Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Atul Kamble

Halo of the goddess

A bright nimbus cloud casts a halo around the silhouette of Flora Fountain in Fort.

Konkan calling

The exteriors of Sorozai in Andheri

A new wind from the coast is blowing into the city. The new restaurant, Sorozai, in Andheri West will bring flavours of the Konkan to Mumbai. Founded by Aditi Malik, Simple Kaul, Ankit Anand, Shailesh Singh and Suraj Shetty, the name comes from the Konkani term that translates to ‘Do you want a drink?'. Malik shared, "Sorozai is a nostalgic journey back to my roots in Goa." For Anand though, the restaurant will be a place that offers a piece of the paradise away from the humdrum of the big city.

Bird's eye view

A spotbilled duck flying low

If you spot a gaggle of curious people walking around the city armed with binoculars this weekend, there is no need to be alarmed. Sunday will witness the 20th Mumbai Bird Race being held in Mumbai. Conceptualiser and all-India organiser, Sunjoy Monga shared, "The event is held across 13 to 15 cities annually every Sunday in the period between November to March.

A child at a previous edition

This was an exercise I started to get all the birdwatching enthusiasts, from experts to children, together and document the data on the birds, their urban habitats and patterns." The experience is a good eye-opener for people, Monga (inset) added, to go from birds, to focus on other issues that are also connected to avifauna and urban habitats.

"The exercise is a simple one, and involves spotting birds, noting their names down, and tallying data from across different locations in the city. This is uploaded on to ebird website," he remarked, adding that the visit will conclude with a dinner at IIT, Powai, where Monga will present his observations on the avifauna of Mumbai, and its changing dynamics that highlights the study.

Marathi is Eazy

G-Eazy with (right) Dipraj Jadhav

Right before American rapper G-Eazy's debut performance in Mumbai on Thursday, city-based video creator Dipraj Jadhav, who was also featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list on the same day, made the rapper dance to some Marathi beats. "Marathi content has always performed well on my [Instagram] profile. Apart from jamming on a song that we recommended to him, we got G-Eazy to speak in Marathi as well!" Jadhav, who also attended his concert later, told us.

The art of collaboration

A previous Mannghadant event in Delhi

Jaipur-based artist Karan Singh Gahlot's ongoing multi-city treasure hunt has led him to Mumbai. The treasures in question are the stories the city and its people hold. An artists' meet-up tomorrow in Versova organised by Gahlot's artist collective Mannghadant, will witness participants from the city share their works, build connections, participate in games, and at the centre of it all, narrate their stories. "We will ask participants questions during the event that will help them share their stories naturally," he shared, adding that the goal is to build artist networks and collaborations along the way while travelling across the country. "These stories become our muse. We are currently staging three plays that are based on stories that emerged from such exercises," he added. Now that's one way to never have a creative block again.

RIP, Lucknow's culinary godfather

Chef Imtiaz Qureshi. Pic Courtesy/@chefkunalkapoor on X

The Indian culinary arts lost a giant with the passing of chef Imtiaz Qureshi, whose restaurants Dum Pukht and Bukhara, transformed the legacy of Indian cuisine on the global stage. Describing the Padma Shri-awardee as a legend he grew up hearing about, chef Ranveer Brar said, "If you were growing up in Lucknow with the aspiration of being a chef, you heard about the folklore of chef Qureshi."

Zorawar Kalra and Ranveer Brar

Describing him as an intelligent chef, Brar added, "He was a pehelwan. So, his unabashed nature, combined with the delicate Lucknow cuisine, made it unique." For Zorawar Kalra, Qureshi was an experience in his early days, "My father [Jaspal Inder Singh Kalra AKA Jiggs Kalra] and he shared a close relationship, and launched Dum Pukht together. He conceptualised dishes restricted to Lucknow, and led to a renaissance of the cuisine," Kalra remarked.