28 June,2022 07:02 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Shadab Khan
Monkeys take a breather on a bike parked outside Kanheri Caves in Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
In a warning to the rebels, Aaditya Thackeray had recently commented on a combative note that the road from the Mumbai airport to the Vidhan Bhavan goes via Worli. The young Thackeray represents Worli constituency, which is a Shiv Sena bastion. Against the backdrop of the political fracas, we feel that Worli, which has already got a lot of attention, is getting spiffier. A garden at Pochkhanawala Road diagonally opposite the Traffic Police headquarters is being beautified with seating on the outside. This intersection near Hiltop Hotel is also getting a facelift. The entire area, around INS Trata, Worli Seaface and the outer section of the shooting range is much more aesthetic now. Thackeray has often been accused by disgruntled citizens for paying an inordinate amount of attention to Worli. Whatever the truth, Worli residents are not complaining. The others may be yodelling the Adnan Sami number with a twist: Yahaan bhi toh (face) lift kara de, thodi si toh (face) lift kara de.
For more than a decade, the Caferati open-mic nights at Prithvi Theatre's café have been a familiar haunt for poets, writers, spoken word artistes and performers. That is, until the pandemic hit pause. Manisha Lakhe, founder and emcee, informed us that the much-loved event returned to the old haunt yesterday. "Sometimes, you get stuck in a story or a poem. When you have like-minded people around you [who also love poetry], they share writing problems and find solutions," she said about how Caferati took off. The only rule to take the stage is to have an original work. Of course, the best verses of the night also win a cup of chai, on the house. With the promise of new talent and old lovers of poetry, Lakhe hopes the open mic night will continue. "You never know what happens to you when you attend an open mic." Attend and find out.
It's not just mixers that gets Aneesh Bhasin, co-founder of Svami, ticking. From sneakers to coffee, he has always been fascinated by sub-cultures in the lifestyle space. He's set to transfer this fascination into a podcast called A Niche Thing, which drops today. "I'm going to decode a lot of subcultures, for instance affordable art or vintage fashion. Some, like coffee, I'm well-versed with, but some others, I want to learn more about, which guests will help me with," he told us.
Peachy pink and pretty, a new European and Mediterranean eatery is set to open in Andheri West this week. Founded by Ranbir Nagpal, Atul Chopra and Gurmeet Arora of Yazu - Pan Asian Supper Club, Juliette Ristorante & Bar will dish out a host of salads such as jardiniere, appetisers such as red pepper tartlets and za'atar-spiced chicken kebabs, house-made pastas like heirloom purple potato gnocchi and rigatoni, and more. "Patrons can expect fare made using modern ingredients and classic techniques, and heady cocktails," Nagpal told us.
It took her nearly a year and a half to complete the translation of the 500-pager Smritichitre, Marathi writer Lakshmibai Tilak's memoirs, into English. Now, Shanta Gokhale has won the Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation 2021 for the translated work, titled, Smritichitre: The Memoirs of a Spirited Wife. Speaking to this diarist, the veteran theatre critic and writer shared that every moment of the translation process was "sheer pleasure". "Lakshmibai Tilak has an easy, homely prose style, a sharp eye for detail and a mischievous sense of humour, and I felt her presence beside me every step of the way. I'm delighted that, of all the books I have translated, this should be the one to win the award. It has been close to me since I was a young girl," she told us, adding, "I doubt if the award will draw attention to Marathi literature in general. I would be happy if it at least drew attention to the existence of such a book." Our congratulations.
