Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Sameer Markande

Say, Statue!

Staff members of a hotel on Ghodbunder Road, Thane, get together to install a statue outside the outlet

Have a caring Christmas

The twinkling lights are up around the city, shiny green trees have been bedecked with baubles, and it's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas. But the true spirit of the festival is in the joy of giving, say the wise, because like the past two years have shown us: we're all in this together. INTACH Dahanu Chapter along with the town's Le Marcel Café and Bakery are nudging citizens to relook at their belongings, and give away what they do not need to those who do. They've set up a "hollow Christmas tree", where people can drop their "gifts", and volunteers will pick and distribute them. "We started this initiative last year. Dahanu has a community that shares and cares. From electronics to money, and toys and books to cutlery, people share all kinds of things with us. There are a lot of ashramshalas in Dahanu, where a majority of the kids from the tribal community study. Most often they are short on clothes, books and toys, so we also share these gifts with them to reach the larger community," said Prachi Aiman from the bakery. If you're keen to help them, drop by the café or call 9890469479.

A slice of Haji Ali in Bandra

For decades now, Haji Ali Juice Centre has been a landmark - both for consistently churning out delectable juices, shakes and snacks, and for its iconic location. This diarist is happy to hear that now, the city favourite will be crossing over the sea link, making its way to the suburb of Bandra. Asma Noorani, daughter of founder Fareed Noorani, shared that the lockdown compelled them to extend their footprint beyond South Mumbai. "We felt that we should expand in such a way that allows us to meet new people, and adds to the brand. The outlet will hopefully open in January," she confirmed with this diarist, adding that the 600-sqft outpost will serve up a mix of their bestsellers and new additions.

Here is a liberating monologue

(Centre) Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal and Dolly Thakore with cast members of the play

The Vagina Monologues is an iconic play that opened up conversations around sex like few other theatrical productions had done before, when it premiered in New York in 1996. In India, Mumbai-based thespian Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal made it accessible to local audiences and now, 19 years after her first production of the play, it will return to the stage at Prithvi Theatre on January 1 and 2. The cast and crew have begun rehearsing again, and talking about the play's significance, Dolly Thakore, one of the actors, shared, "No man or woman will ever be the same again after watching this play. We are so closed about conversations around sex and menstruation, and this play discussed all that for the first time on a theatrical stage. Women feel grateful and relieved after watching it, and men are educated."

How India was entertained in '21

A recent survey conducted by a popular entertainment and ticketing platform found some interesting insights into India's movie-watching habits in 2021. Upon easing of lockdown restrictions, it was found that a whopping 2.9 million tickets were sold during the four-day Diwali weekend. The highest number of sales in a day was seen on November 5, of 0.91 million tickets. Hyderabad came out on top as the most entertained city in 2021 with many films breaking box office records in the festive season. The advent of streaming has exposed people to films of diverse regional and international cultures. Telugu and Hindi films charted high in regional languages while international languages such as English, Norwegian, Spanish and French picked up streaming time. A staggering 9,821 minutes of streaming time was spent by a single user.