Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Sameer Markande

Yeh andar ki baat hai

An apt hoarding in Bhandup advertises the importance of staying indoors at present, unless absolutely necessary.

A grand victory

P Sainath is a journalist who has possibly championed the cause of rural India more than anyone else in the country, considering the ground-breaking work of the People's Archive of Rural India, the platform that he started in 2014. His work has now earned him the Fukuoka Grand Prize, one of Japan's top awards that honours Asian stalwarts from the fields of academics, art and culture. The citation for his award stated, "As Asia goes through turbulent changes, Mr Sainath has been seeking new ‘knowledge' and promoting civil cooperation." The last winner of the Grand Prize was AR Rahman. Our congratulations to Sainath.

Bun times in Bandra

(From left) Darshan Desai, Kunal Sikhwal and Rahul Gianchandani

The number of burger joints that have mushroomed in Andheri over the years is a testament to the fast food item's popularity. But in the turf war between the suburb and Bandra, the latter is not to be left behind, with its own vast list of burger places. The latest addition is called Hashtag One. It's the brainchild of Darshan Desai, Rahul Gianchandani and Kunal Sikhwal, who earlier launched Zenmai, an Asian fine-dine in Santacruz.

The Seoulful burger available on the menu

The new eatery offers a range of classic non-vegetarian and vegan burgers, including Doppleganger, which is made with mock meat, and G.O.A.T, featuring a lamb patty. Deliveries are from Bandra to Lokhandwala, covering Khar, Santacruz and Juhu as well. "Mumbai does have its fair share of great gourmet burger places, but we believed that there was room for another contender. Hence, we put pen to paper and with the help of our kitchen team, we were able to execute Hashtag One," Gianchandani told this diarist.

Putting desi food on the global map

Six years ago, restaurateur Zorawar Kalra started Farzi Cafe to make Indian food cool among the youth of the country. Cut to 2021, and the restaurant has expanded its footprint to nine countries, with their newest outpost coming up in Toronto, Canada, in September. The journey has been epic, the restaurateur told this diarist. "We started a wave of modern Indian casual restaurants. I'm happy to note that the youth of India now enjoys Indian food more than ever before. Our goal was to make Indian food hip for the youth so it remains relevant forever. The secondary goal of Farzi Café was to put Indian food on the global map by opening high-quality restaurants across the world," shared Kalra, admitting that the restaurant was built on the belief that Indian food is the greatest cuisine in the world. His next stop? The United States of America, Kalra revealed.

Bimba, we are looking for you

You would have watched Simba, the lion, in The Lion King. Now, hear about Bimba, the cat. The year-old feline indie cat has been missing from a Colaba home since Friday, June 25. Owners Darius and Kerman Madon have been looking for their pet. Kerman told this diarist, "Surveillance footage revealed to us that Bimba had jumped out from our third floor flat at Elysium Mansion on Walton Road, and went down using small roofs and balconies. She liked to sit on window sills but had never jumped before." We hope Bimba is back. That should put the ‘whew' into the ‘mew' for the Madons. If you happen to spot Bimba, send an email to kermanc@hotmail.com.

Canvas of records

The works of some of India's greatest ever modernist painters went under the hammer recently, amassing sales worth almost '28 crore. But there are two pieces that stood out, since they fetched record prices for the painters concerned. And untitled work (in pic) by HA Gade, who was one of the founding members of the Progressive Artists' Group and painted scenes from Mumbai during his lifetime, fetched '49 lakh, while the late Paritosh Sen, a founder-member of the Calcutta Group, had painted House of Banaras, which fetched '68 lakh. Other artists whose works were sold include SH Raza, FN Souza, MF Husain and Amrita Sher-Gil. "The auction showcases how the demand for works by India's modernists has steadily and significantly increased over the years as collectors look to acquire them across several mediums and different price points," shared Sunny Chandiramani, VP of client relations at AstaGuru, which hosted the online auction.