Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

Under pressure

A Mumbai Traffic police personnel participates in an emergency CPR training workshop at Wockhardt Hospital in Borivali.

March matters

People at a previous pride march by Humsafar Trust

The murmurs of a split wide open in the LGBTQiA+ family caused some concern to this diarist. Color Positive, a Mumbai-based NGO, recently announced a pride march in the city on January 28, only to have the original organisers, Queer Azaadi March and Humsafar Trust, put out statements that they have not yet announced a pride march in the city.

Also Read: Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Tinesh Chopade (inset), associate director, advocacy of the Humsafar Trust shared, "We have been part of Queer Azaadi March (QAM) and the collective for a decade, and will support it. If any other organisation wishes to take the lead, there are no objections to it but we will remain with the collective." As for Color Positive, its founder Savio Mascarenhas told us that they had applied for approvals and only received a nod this week. "We are holding this one by ourselves, but are talking to QAM, and want everyone to participate."

It's a generation thing

Roland, David and Jonathan Cardoz at the finish line

While the marathon weekend proved to be quite the time for inspirational stories, it was still a reminder that this diarist is far from optimum fitness. Roland Cardoz, however, was busy setting new benchmarks. The nonagenarian joined his son, 66-year old David Cardoz to complete the senior marathon while grandson Jonathan participated in the half-marathon last weekend. David told us, "I ran only because my dad insisted on running." The ninety three-year-old Roland has been practising for the marathon with regular walks with friends, but the plan was put into doubt with a recent illness. "He had a catheter, which made me rethink the decision. But he was more than eager," the 66-year-old conservationist architect, revealed. The nonagenarian had been preparing for the challenge. David added that his father would often take long walks to test his stamina. "I remember telling him that the marathon is no walk in the park. It is 16 times that. He actually took off the next day to do 17 rounds of the park," David shared. Seeing that his dad was in no mood to relent, the architect decided to accompany him on the adventure. The joy was compounded when Jonathan, David's 36-year-old son, decided to complete his run, and join the duo on their way to the finish line. "It was quite an adventure. Jonathan was thrilled because he did his personal best time. He runs often, and enjoys it. His grandpa is very proud of him." Talk about fitness goals.

Finding the best possible platform

Pranav Bhasin

Writer-director Pranav Bhasin's latest work - Screaming on the fly - will be featured at the Texas-based South by Southwest, popularly known as SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. The Mumbai-based filmmaker admitted, "I admire this platform for being a film and music festival. Some of my favourite films have premiered there. We wanted to find the best possible platform to open it. Previous nominations included videos from Tame Impala or Childish Gambino, who are miraculous artistes." Being a fan of (late) Mac Miller, Alt J and Diplo, made the nomination an honour for Bhasin. The writer also wrote the hook ‘Everybody's coping all the time, shopping on the fly and screaming on the side,' which played a key role in making the video. Bhasin now looks forward to the festival in March.

Lit in Khar

The average cafe fare of salads, sandwiches, mezze platters and bowls will get a desi tadka at Khar's Isvara which opens on Saturday. Conceptualised by Megha Datwani, founder of Poco Loco Tapas & Bar, the all-day alfresco eatery aims to be a chilled-out spot, where one can play board games, spend time with pets, attend yoga workshops or read books. "Isvara refers to inner consciousness or the light within us," shared Datwani, adding, "Continental recipes will get a touch of familiarity with Indian ingredients like kokum, raw mango, mustard, etc. For instance, kokum-infused hummus or makhana chaat with raw mango dressing. Expect a variety of teas, from detox to bubble teas."

Sweet musings in Fort

The cafe opened yesterday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Named after the golden brown, fudgy sweet, dry fruit-laden dessert - sure to whip up memories of jashans and fareshtas among bawas - Malido Cafe is a new addition to Fort's food-scape. The eatery, we hear, is run by Kala Ghoda Cafe owner Farhad Bomanjee's nephew. We hope it will live up to its name to serve rare Parsi fare and fading culinary memories.