Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

Beak hour

It's fishing time for this median egret at Girgaum Chowpatty.

A sound idea

Indian classical singer, sound designer and acoustician, Gaurav Chopra, feels that all artistes should understand the technology that goes into their performances, while all sound designers should work closely with artistes. This enables perfect sync between them. In a Facebook live workshop, aptly titled The Artiste on Both Sides of the Mic, that the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) is hosting on January 16, Chopra will elaborate how artistes can use technology to augment online performances. "Amid the pandemic, we are entirely dependent on technology. I'll be more demonstrative than theoretical. I'll be talking about how we can improve the live streaming experience and home production. A bad visual can still pass, but low-quality sound pulls you down," he told this diarist. Tune in, for a few tips.

With a little help from the Dalai Lama

It's going to take us a long time to get over the losses of 2020. To make 2021 a little more inspiring, if not easier, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama has penned a new title, The Little Book of Encouragement (Penguin India). The Nobel Peace Prize winner, in a foreword, wrote that the book, in which he shared 130 encouraging quotes, comes from his "commitment to promoting human happiness". "The pandemic has changed our lives forever. We've often found ourselves at crossroads; as if we have nothing to fall back upon. These words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrapped in love, compassion and encouragement have the power to infuse fresh energy in the disease-stricken world," shared Premanka Goswami, editor, Penguin Press.

Ready for a Middle Eastern soiree?

The year seems to have started on a busy note for the city's F&B industry, with a slew of new openings. The latest entry is by the Capital's modern Middle Eastern restaurant Diablo, which is filling in the void left by the now-shuttered Tamasha. Restaurateur Priyank Sukhija, who runs both brands, told this diarist that Diablo in Lower Parel will be dishing out modern adaptations of Middle Eastern fare. "We've done a complete overhaul of the space as Tamasha had been around for three to four years and was also competing with our other brand, Lord of the Drinks, next door. Diablo is a Middle Eastern-Mediterranean restaurant that has influences from Afghanistan and Turkey and a lot of dishes that India hasn't seen," he said, adding that another outlet of Plum By Bent Chair is opening in Bandra next week. Like we said, it's good to see the industry abuzz again.

To Kitab Khana, with love

The damning blaze at Fort's Kitab Khana has moved Mumbai's biblio-philes. While some like author Murzban Shroff posted an online appeal to buy more titles from the "plucky bookstore", writer Sanjay P Shetye wrote to them about his fond memories there. In the moving letter that T Jagath, its COO, shared with this diarist, Shetye said he was nearly in tears when he heard of the fire. "We sometimes develop an emotio-nal bond with some places...Kitab Khana is one such place," he wrote, reminiscing how his books were launched there (in pic). "The bliss one gets going through the pages of a book at your own leisure time, searching flawlessly for the desired references while sipping coffee in the cafeteria is the experience beyond words. It is a destination to the answer to the eternal question, 'What is happiness?'" he wrote. Don't you agree?

Raftaar's French connection

Rapper, composer and producer Raftaar's music label, Kalamkaar, which nurtures local talent, has earned the attention of music companies in France. Believe, a Paris-based independent music firm, has tied up with Kalamkaar to extend its digital music distribution services to the label. About the collaboration, Raftaar shared with this diarist: "I am super stoked that Kalamkaar has partnered with Believe India to distribute and promote our independent music digitally. We're just getting started; there's a lot more coming up on the global front." The rapper added that he will be releasing a new EP by the end of this month, and that a few global tie-ups are on the cards, too. Sounds neat.