Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Return to Innocence

In a gentle and telling gesture, tribal residents feed a spotted deer at Sanjay Gandhi National Park on Saturday.

Of mountains and malt

Indian mythology is gaining popularity not just in fiction but among beverage enthusiasts too. How about a whiskey made in the land of Mahabharata? Ansh Khanna is set to launch a Kamet single malt, distilled in Kurukshetra and named after Mount Kamet. "It's got a venous fruitiness, along with vanilla notes that exhibit a melted concoction of fresh and dried fruit notes with subtle hints of spice and dark chocolate," says master blender Surrinder Kumar, who previously worked with Amrut. Kumar has worked on the blend with Nancy Fraley, America's most prominent whisky blender and board member of the American Distilling Institute. Kamet will be available early January next year, first in Goa and subsequently, across India.

Do you want to plog?

Pune-based software engineer Vivek Gurav founded the initiative Pune Ploggers that involves weekend plogging (a combination of jogging while picking up litter) drives. More than 50 volunteers from different parts of the city joined Gurav in January 2020. Now, the initiative has reached Mumbai's Kharghar Hills. Talking to this diarist, Gurav said, "We started plogging in Pune and transformed it into a community-led initiative. There are a lot of beach clean-ups happening in Mumbai, but the hills around the city also need to be talked about. The Khargar Hill Range is a place people usually visit on weekends and is a chronic littering spot. The Mumbai Ploggers team started #SundayPloggers and will focus on the Clean Kharghar Hills Mission." The team has been at it for two months, and is reporting success.

Kersi's very own name game

Our genial cricket historian friend from Down Under, Kersi Meher-Homji was amused to read about a few Indian cricketers having, "westernised/VIP names or surnames." He writes, "Take for example Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson, Prithvi Shaw and Napoleon Einstein. But this not just an Indian trend." Kersi points to Englishmen Julius Caesar (1830-78), William Shakespeare (1893-1976) and George Bernard Shaw (1931-84) who played county cricket. "Wait," says Kersi, "There are more. Charles Dickens (born 1924 and still alive, aged 96) played first-class cricket for Griqualand West, South Africa after World War II. When he batted against Orange Free State, he was dismissed by Keats. "Robert Kennedy, a fast-medium bowler, played four Tests for New Zealand in 1995. Born in Adelaide Victor Hugo (1877-1930) played nine matches for South Australia." According to Kersi, English humourist PG Wodehouse named Bertie Wooster's famous valet (butler) Jeeves after cricketer Percy Jeeves (1888 -1916). The word great is often loosely used but we have no hesitation in saying that Sydney-based Kersi is a great historian.

A homegrown meal in Aarey

Vasan with adivasi co-facilitator Vanita Thakre

This morning as you sip your coffee, photographer and Aarey activist Sanjiv Valsan is busy conducting a walk to acquaint urban dwellers with the science of foraging for food in a forest. Valsan says the idea is to spread the knowledge of the forest. "As long as humans learn how to use a forest, they will continue to engage with and protect it and the knowledge of how the foods are used will also be kept alive," he says. For instance, he says some tubers cannot be eaten unless they are combined with other foods. "Importantly, forest foods are organic and nutritious, and have no negative ecological impact," he adds. The meal at the end of the walk then, is a celebration of Aarey.

Mumbai's sister act continues to gain traction

Mumbai duo Simetri, made up of sisters Riya and Simran Duggal, is seeing a great end to the pandemic year. Their single, Different Kind of Love, which released on December 12, already has more than 1.5 million hits. What could have worked for the girls is their fresh-faced vibe and clear and sweet voices. In a world where over-sexualised pop stars are the norm, it's good to see the young girls going in a different direction. And, we are digging their dancing skills! Both have had a musical upbringing, and have been singing since they were two years old. They grew up on a staple of country and pop music, as dad, Rajeev, and mom, Melanie, are both musicians. In fact, one of their melodies could be etched in the mind of every '90s kid-the title track for Zabaan Sambhalke. Here's to more hits.