Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Bend it like mandira
Fit-as-a-fiddle Mandira Bedi sets major health goals as she does push-ups during a sportswear collection launch in Andheri on Friday. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

Rhythms for the road
In a unique but imaginable synthesis of music and travel, the Roadtrippers Club, a Mumbai-based road tripping community, has joined hands with celebrated music conductor Zubin Mehta's not-for-profit organisation, Mehli Mehta Music Foundation (MMMF), which honours his father. This weekend, the enthusiasts are Nashik-bound to launch the single, Let's Keep the Rhythm Alive - part of an initiative to save the iconic Rhythm House by industrialist Anand Mahindra. The trip will also seek to raise awareness and crowd source funds for MMMF.

Gone too soon
The dastangoi community of India is still reeling from the news of the unfortunate death of Ankit Chadha, the acclaimed storyteller, who played a critical role in reviving the centuries-old art form. Chadha, 30, who was in Pune to give a performance called Prarthana on Gandhi's views on death, was out for a walk near Kamshet lake on Thursday when he slipped and fell into the water. The Delhi-based artiste was a regular at Mumbai's Kabir Festival, where he had presented Prarthana for the first time earlier this year. "We are yet to come to terms with the news. He had so much to give. He could infuse his performance with so many emotions," Pankti Shah-Gala, who volunteers for the festival, told this diarist. Chadha had recently returned from a US tour, which included performances at Harvard and Yale universities. "Ankit, you will be missed. Keep telling stories wherever you are," the Mumbai Kabir community said in a statement.

Pic/Breakfast with champions

Sachin, the foodie and ideal hubby
The web-based chat show, Breakfast With Champions, has featured producer and presenter Gaurav Kapur in candid conversation with several cricketers from India and across the world. But the fifth season, which was released on May 10, has opened with a bang. After coordination over dates for a couple of months, Kapur managed to get Sachin Tendulkar over breakfast for the first episode. Since its release, the episode has garnered close to 2.5 lakh views already. "For breakfast, I decided to take vada pav for him, and joked that it was from Shivaji Park. He took a close look at one, poked it, took a bite and said, 'This can't be from Shivaji Park'. I had indeed picked it up from Bandra," Kapur told this diarist.

Tendulkar's elephantine memory as far as dates go is well-known. But between shots, Anjali urged Kapur to ask hubby dear about April 24, 1994. Puzzled since it his birth date, he went ahead and asked him anyway. "He paused for two seconds and said, 'That's the day we got engaged,' and I could see Anjali smiling," said Kapur, adding that the legend went on to share many fascinating nuggets from on and off the field, and the team decided to air it over two episodes. The other guests to appear on the show this season include Smriti Mandhana, Shikhar Dhawan and Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan.

Doodle the tribute
Google honoured celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer Mrinalini Sarabhai, on her birth centenary yesterday. Sarabhai also founded Darpana Academy of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad that promoted dance, drama, music and puppetry. "Mrinalini Sarabhai is a phenomenal woman but interestingly, she was also one of the first women to travel with her troupe, as she introduced Indian classical dance to the world. She started including social issues such as dowry deaths in her pieces. By sporting embroidered and patterned-yolk blouses [like the one in the illustration], she popularised Gujarat handicrafts in high-society circles. So, she was also an activist, feminist and terrific role model. I learnt bharatanatyam and studied design in Ahmedabad, so, the project was even more alluring," says illustrator Sudeepti Tucker, who made the doodle.

Mumbai on web
As the release of Nagesh Kukunoor's much-awaited web series The City of Dreams, a political drama set in Mumbai, nears, the expectations are soaring. Adding to the buzz is the news that acclaimed actor Atul Kulkarni will play the role of a politician in the series. A thriller packed with power, corruption and deceit - which side of the narrative is Kulkarni going to be on? We'll have to wait and watch.

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