23 November,2014 09:32 AM IST | | Deepali Dhingra, Anu Prabhakar and Shakti Shetty
The city — sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Mumbai Diary, Mumbai in pictures, Navi Mumbai, Grace Restaurant, multi national bank, Mumbai
Sales pitch
It's all about the money: Personal bankers prefer to talk about investments and cash deposits over providing good service to customers
A couple of days ago, we visited a multi national bank for work which required mere 10 minutes from the personal banker. However, it took him nearly half an hour, as he kept interrupting us every two minutes to tell us about investments or about a newly-introduced financial plan. Firmly, but politely, we refused to invest in their new schemes. Is personal banking just another name for sales? Because frankly, we are tired of these suited men trying to sell us one plan after another. We want to see bank professionals stick to giving us information we specifically ask for. Nothing less and certainly, nothing more.
Light of hope
There are a few kids who study under a street light at Mankhurd railway station at night. These children have homes but not the kind the more privileged ones have. They live in shanties nearby but dream of getting a shot at a better life that their parents couldn't and hope to get ahead by earning a respectable livelihood in the not-so-distant future. In most cases, their fathers are drunkards who create a ruckus almost every single night at home, making it almost impossible for them to concentrate on their books. That's the reason they gather every night under the street light to study. It goes without saying that these kids learn the importance of education as well as
electricity on their own.
It is food vs money in Navi Mumbai
Grace restaurant serves sadya (above) among other dishes. Representational picture only
Vashi is in tears. A favourite haunt of Malayalis and lovers of Kerala cuisine during festivals, weekends and just a bad weekday, Grace restaurant, which serves authentic, lip-smacking Kerala food at (ironically) Meghalaya House, will close its doors on December 17. The restaurant is the latest victim of Mumbai's brutal rents - the owner explains that he had to shut shop due to an abominably hiked rent. However, worry not, as the restaurant plans to shift to a place within Navi Mumbai in January and the owner assures us that he has already booked a new place for rent. That certainly gladdens our heart. And stomach.
