Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Hair raising sun

A staffer adjusts Tiger Shroff'a stubborn turf as he readies for a promotion event for the upcoming Mumbai marathon with Aaditya Thackeray at Nariman Point. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

For Assam's sake

Ankita Konwar has earned her own name over the years, besides being the person who caused heartbreaks when she married Milind Soman. For, people fell in love with her earthy persona, as she joined Soman, running barefoot with him, and even donned a saree while doing so on many occasions. Yesterday, the Assam-born and brought up Konwar posted a video of herself, running in a mekhela, calling attention to the unrest in Assam.

"I know Assam right now is not at its best to celebrate Bhugali bihu and it's heartbreaking considering how joyful an occasion it is for each one of us! But I pray we find our way to normalcy. Normalcy - which is being exceptionally loving, which is loving our culture, our tradition. No matter where we are, a part of axom is always with us!... And yes I love running in my #muga #rihamekhela," she wrote.

Goodbye, Shirin aunty

The charm of Irani cafés in Mumbai lies not just in the food they serve and the simple interiors, but also in the people who own and run them. One example was the unassuming Shirin Khosravi, who you'd find sitting at Café Military.

It's a place that's steeped in heritage, having opened in 1933. The joint which this newspaper paid tribute to at last year's The Guide Reataurant Awards with the Iconic Culinary Institution trophy, offers the favourite combination of kheema pav-beer to loyalists, and was co-owned by Khosravi who passed away following a cardiac arrest on Monday.

Sheriar with mum Shirin Khosrawi

Speaking about the loss, Parvez Patel of Café Ideal told this diarist, "I remember her as a meticulous woman who believed in simple living. She was the sort of person who really cared about everyone and had a good heart. She was an old-timer with no modern ideas at all." Our condolences to
the family.

Jhalli and proud

Kommune's Spoken Fest kicked off this weekend in BKC and this diarist happened to be part of a live taping of Netflix India's popular weekly show Behensplaining featuring Internet personalities Kusha Kapila and Srishti Dixit. Referencing Farah Khan's Main Hoon Na, the duo drew attention to how Amrita Rao's character Sanjana Bakshi was "jhalli" shamed.

They began the set by first asking the audience to define "jhalli" - with answers ranging from silly or clumsy to someone who doesn't ascribe to the traditional notions of feminism. And after women in the audience shared their experiences of being jhalli-shamed, they also invited men to speak up about being called jhalla. At the end of it all, Kapila and Dixit recited a pledge which ended on the note of being jhalli and proud. All in all, expect a killer episode on
YouTube soon.

Rainbow hues on the ramp

Come January and colourful Pride month events make a firm place on our calendars ending with Pride Day on January 27, under the banner Bol Ki Lab Azad Hain Tere. This time, Color Positive, a production house, brings an LGBT fashion pageant that caters to as many as six different categories on January 19 at Sophia College. In its third year, the pageant has previously had challenges filling all its categories.

Winner of the pageant in 2019

"But, with Section 377 gone, things are changing for the better. In the first year, we catered only to lesbian, gay and transgender categories but now we have six," shares Savio Mascarenhas, show director. So, there's Mr King and Mr Queen (for men who want to dress up as men and women), Ms Queen and Ms King (women who want to dress up and women and men) and Mex King and Mex Queen (for women to men and men to women transitions).

An art soiree

At the preview of artist Nalini Malani's show, The Witness at Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum last weekend, the who's who of the city's art community was in attendance.