) undertook its most successful housing scheme on the western front of Colaba.

This reclaimed land, spread over 90,000 square yards had beautifully designed buildings and 1-2 storied bungalows facing the Arabian Sea. A new road adjacent to the seafront was completed in 1906. It was a raised promenade away from the road traffic along the waterfront, known as the ‘Parade', dotted with benches and named after T W Cuffe one of the prominent members of the CIT.