Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Cane & able

Anil Kapoor does a balancing act at a Guinness World Record laundry attempt in Bandra on Friday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Peek-a-Boo into the future

In September last year, we learnt that chef Boo Kim had hung his apron at the popular Bandra celeb den-cum-restaurant he was associated with, and was en-route US as he wanted to spend more time with his family. At the time, when bidding our adieus to Boo, we didn't foresee the chef returning in such a short time. But this week, we spotted his face in posts shared by the F&B industry's players in Mumbai, who all seem to have got together for a meal at Rahul Akerkar's Qualia. So, this diarist reached out to Boo, and it turns out that not only is he back, but has a plan up his sleeve, too.

"I've missed the Mumbai heat! Now that I'm back, I am ready to kick-start a few fun ideas that I've been working on. I promise you you're going to love them and I can't wait to do what I love in one of my most favourite cities in the world," he shared, while remaining tight-lipped about his upcoming restaurant. We'll wait to see what's in store, but for now, we're happy that he's back.

What a mystery

What happens if you wake up one morning, and learn that your identity no longer exists? What is the one thing that you will miss the most about your life? That's the question you have to answer on HarperCollins India's social media pages, and if it's witty enough, the publishing house will give you a free copy of Elijah Brahms's new book, The Billionaire's Funeral. The crime fiction follows the story of what happens when the protagonist, a billionaire businessman, finds his life digitally erased by a hacker. But that's not all. To add to the mystery, Elijah Brahms is the pseudonym for a former senior executive in a multi-billion dollar organisation.

London calling

After wooing customers with their luxury leather products, Indian retailer Nappa Dori, which translates to "leather and thread", opened its first European store in London. The two-storey outlet in Seven Dials offers handcrafted bags and luggage, accessories, stationery and homeware, and will also include th­eir cafe concept, famous for its tea. Founded in 2010, it's the brainchild of NIFT graduate Gautam Sinha.

I, me, myself

There are two types of people in the world - ones who enjoy dining alone, and those that would rather skip a meal than be seen alone at a restaurant. Well, actor Gul Panag clearly belongs to the former group, as she took to Instagram to post a picture from the day she started going for lunch dates by herself, followed by dinners and movies. It was happenstance that she passed by a restaurant she had been wanting to check out for a while and decided to go grab lunch on her own. Turns out, she had a great time and realised how much she liked her own company. "It's this time spent with oneself that allows us to introspect and grow. And also to plan and de-stress. We often forget that investing in relationships is required in order for them to be healthy. The same holds true for the relationship we have with ourselves. I enjoy watching movies alone, too. Esp­ecially if they feature Henry Cavill. I saw the Man from U.N.C.L.E twice, alone. That is, after watching it once with HIM. This way I didn't need to take my eyes off the screen to talk to the person I may have ordinarily gone to watch the film with [sic]," she wrote.

Booked for Britain

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is one of the world's largest arts festivals and last year, we saw popular comedian Anuvab Pal make his debut with a scathing set on colonialism and the British empire. Now, he will be performing at the festival next month, with a set called Democracy and Disco Dancing. "This year is about India today, and the chaos of a billion-strong democracy," he said. The other Mumbaikar at the fest will be Aditi Mittal. We can't wait to see what the Brits think of this one.

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