15 March,2022 07:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Anurag Ahire
A dog carefully watches over its owner counting money in a busy market in Borivali West on Monday
Anand Morwani and Rohan Mangalorkar
Chef Anand Morwani of Brewbot and restaurateur Rohan Mangalorkar of Pack-a-Pav have joined hands to bring a slice of Detroit to Maximum City. Located in Bandra, a neighbourhood teeming with pizza joints, Rocketman Pizza is doling out cheesy squares of Detroit-style slices. "We wanted to do something different as there are so many pizza brands in Bandra. From the equipment and technique to the dough and cheese, everything is exactly as you would see in a Detroit pizzeria. The bread is very airy and light, and has a whole cheese crust," Mangalorkar added.
Ankita and Adith Fernandes at Fresh Catch in Bandra; (right) Francis Fernandes
Since 1998, Francis Fernandes' Fresh Catch has been living up to its name, serving seafood caught fresh by trawlers every day in the wee hours of the morning. Seafood-lovers would flock to the Mahim restaurant from all over town, drawn by their home-style delicacies such as bangda jeera meera, huggay masala, sippi sukkem, prawns "Aditya", crab meat butter garlic - we could go on. Although the restaurant shuttered its Mahim outpost recently, this diarist is happy to report that Fresh Catch has now found a home on Bandra's busy Hill Road. Fernandes' children, Ankita and Adith, who now run the show, share that they're excited to carry on their father's legacy. "The produce, ingredients and recipes are all the same but with an upgrade in the ambience and the interiors," shared Ankita, while Adith added, "Our regulars will know that the taste hasn't changed." We'll be there soon to test this claim.
Translator and writer Arunava Sinha was recently announced the winner of the 6th Vani Foundation Distinguished Translator Award 2022, which recognises Indian translators and their noteworthy body of literary and linguistic work. Sinha translates fiction, poetry and non-fiction from Bengali to English, and from English to Bengali. The award ceremony was recently held at the Jaipur Literature Festival. "I'm honoured to have received the distinguished prize. I consider this an acknowledgement of the amazing work done by all translators, and not just individuals - translators who've come before me, who work alongside myself and those who will come after me. In India, translation is the language of democracy; it ensures all voices are heard by everyone," Sinha told this diarist. He added that translation will continue to play a pivotal role in the social and cultural fabric of India.
You know it's spring, when "Holi re Holi, purnachi poli" rings in the air. This time, to celebrate the festival, NGO Muse Foundation is nudging citizens to share their puran polis with those who are homeless. Founder Nishant Bangera shared that the idea is to encourage people to start communicating with street-dwellers. "Many people toss puran polis and coconuts into fire before Holi for the rituals. We are encouraging people to give it to those in need, instead," he added. To share your puran poli and Holi sweets, call 9987471018.
For animator and filmmaker Gitanjali Rao, matchboxes remain a source of inspiration. "After making the film Printed Rainbow in 2006, I noticed the kind of ripples kitsch art was creating; it has now become an art genre. My other interest is cats. During the lockdown, I started caring for 13 cats in my neighbourhood along with those I had in my home," Rao shared with this diarist. With less work, caring for them became her full-time occupation. Their characteristics inspired her recent work - The CatchBox Series on Facebook. She explained, "While on a visit to the Parel animal hospital, cats under treatment and in cages reminded me of small matchboxes. I am testing the idea through these artworks." She intends to turn these pieces into collectibles and put them on sale, so that proceeds can go towards cat welfare.
