01 October,2019 07:21 AM IST | | Team mid-day
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's son Aditya is congratulated by brother Tejas, after he announced that he will contest the assembly elections from Worli. Pic/Ashish Raje
Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, was recently spotted treading on new turf. No, he wasn't scouting for a new constitutency to contest from in the upcoming state elections but had dropped by a health institute and even tried out the new fitness equipment at the space, monitored by its founder, Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, GI and bariatric surgeon.
But this wasn't the first time the two were meeting for Dr Muffi had performed gastric bypass surgery on Gadkari eight years ago. Well, given how rampant lifestyle diseases among Indians are, it's good to see a minister get into exercise mode, especially before he and his ilk hit the demanding campaign trail.
When mid-day raised a toast to Mumbai's F&B scene with The Guide Restaurant Awards 2019, this paper's annual celebration of the best of food and drink, in April this year, a segment called Iconic Culinary Institution: SuÂrviving Irani Cafés was deÂdÂicated to the much-loved eateries that are historically linked to the Parsi Zoroastrian diaspora.
Parvez S Patel stands outside Ideal corner in a still from one of the videos
In the run-up to the awards, a special video series featuring Sassanian, Café De La Paix, Cosmopolitan, Café Military, Ideal Corner, Koolar & Co, Café Colony and Café Excelsior was created. It has now bagged an award at the ICL 2019 - India Content Leadership Awards and Conference, in the Best Content in a Viral Marketing Campaign category.
The video series (catch it on midday.com) celebrated a culinary institution that had survived in the face of high rentals, low margins and a future generation that preferred to move overseas. "Just the way people consider carrying a mobile as a must today, coming to an Irani café to have a good and chÂeap meal or just hang out was a muÂÂst, too.
Amir Koolar
"It's a sincere and democratic effort on mid-day's part to have recognised people who have been left out [of the city's grÂowth narrative]," Amir Koolar IrÂÂani, owner of Koolar & Co told this diarist.
Son of actors Anooradha Patel and Kanwaljit Singh, Aditiya Singh is readying to host his first solo exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery. Having previously been part of group shows at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya and Jaipur's International Art Festival, the 25-year-old will showcase works of acrylic, ink, watercolour and mixed media.
(Left) Aditiya Singh with his parents
Speaking about his canvases which he turns into a dream-like world, Singh said, "I approach my canvas with no preconceived thoughts or ideas... My journey as an artist started with free and unfettered expressions. I did not have to break any laws and rules to achieve freedom. It was freedom born out of freedom." Our congratulations.
This diarist was confused by a new signboard that read "Pinto's Cafe", hanging outside The Pantry in Kala Ghoda. But, a chat with co-owner Sumit Gambhir confirmed the bistro-cafe will remain as is.
"It was for a shoot. Often, because of the amount of money doing up a set can cost, many from the film fraternity reach out to restaurant and nightclubs," Gambhir clarified.
When it comes to dating via apps, who you end up interacting with depends on which city you are in. One such popular app did a survey to find the top cities for living the best single life. We are happy to report that Mumbai was the fourth-most active city in the country, led by Delhi.
Mumbaikars also came fourth under the category of cities where users swiped right the most, thus bettering your chances of finding a match. So, if you want to move cities according to the dating pool, the list could help (although we suggest putting your career first).
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