Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Whispers

Mumbai for Batman
Batman has always been one of our favourite superheroes of all time. Now, Indian fans of the caped guardian of Gotham City will have a special day to show their allegiance to him. Comic Con India will be hosting the country's first ever Batman-themed party to celebrate the stylish superhero.

Batman Celebration Night supported by DC Comics will be held on July 23, in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Whether you are a fan of Tim Burton's Batman or drool over Nolan's Dark Knight, you can turn up in whichever manner that you wish to show your love for Batman.

These Batman themed parties will include theme-based Cosplay, games, activities and cool music. These parties will also have a special Batman themed drinks menu. Attendees wearing Batman T-shirts can also avail great offers like discounts and free drink. Watch this space for more.

Have itch, will travel
Even as you read this, intrepid Mumbai globetrotter Meher Moos (71) will be in Alaska as part of a two-month travel tour that takes her exploring to USA, Alaska in particular and parts of Canada.

Meher Moos (with mike) talks to her audience. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

Moos, now a little frailer in flesh than before, but not in spirit, was talking about her travel experiences, at a culture centre in Bandra, called The Hive, prior to her departure. She was addressing members a group called The Itch List, a group people who have something called The Itch List, comprising things they want to do in their life and don't wish to wait for years to do.

Like travel to distant lands for instance… and who better than Moos, 180 countries old, to talk about it? She shared her stories to a group of bemused young men and women on how one has to be bold, daring, and not be put off by situations. "I always take lifts in Mumbai.

I stop one car; if one says no, the other might stop, but never be afraid to ask," she was saying to some laughs. Moos won the hearts of her audience with recollections like, "I have stood on the Bamiyans in Afghanistan, years before the Taliban blew them up.

I went to the Antarctica as a guest of the owner of a boat. I had travelled to the most exotic places for Rs 25,000, which in those days was enough to buy a flat at Malabar Hill..." Moos went on saying that she never kept a travel diary, "as I have an excellent memory but now, I find myself forgetting things because of my age..."

As the young audience laughed at her candid accounts, Moos, with her much more salt than pepper hair, nodded vigorously as she espoused the philosophy that has defined not just her travel but her life, "never be afraid to ask," signed off this been-there-done-that lady, whose several passports are thick enough to pass off as paperback tomes.

From Boulder to a boulder
Last week, there was a bit of a flutter in the print and social media when news broke that the country's largest literary festival, also Asia's largest, was getting even larger. For three days in September (18-21), Boulder in Colorado will play host to this free literary extravaganza.

After London, this will be the second international destination for the festival. What lessened the cheer was that around the same time, while making enquiries about another literary festival scheduled to be held in August in Bhutan, this diarist learnt from one of the organisers that a major sponsor had dropped out.

She admitted that she had no choice but to cut costs at every kind. Sigh. One hopes that well-meaning sponsors step in to ensure that such far-and-few genuine literary platforms on the subcontinent survive.

Bring out the linen
Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is busy cooking up new ideas (pun intended, entirely!).

Sanjeev Kapoor

The world-famous food-entrepreneur will be stepping out of the kitchen to launch a a range of fashionable table and kitchen linen and lifestyle cutlery products under the brand Sanjeev Kapoor.

This would mark his foray into the lifestyle houseware segment through brand licensing deals. We're waiting to see what will be inside this new khazana.

Esplanade House, Version 2.0
If you've passed by the Esplanade House on Hazarimal Somani Marg, and have always wondered how this mansion got such an amazing turnaround, head to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya this Friday.

The restored interiors of the Esplanade House, Fort. Pic/Sameer Markande

A special lecture titled, Repairs and Restoration of the Esplanade House, Mumbai, will be given by Vikas Dilawari, a renowned conservation architect.

Responsible for this stunning makeover, Dilawari will share his experiences and the challenges while working on this project that won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award (Honorary Mention) for Cultural Heritage Restoration 2014. Bravo!