Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Sameer Markande

Listen to Charlie

On the 132nd birth anniversary of Charlie Chaplin, a mimicry artist drives home the most important message of the hour, outside Shivdham Crematorium, in Goregaon East. A 55-ft mask was also unveiled at the spot to spread awareness.

A rail-y special birthday

A before (top) and after glimpse of the Thana viaduct (eastern), Great Indian Peninsula Railway

Did you know that yesterday, ie, on April 16, 1853, on a Saturday afternoon, the Indian Railways had operated its first passenger commercial run between Bori Bunder and Thana, now Thane? Our in-house railway historian Rajendra B Aklekar shared that the train had three engines, 14 coaches and 400 passengers. In his book, Halt Station India - The Dramatic Tale of the Nation's First Rail Lines, he has documented how men, women and children thronged the highest viewpoints to witness the spectacle. He informed us that West Bengal's Howrah and erstwhile Bombay were in a race to operate the first train. "Howrah was, in fact, ahead with 38 miles of track ready by 1853, when the Thana line opened, but two mishaps left them without rail cars and locomotives," he shared, adding that railway pioneer George Stephenson's son, Robert, was the consulting engineer for the Thana line. In fact, a year before this milestone moment, when the "hissing and puffing first engine arrived, there was awe, fear and excitement as it was pulled down a public road by more than 200 coolies near Byculla… Many equated it with a supernatural power," he added. No wonder, this city's lifeline continues to be the local train till today.

A curry to remember

As part of a series of cooking classes called Meals Ready, conducted by Bengaluru-based publishing house Reliable Copy, artist Pushpamala N is set to perform her late friend and renowned journalist Gauri Lankesh's (in pic) Urgent Saaru or ‘urgent curry' recipe. A dish taught to her by her neighbour Lankesh, who was murdered in 2017, this performance also serves as an act of remembrance. The recipe features in 1Shanthiroad Cookbook, a collection of recipes from more than 70 contributors. "She will be performing a recipe that her friend Gauri shared with her. This cooking class is approached differently; instead of a conventional class, Pushpamala will take a more theatrical approach, making food while donning the attire of Mother India. The online performance is somewhere between a theatre piece and a demonstration. In a way, it's also an extension of Pushpamala's other artistic ventures," said Nihaal Saizal, founder of Reliable Copy.

Masking up for survival

Like many other sections of society, the ongoing crisis has dealt a blow to the tribal community residing inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), slamming the brakes on employment opportunities. Amisha H Parekh, a trustee of Seva Charitable Trust, which has been working with the community for six years, told this diarist, "The forest department recruits a lot of people. But with SGNP shut again, they're desperately looking for a means of livelihood." The trust has been working with these women to produce breathable cotton masks, proceeds of which will go towards meeting daily expenditures, Parekh added. To lend them a helping hand, call 9594888516 or head to @sevaofficial on Facebook.

Art on the road

As a part of their Outsider Moving Art and Film festival, the NGO Hers is Ours is set to begin a cross-country art journey from September 6 to November 7. "We plan to travel in a van to 18 villages from UP to Rajasthan. We are inviting artists to join us. Their travel, accommodation and food costs will be covered. Through activities like painting walls, we hope to open up conver-sations about gender discrimi-nation in the villages we visit," founder Naomi Jahan (left) said. To hop on to this journey, write to them at hers.is.ours@gmail.com.

Goila does the delivery math

With restaurants shutting again, there's been a lot of buzz about why orders through food aggregator apps can't save them. Chef Saransh Goila recently decoded the math behind this in an Instagram Reel, explaining how an eatery loses Rs 20-25 on every Rs 100 earned, vis-à-vis expenditure on ads, commissions, offers, etc. Goila told this diarist that he put out the widely shared explainer to tackle the wrong impression that the entire business of restaurants shifts to delivery when they're shut. "Only a part of the revenue, in all likelihood around 25 per cent, will move to delivery. The amount we spend while dining out is more. The threshold for ordering in is a maximum of thrice a week, whereas earlier you were possibly going out twice a week and ordering in twice," he explained. Best known for his butter chicken-themed delivery kitchen, Goila pointed out that aggregator apps do provide discoverability. "My business thrives on these apps, but restaurants don't have that luxury as their bread and butter is dine-in. When delivery becomes their only bread and butter, the economics doesn't work out as they have high rentals, salaries and utility bills to tackle," he shared. The only plea restaurants have from us is to order directly, he said, adding that he hopes to put out a detailed explainer to spread awareness.