Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pics/Satej Shinde

The alert paws-senger

An Andheri-Nalasopara local had an unlikely canine commuter, who checked out every station perched on the footboard, before finally alighting at its destination - Malad.

Bun in a million

(From left) Deepti Unni, Sahil Makhija and Micky Makhija

For musician and YouTuber Sahil Makhija, burgers mean serious business. Makhija, who documents his food-ventures on the Instagram handle
@headbangereats, is doing a shootout between 37 restaurants and delivery kitchens serving burgers to determine who will win Bombay's Best Burger Award. His eight-part YouTube series Burger Wars will see him put to taste beef burgers from around the town, along with co-judges Deepti Unni, his wife, and Micky Makhija, his father. There are two categories - under Rs 500 and over Rs 500. "As a burger-lover, I wanted to do an interesting series, especially because I'm passionate about beef, and the political situation in this country makes me even more passionate about it," he told this diarist. Clearly, the meat is on.

Booked nights

A nook in Powai, where Indigo Delicatessen once stood, is turning over a new leaf. It's where restaurateurs Pawan Shahri, Dhaval Udeshi, Nikita Harisinghani and Sumit Sharma are creating a 7,000-sq ft all-day resto-bar called Eve. Opening its doors on September 19, it will house 4,000-odd books in a 30-ft library. With a cuisine-agnostic approach, chef Sanket More will whip up delicacies from across the world, while the bar will serve in-house wines, gin and tonic on tap, fresh cocktails and more. "With the library, greenery and ambience, we've tried to create an inclusive space where one can not just party, but also have coffee, or read a book," Shahri said.

A birthday present for Rituparno Ghosh

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Raima Sen in Chokher Bali. PICS COURTESY/IMDB; GETTY IMAGES

For those who have appreciated Rituparno Ghosh's creative universe, the end of May will always hit differently. While the director's passing still feels like unfinished business, cinephiles continue to celebrate him through his work. In a similar strain, Jadavpur University Press (JUP) will release a new title, Rituparno Ghosh: Archives of a Modern Master, to mark his 60th birth anniversary.

Rituparno Ghosh

About how the book can enrich cinema enthusiasts, its publicist Arunava Banerjee said, "Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, former professor of JU Film Studies, recently called Ghosh the ‘Last great craftsman of Bengali cinema'. JUP recognises this cultural need to create an accessible, adequately annotated, and credible archive of his screenplays for practitioners and scholars of cinema." It will comprise production stills, communiques and original screenplays by Anjana Basu, Ghosh's long-time colleague.

Let's talk sex

Not many debutante authors choose subjects as risqué as Leeza Mangaldas has done with her first book - The Sex Book: A Joyful Journey of Self-Discovery. Releasing on October 17, World Sexual Health Day, Mangaldas hopes the book will help people overcome the conditioned shame they experience about sex and the body. Known for her frank social media chats on the subject, Mangaldas said, "With this book, I hope to make it even easier to access all the information I've been trying to share, and unlike in a Reel, I have over 90 seconds to make my points."

Open your art to this weekender

Here's a hatke weekender that's set to take over the country this month. From September 23 to 25, Kolkata-based independent visual arts discovery platform Art Fervour is hosting AF Weekender 2022 - a first-of-its-kind art fest, that will bring together galleries, museums, studios, residencies and more across 18 cities. In Mumbai, Tarq, Chemould Prescott Road, Tao Art Gallery, Fluxus Chapel, Chatterjee & Lal, Gallery 47-A, DAG and JNAF are among the art spaces that will be in attendance. The fest will offer art district walks, zine-making, pottery, print-making workshops, studio visits, exhibition previews, guided tours and more in the 18 cities. "Our vision is to make the arts accessible. We wanted to explore a way to bring the art and culture community in the country together, but at the same time. The focus is on not just people who are art collectors but also others," said founder Nivedita Poddar.