Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Workers at Kora Kendra Khadi Gram Udyog in Borivali give final . PIC/Nimesh Dave

It takes three

Workers at Kora Kendra Khadi Gram Udyog in Borivali give final touches to the Indian Tricolour on Tuesday. PIC/Nimesh Dave

Grand design

Here's some good news for chef Rahul Akerkar's fine-dine, Qualia. The restaurant has made it to the shortlist of the UK-based Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2020 in the International Standalone category. A thrilled Akerkar told this diarist, "It's a real testament to the amazing work
done by Serie Architects' Kapil Gupta and Chris Lee.

For [wife] Malini and I, design plays an important part in all the restaurants that we have created, and this is a validation of that. So, I'm really excited."

A brilliant idea

Every Brilliant Thing won hearts with its intimate story of a seven-year-old who wants to cheer his mum up in hospital. The unique live participative performance that speaks of love, life, family and mental health is all set for its final run this Sunday. Its director Quasar Thakore Padamsee told this diarist, "When we started working with this medium, I wasn't the most excited. But the show runs went really well. It was remarkable to see the audience participate and share their own stories with mental health professionals at the end of the show.

That is essentially the purpose of any performance - to stimulate people to have conversations, to think and to feel. More conversation around mental health is the need of the hour." He added that there will be a void after the last show, "Theatres aren't opening any time soon. But we will explore newer conversations that we can open up through this medium and our performances."

Assam in mind

FLO, the women's wing of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has decided to increase awareness about the condition in Assam and offer financial support to affected villages and districts. They will be organising a webinar today to take this idea forward. "Apart from our awareness efforts about the need to raise funds, we will also have with us renowned artistes who have not only been exemplary in their area of work but are also paying back to society. It will be a proud moment to have all these popular personalities on one digital platform," shared Jahanbi Phookan (inset), president, FICCI FLO.

The line-up includes top artistes from the region including Bollywood singer Joi Barua, Indian playback and folk singer Kalpana Patowary, indo-fusion violinist and vocalist Sunita Bhuyan, singer and composer Zublee Baruah (below), stand-up comedian Abhineet Mishra and assistant professor at IIT Delhi, Manabendra Saharia.

Love in the time of a pandemic

The lockdown has been tough for everyone, including those who are in relationships in different places. The results of a recent survey have revealed that 75 per cent of the respondents are willing to meet their better halves at the next given opportunity. Also, 23 per cent said that they are on the lookout for love interests at social gatherings and parties, which, of course, have come to a standstill now. "It's good to see that people are positive about love among the pandemic in India," Solene Paillet, marketing director of Gleeden, the extramarital dating app that conducted the survey, told
this diarist.

C for champions

Cancer did not deter kids undergoing treatment at the St Jude ChildCare Centre in Mumbai from acing their Class 10 SSC board exams. The results were declared this week, and Prithviraj Jhadav, Aditya Navhal, Dhanashree Rahatkar, Bharat Ranjane, Navid Qureshi, Harsh Deshmukh and Aditya Relekar came through with flying colours, with a few getting over 90 per cent. "These kids face great hardships but perseverance pays and hence our joy is double," said their mentor, Jyoti Banga.

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