Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

GVK museum: Not calling it a day
While Jaya He, GVK's museum in Mumbai International Aiport's T2 gears up for its last three installations, we hear the curator Rajeev Sethi has miles to go still. In the works is a book that will acapture the breathtakingly vast museum, with Sethi in talks with publishers. Perhaps the book, with original sketches by Sethi made during the making of the museum, will be handy for those of us who never manage to tour Jaya He completely. Next, a video documentation of Jaya He by filmmaker Mukul Avijit Kishore will also commence in the coming days, which is intended to double-up as an audio-guide for visitors. Boy, things at Jaya He are pacing ahead at supersonic speeds.

Rajeev Sethi

Fun on the beach
Actor Pooja Bhatt shares a laugh with a volunteer of the Versova Resident's Association at a clean-up drive at the suburban beach on Saturday. For full story, turn to page 8. Pic/Prabhanjan Dhanu

Sun, fun and Bob Marley on Sandy's 100th tour
India's chairman of cricket selectors Sandeep Patil never toured the West Indies as an India player, but he is representing the Indian cricket board as a touring selector and will be in the Caribbean till the end of the four-Test series.

Sandeep Patil at the Bob Marley Museum in Jamaica

Patil's cricketing duty is to ensure Virat Kohli's Indians have the right team balance but the team's off days are spent sight-seeing.

Patil was never known to keep track of his scores, but always updates his ‘scorebook' as far as his foreign trips are concerned. This one is his 100th, the first being a Sri Lanka tour under Ajit Wadekar in 1974.

While he was in Jamaica recently, Patil visited the Bob Marley museum in Kingston. He has been listening to the reggae artiste since his youth on his Philips and Cosmic (which he has preserved) music systems at his Shivaji Park dwelling.

At 56 Hope Road, Patil had a great time viewing Marley memorabilia - guitars, clothing, trophies, etc - and was amazed to discover that Marley was vegetarian and loved his soup with nuts and seaweed. Marley used to keep marijuana in his bible which is displayed next to his bed, says Patil.

Patil and his wife Deepa celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary recently in the Caribbean and there's one celebration to come - on August 18, the day he turns 60. Watch this space for details on that occasion.

Get some Jap-styled inner peace
While Mumbai's real estate market continues to be in slowdown mode, developers seem to be coming up with "innovative" ways to beat the slump. This diarist recently received a promotional mail about an urban housing event in Thane that offered ‘inner peace' through their new Japanese-themed homes. Apparently the houses have been inspired by the elements of traditional Japanese philosophy like Chi (Earth), Mizu (Water), Ka or Hi (Fire), Kaze (Wind) and Ku (Sky). What's more? They also have a wooden tea house, a Zen garden with hanging lanterns and a designated meditation zone. All this starting at R59 lakh. Zen comes at a cost.

Not so happy now
It seems that NH7 Weekender, which goes by the moniker The Happiest Music Festival, has been drawing the ire of the indie music industry. We caught a Mumbai-based rocker express his disdain with expletives the day the first round of tickets went on sale.

Then, a chat with another popular singer/songwriter revealed that most musicians are upset as NH7 organisers, Only Much Louder, have been mistreating senior and well-known artists by giving prime spots to only the artists they manage. Many seem to feel that they have got too big for their own boots. Maybe the lesson to learn here is that a festival is only as good as the musicians who play there. Right?

Khatta Nimbooda
Ace Chinese-Canadian chef Kelvin Cheung of Bastian and One Street Over doesn't appear to be a fan of the Indian nimboo. And, he won't mince words, when telling you so. This diarist recently got to hear a fair share of Cheung's grouse with the Indian version of the citric fruit when she probed why he opted for imported green lemon and lime over the nimboo, when making his cocktails. "Have you tasted it?" he asked. "It's so horrible to taste. I would rather stop making cocktails than serve my customers a drink that has a low-quality product in it." This diarist nodded, but the
chef wouldn't stop at that.

He offered to make us three different sodas - with lime, green lemon and the nimboo, to drive home his point. He didn't have to really try so hard. In matters of taste, we trust Cheung.