19 September,2022 06:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Atul Kamble
A man scatters the ashes of his loved one in the sea at Dadar beach
A little healthy competition never hurt anyone, but a mystery box challenge in the city recently witnessed chefs from four restaurants go nuts. The Macadamia Mystery Box challenge, hosted by the Australian High Commission in India, and facilitated by chefs Divesh Aswani along with Michael Weldon of Masterchef Australia fame, witnessed O Pedro, Ekaa, Masque and Mizu locking horns. The chefs, this diarist learnt, had to think up an entrée or main dish along with a dessert featuring Australia's favourite macadamia nut and some of the region's seasonal herbs.
Bandra's Japanese eatery Mizu won the judges' hearts with their star dish vegemite and macadamia creme-marinated lamb loin, with smoked macadamia yogurt, mountain berry pepper and salt bush, and a lemon myrtle chimichurri. "For dessert, we served a macadamia crumble with a chocolate vegemite salt bush cream, a semolina sponge with a vegemite caramel glaze and a white chocolate pepperberry creme anglaise," said founder Lakhan Jethani. The time limit of 90 minutes further amped up the heat in the kitchen, he added. "Chefs Kripasha Miniya and Satish from Mizu prepared the dishes as other senior chefs watched. Such opportunities of healthy competition are rare to come by," he shared.
Installation view of Ayesha Sultana's works at Experimenter, Colaba. Pic Courtesy/The Artist and Experimenter
Winds from the East are blowing in Colaba. In a 130-year-old heritage building, which once housed Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Kolkata's prominent art house Experimenter is set to open its doors. "It was a spontaneous decision to open a gallery in Mumbai. It overlooks the sea and the east coast of Mumbai. So it's quite interesting that the gallery faces the east, and we come from the east," shared Priyanka Raja, who founded the gallery with Prateek Raja (in pic).
"We hope to showcase artists that Mumbai has followed, but not had a chance to see," she added. They are opening this week with Making Visible by artist Ayesha Sultana of Bangladeshi origin, marking her first solo exhibition in the city.
Earlier this year, as part of a fellowship by Veditum India Foundation, Mumbai-based artist-researcher Poorva Goel walked along the Sindh, a tributary of Yamuna. She has started summing up her experiences in a recently published article that is part of an upcoming series. "Nearly 470-km-long, Sindh is a conduit of life, culture, local economies and biodiversity.
A moment from Poorva Goel's walk by the Sindh
Large dams and unsustainable sand mining pose the biggest threats to Sindh," Goel shared. Recounting her creative exchange with Sindh, she said, "In my last hour by the river, I waited for a metaphor to strike me, that would encapsulate the meaning of a river. It didn't. Perhaps, the fragments of that meaning lay right in front of me." She feels that only a deeper understanding of the river can help people realise its need to flow freely.
On a mission to co-create a business and policy ecosystem that empowers LGBTQiA+ individuals and organisations, Thane-based Samavesh Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for their first-ever Pride Conclave. "We are celebrating the second anniversary of our inclusive platform. We will wrap up the conclave over cocktails so that people can network and have fun," shared co-founder Kanishka Chaudhry. The convention, due next weekend, will host three panel discussions. "The first segment involves the success stories of entrepreneurs from the queer community. This is vital because trans individuals are in dire need of trans role models. The second panel will take stock of practical policy knowledge and financial resources to understand what's required, and the third session will promote collaboration for success," Chaudhry added.
Like Amma's dal and writer Marcel Proust's box of madeleines, food impacts us emotionally. Drawing on this relationship, Bound India is calling for essays on food that has influenced people. Founder Tara Khandelwal recalled, "Food has always been a bridge between generations in India. I remember summer afternoons, sneaking past my grandmother to eat leftover birthday cake." The winners will be published in their magazine. Check out @boundindia to share your food memories.
