Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Patient pandits

A group of Hindu priests waits for a train at the Kalwa railway station on the central line.

Busy as a bee

Sonal Mansingh and Shubhada Varadkar

Cold winds are blowing between two Odissi exponents, one of them a veteran and parliamentarian. Odissi exponent-guru Shubhada Varadkar, who is legatee to Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra's eloquent expressions, graceful movements, and captivating postures, we hear, is miffed with what transpired during a courtesy visit to Rajya Sabha MP Sonal Mansingh in Delhi. "If busy, she could've refused an appointment. We were not only given one for April 21st at 11 am, but told to be there on the dot as ‘ma'am doesn't like to wait'. We reached at 10.35 am."

Since the parliamentarian lives in a VVIP neighbourhood where parking is not permitted, Varadkar and the duo accompanying her were allowed to bring their car inside the compound. But they could not step out of the car till the appointed hour. At 11 am when Mansingh arrived, her first question: "Why
have you come?"

Varadkar, the Irish PM Leo Varadkar's first cousin, was shocked and explained it was a courtesy visit. She reminded Mansingh of a dance competition she had organised where her disciple won the first prize for Odissi and third prize overall. "I wanted to thank you for that opportunity," Varadkar offered.

"You came here only for that much? I'm busy and have a lot on my hands," Mansingh replied.

At this point, Varadkar realised it was best to leave. The saree and sweets they had taken along, they were asked to leave on the table.

Varadkar says she found it hurtful since this came from a parliamentarian. "She may not like me as a dancer, but a parliamentarian has to be courteous to citizens who pay for their upkeep."

When this diarist reached out to Mansingh for comment, she asked us to text the query to her Personal Assistant Simran. The following day,the PA conveyed: "Madam is unable to comment since she is extremely busy."

With love, Pyari

The sex accessories market in India has been seeing an encouraging response for a while, startup founders have said. Sexuality educator and author Leeza Mangaldas has launched new sexual wellness products under her brand, Leezu's. The products include ‘Pyaari', a dual function intimate massager with two types of external stimulation - suction, and vibration. Mangaldas, who has been talking about sexual wellness for over seven years, says, "We are very excited to launch our very own line that educates and empowers us towards self-love and even partner intimacy."

Also available are T-shirts with messages like ‘No Fake Orgasms' and a coconut self-love oil for those who want to try it with their partner or for themselves. "We have limited the number of products for now, as we do not want to overwhelm the buyer," Mangadas adds.

Foodies and their fiction

Aditya Shah and Karan Shah

Entrepreneurs and best friends Karan Shah and Aditya Shah have published a children's picture book named Food Fight, a story about conflict resolution, sharing and empathy, with plenty of illustrations to keep the little readers engaged. The authors harbour a passion for food. Karan is director at Tardeo's iconic Gujarati eatery Swati Snacks and Aditya is the former CEO of Juno's Pizza. The book was launched through Daffodil Lane Books on Saturday.

"We're already planning more charming stories that promote important values and life lessons. Food Fight is just the first chapter in our ongoing collaboration," says Karan.

Aditya adds, "The book also offers opportunities for role-playing and other interactive activities that can reinforce these lessons in a hands-on manner."

And it's a Webby

Team Paper Planes

Two weeks ago, this paper reported about city-based indie digital magazine Paper Planes being nominated for the prestigious Webby Award, which celebrates the best on the Internet. And lo and behold, it has won. Paper Planes has bagged the Webby People's Voice Award, a very rare distinction for an Indian publication. Previous Webby recipients include The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. "We have resolutely stuck to doing less but upholding quality writing and design," says founder Nupur Joshi Thanks.

Is Stuart going a little too far?

England's Stuart Broad, the bowler, who Yuvraj Singh hit for six sixes in an over during the 2007 World T20, has not endeared himself to old enemy Australia by indicating that the last Ashes series in 2021-22 was pointless.

"Nothing about that series was high level performance because of the COVID restrictions. The training facilities, the travel, not being able to socialise," Broad was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail newspaper. Broadcasters Fox Cricket didn't agree on Twitter and posted a message, which read, "Want some chips with all that salt, Mr Broad?"

The series ended 4-0, with Australia celebrating the retention of the urn.

For Broad, it was not the "real Ashes" and there is a good chance that some of his teammates feel so too.

While the veteran pacer is entitled to his opinion, our in-house cricket nut remembers an England v Australia series, which the Aussies won 3-0, but it didn't go down as an Ashes loss for England, because the contest was hastily arranged. This was held after peace was restored in the conflict caused by Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket and the men who ran traditional Test cricket.

With the urn not up for grabs in 1979-80, the astute England captain Mike Brearley continued his clean record of winning all Ashes series that he led in. By the way, it is unlikely that Brearley, known for his sense of perspective, will agree with Broad's current contention.