Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Joining the dots for Raza
Great cheese, great wine and great conversations. It's how the city's best-known gallerists, artists, collectors and auctioneers remembered the last of the original founders of the Bombay's Progressives, SH Raza, who passed away on July 23 in New Delhi.

(From left) Atul Dodiya, Shireen Gandhy and Sabyasachi Mukherjee. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

At a memorial and pop-up exhibition last evening, hosted by Jehangir Art Gallery, Art Musings and the Raza Foundation, 12 speakers joined the dots (or should we say the bindus) about the late Modernist's life, in India and Paris. Gallerist Adi Jehangir recalled how Raza donated his entire earnings from an exhibition to Jehangir Art Gallery while art critic Girish Shahane raised theoretical queries about Raza.

Raza was India's pluralism personified and though a Muslim by birth, he drew from Hinduism and Christianity. Ashok Vajpeyi, poet and Raza's close friend, said, with great emotion, how, at the last rites in Mandala, Madhya Pradesh, earth was brought from his home town Babaria.

Speakers included gallerists Shireen Gandhy, Dadiba Pundole and Sangeeta Raghavan and artist Atul Dodiya, who said that were the lights in the hall to be switched off, the glow from Raza's fiery works would continue to light it up.

Two grandmas, two passions
Both women have broken the glass ceiling often. Which is why it was a lovely coincidence to note that both - singing legend, Asha Bhosle and former diplomat and expert on foreign policy, Nirupama Rao - had posted photos of quality time spent with their granddaughters.

Bhosle tweeted: ‘Taking great joy in recording with my Granddaughter Zanai for our upcoming Independence Day'. Rao, a staunch advocate for Indian handlooms, wrote: ‘In the family. #IWearHandloom. My granddaughter too!' More power to the super grandmoms!

For the love of Peru
Last weekend, home chef Ananya Banerjee's Peruvian food pop-up organised in association with a tour operator, had two very special visitors, who weren't regulars on the city's home chef/F&B circuit.

Luis M Cabello (centre), Economic and Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Peru teaching guests how to make Pisco Sour, a popular Peruvian cocktail at Ananya Banerjee's Peruvian Food pop-up

Luis M Cabello, Economic and Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Peru and Aromica Bhattacharya, Tourism Advisor, Commercial Office of Peru in India, boarded a flight from Delhi to taste Banerjee's fare, after they read about it in mid-day (July 11 edition) where this diarist was one of the select few to have been invited for a preview to Banerjee's food and travel pop-up about Peru, in collaboration with travel consultant Ansoo Gupta.

While Cabello regaled the foodie clan with stories from his country as well as his experiences in India, we heard him exclaim in glee as soon as he took a bite of the Prawn Ceviche. "I have tears in my eyes. Can someone please book me a flight home? I miss this so much!" Whoever said powerful men don't that one can't get homesick over food.

A swingin' time

Pic/Satej Shinde

Dimple Kapadia and Abha Singh are all smiles on a jhoola installed at an event held for women achievers to support an NGO-backed cause in Vile Parle, last evening.

The virtual road
A while ago, we announced on this page that acclaimed filmmaker Anand Gandhi was busy with the launch of his new company, Memesys Culture Lab, which was behind Cost of Coa, India's first ever virtual reality documentary.

While Gandhi prepares for the Mumbai premiere, in the works is also ElseVR, a "mixed reality magazine". It's pronounced Elsewhere (you didn't need any help with that of course), says it's time for the Luddites among us to brush up on tech.

The online magazine will feature essays and stories and readers can "go inside" the story - literally. Powered by virtual and augmented reality, ElseVR's editor-in-chief Khushboo Ranka (in pic), who wrote Ship of Theseus, has finalised a tight-lipped list of contributors for the magazine, leaving us to guess away.