Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Strung together

Hawkers sell vegetables and fruits on the road while people queue up for a BEST bus at Borivli West.

Lit by music

A string quartet will perform at the concert next month

Music by candlelight is not just a romantic thought; it is the concept for a multi-sensory musical concert. Festival House India, the team behind the immersive exhibition Van Gogh 360, will bring Candlelight India to Mumbai's Royal Opera House next month, where a string quartet will cover pop classics from Queen, Taylor Swift and Coldplay across three concerts. Roma Makkad, spokesperson of Candlelight India shared, "The concert combines what people love with something new, and we are excited to take this to cities across India."

Craving for some Keralite fare

(From left) Vignesh Shivan, Toral Sanghavi, Nayanthara and chef Sara Jacob Nair at the kitchen

While the city grooves to Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan mania, we learned that Bandra joint Nair on Fire, had a quiet secret to hide. The neighbourhood's popular joint for home-styled Kerala cuisine had apparently caught the eye of Khan's co-star in the film, Nayanthara. "We got a call that she would like to drop in for a meal. It was out of the blue," shared co-founder Toral Sanghavi. Even though the team offered to deliver the food, she decided to come in. "It was quite a surprise for us, too. Being a kitchen, we do not yet have a lavish seating space. But neither she, nor the team, were the least bit bothered," the founder remarked. As for the food, everything on the menu was ordered. Sanghavi revealed, "Most actors, while they are shooting, tend to have certain restrictions, but they did not have any such issues. Everything on our menu was ordered and consumed." So did they get any inside information about Jawan? Sanghavi remarked, "We tend not to bother them with these details. It is a thrill that they decided to come in to try
our food."

Grains of rice for Lord Ganesha

Rice Ganesha idol made by Rajan Jayakar (right) at his family home

The Churchgate-based Jayakar family has been celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi in a unique way. "For the last few centuries, in my family, we have been celebrating this auspicious festival by making a Ganesh idol using rice. Several generations back, we were told that murti-puja will not be good for us, so we adopted this way to worship Ganesha. I make this idol on the first day of every Ganesh Chaturthi. So tomorrow morning, I will start making the idol using rice that fits roughly around in one small bowl," said Rajan Jayakar, who added that he learnt from his father how to make the idol in 1964. When this diarist asked about how this tradition began, the 76-year-old explained, "A long time ago, an individual told our family that murti-puja will not be good for the family; so, we adopted this way of puja." It takes roughly two and a half hours to create this, while the immersion will take place the same night. "We move the table on which the idol is placed as a symbolic way of immersion, the next morning we take the rice and immerse it in the sea, which is devoured by the fish," he revealed.

Beatbox your way to Japan

(From left) Raghvendra, Shivali, Mihir and Anup

Desible, the Indian beatbox crew is over the moon. The group has been selected as one of the top five crews from across the world who will participate at the Grand Beatbox Battle in Tokyo. The four members, Shivali Joshi, Mihir Lapalikar, Anup Gaikwad (Wahdafu) and Raghvendra Goswami (Sonu) made history, as the first Indian beatbox crew to compete in this prestigious battle that will be held in Japan, next month. "We made a wild card three-minute video, which was uploaded on our Youtube channel, which then got selected. We are excited to participate and represent the country at this competition," Joshi told us.