Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Nawazuddin Siddiqui at Juhu Hotel

Hair's looking at you

A staffer makes sure that the wind doesn't spoil Nawazuddin Sddiqui's look during promotions for his upcoming film, at a Juhu hotel on Thursday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

In memoriam

Social, a chain of pubs, has spread its wings across the city, starting from Colaba and going all the way up to Goregaon. It is now entering the leafy environs of Powai, with the outlet there - its 11th in Mumbai and 24th in India - opening to the public on November 14. The cool thing about the décor there is that there are benches with plaques that are dedicated to some of the city's lost treasures, each conceptualised by Riyaaz Amlani, whose firm, Impresario, owns Social. One, for instance, reads, ""In memory of Bhim, the leopard - 23.09.2019." Another says, ""In memory of the 1,500 trees of Aarey - The oxygen to our lungs, home to the wild." A third one has the message, "In memory of the textile mills of Mumbai - 1854 to 1982," while a fourth reads, "This bench is dedicated to the trams of Mumbai - 09.05.1874 to 31.03.1964." It's a nice touch, we feel, leaving us with bittersweet feelings of nostalgia.

Winning notes

(Starting second from left) Sangeeta Jokhakar, Tanvi Chakravarty and Sumer Murthy pose with their medals and certificates

Jumeira Sounds is an international youth competition for musicians that was recently held in Dubai. It attracted 200 young artistes from across the world, and three Mumbaikars among them have done the city proud. Sangeeta Jokhakar won the gold medal in the solo violin category (11 to 14 years), while Sumer Murthy won a silver medal in the same category. Jokhakar also teamed up with Tanvi Chakravarty to win the second prize in the chamber ensemble category. All three will now perform at the NCPA Add Art Festival at the end of this month, which is being held in celebration of the organisation's 50th year. Our congratulations to the talented youngsters.

Of literary lists and awards

Arundhati Roy and Salman Rushdie

The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is handed out every year to an author whose work is focused on the region, in order to bring literature from this part of the world before a global audience. The shortlist for this edition has just been announced and it features six writers. They are Amitabha Bagchi (Half the Night is Gone), Jamil Jan Kochai (99 Nights in Logar), Madhuri Vijay (The Far Field), Manoranjan Byapari (There's Gunpowder in the Air), Raj Kamal Jha (The City and the Sea) and Sadia Abbas (The Empty Room). The winner of the $25,000 prize will be announced at the Nepal Literature Festival in Pokhran in December.

Meanwhile, in what's good news for Indian authors, five of them have been included in the BBC's list of 100 Novels that Shaped Our World. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (inset) is in it. So are The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie (below) and Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy, while VS Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas and RK Narayan's Swami and Friends feature, too.

A rocking time on the cards in Bandra

Child Relief and You, the non-profit organisation, is turning 40 this year, and they are celebrating it with a musical performance at the Carter Road amphitheatre this evening. It features the popular rap group Dharavi Rocks, who turn recycled plastic material into percussion instruments, apart from the dance troupes ToTheCulture and Dance Fitness. Vinod Shetty of Acorn Foundation, which manages Dharavi Rocks, told this diarist, "We will also have guest performers who will perform Carnatic and fusion music. CRY has come up with an anthem for their 40th anniversary and we will play a cover version of it at the concert."

Woman power

Dominique Hoeltgen is a French journalist who wrote a book called Inde: La Revolution Par Les Femmes, which is on the dynamism of Indian women. She followed that up with Inde: la disparition de Jean-Baptiste, about a French couple who spent seven years looking for a son who disappeared while cycling in India. Hoeltgen was in the city earlier this week to discuss the book at an event held at Alliance Francaise and it was a packed house.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates