Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Unmasked Threat: A mural outside CBD Belapur station acts as a reminder to all those who have let their guard down against the virus. Pic/Sameer Markande

Smoke in the kitchen

Chefs Seefah Ketchaiyo and Karan Bane seem to have encountered a rotten egg. The duo recently discovered that one of their ex-staff members has allegedly opened her own delivery kitchen in Prabhadevi with a menu that is identical to theirs. "She was one of our first team members, and quite close to us. She had told us that she will open a delivery kitchen, and we were very happy for her. Seefah wanted to order from her outlet and asked for the menu. After dodging for a while, when she sent it, we realised it is a copy-paste version of ours. Seefah tried to confront her but we haven't been able to connect with her," Bane told this dia-rist. Ketchaiyo's clarification on social media harboured the support of custo-mers and chefs who lamented that this is a recurring disappointment. Bane added that while replicating ideas is indeed common, they didn't expect a team member they considered family to lift a whole menu.

Singing success

The competition is open to indie bands across genres

The Indian Music Diaries (TIMD) is an online platform that does a stellar job of shining a spotlight on unheralded indie musicians from the nooks and crannies of India. Last year, they had inaugurated The Indian Music Diaries Awards, which sought to honour the best independent artistes from across India and across genres. They are now back with the second edition, and are inviting applications in different categories including Best Music Video, Best Album Artwork and Best Hip-hop Release. TIMD editor Akshay Kapoor shared with this diarist, "Over the past few years, we have seen different genres emerging, including in the electronic and hip-hop spaces, and we wanted to recognise all these different kinds of musicians. There are 10 categories, of which eight will be decided by a jury, one by public choice, and one by our editors." Interested? Visit theindianmusicdiaries.com and file your nomination by January 27.

This adda is all heart

Dealing with the pandemic has been difficult for us all but the times have been particularly harsh on those with disabilities. That's why city-based non-profit organisation Ummeed Child Development Centre is launching Apna Adda, an online space for young people with disabilities and friends, next month. The first session will take place on February 17, where participants aged between 15 and 20 years can share their stories and connect with the community. "Parents who have children with disabilities are often too occupied with the therapy aspect, so we wanted to create a space for leisure. We hope to organise this once a month for
a year," Jehanzeb Baldiwalla, director, mental health services, told this diarist.

Cycle away your traffic blues

With the city unlocking in various phases, a visible sign of the ‘old normal' has been traffic jams that not only slow you down, but also contribute to pollution. But, for folks working or residing in and around Versova, here's some good news. Bicycle sharing service MyByk, which has been working with the Mumbai Metro and civic body, has now set up a rental hub outside Versova Metro station, from where one can rent cycles for as little as R2/hour. "At present, MyByk services are available at four stations on the Metro Line 1 and we aim to expand to five more stations as soon as permissions are received. Mumbai Metro users can now rent bikes for their first and last mile connectivity. We also have plans that allow users to rent the bike and keep it at home," shared founder and CEO Arjit Soni.

Draw in the regional writers

While inclusivity is a theme in literature that's often associated with English language works, titles in Indian languages have been championing it since forever. And a one-day festival by social venture Belongg and Indian Novels Collective aims to celebrate this. The line-up includes online panels featuring Ruth Vanita who'll look at same-sex love in literary works; Mona Zote and Sabreen Ahmed who'll elaborate on literature from the North-East; Bnim who will focus on writing about disability; and Shefali Tripathi Mehta (top, right) who will talk about Shanta Gokhale's (right) works Avinash and Rita Welinkar, which highlighted the need for mental health care. "During our lit fest last year, we realised that the dominant conversation we've been steering has been in English; we're not being inclusive, unless we include Indian languages. Works in Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, and a spectrum of writings from the North-East are so rich; the entire gamut of English can't capture such themes," said community manager Lasya Nadimpally. To tune into the conversations, head to their social media pages.