Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Was it a stinker? 

Is that what Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Aruna Irani seem to be debating on the sets of a dance reality show in Goregaon on Monday? pic/Sneha Kharabe.

Mumbai Minute

Popular for his one-minute videos released every day (with over 12 million followers), Nuseir Yassin aka Nas Daily made a stop over in Mumbai on Monday. Yassin, who is living in a Juhu five-star posted on social media announcing that his plan was to meet fans at Juhu beach. Although his post quickly went viral, many started poking fun at something Yassin mentioned in the post — “you will see a large crowd”, he wrote in the caption. Sure seems like the vlogger has never been to Juhu beach since Mumbaikars don’t need a notice to know how crowded the area usually is, but we’re looking forward to the video that emerges from this.

Nick Harrison

Alexis Gielbaum

Jazzy night in Worli

Come this Thursday, and the sleek French resto-bar Slink & Bardot, which has hosted its share of DJ sets over the years, will host its first full-fledged gig. The coming together of this jazz night was spontaneous and simple. The Worli pub will have Abhinav Khokhar (bass; in pic, right), Karim Ellaboundi (piano), Shirish Malhotra (sax and flute), Aron Nyiro (drums) and Gina Mirenda (vocals) perform traditional Latin tunes, some Cuban influences, bossa nova and samba, including classics like A Felicidade and Con Alma. “I’ve been programming jazz since I came to India in Delhi and then Mumbai. I’ve been working with Khokhar since the Delhi days, so I got in touch with him here. As the community of jazz musicians is small and has musicians operating independently, the line-up formed quite organically,” co-founder of the space Nick Harrison tells us. The venue hasn’t tweaked the space to accommodate the gig. “This gig is like a trial,” Harrison explains, adding that they will be open to hosting more gigs soon. We hope that Khokhar, who pulled off the Wednesday jazz nights at Café Zoe a few months ago, will be able to give us a venue for our jazz cravings on Thursdays as well.

Tulsi on song

She has just returned to Mumbai after a vacation in the US, and musician Tulsi Kapoor, granddaughter of actor Shammi Kapoor, is already back to work. The accomplished vocalist and pianist recently posted about how she will now be teaching western contemporary vocals and piano to anyone above the age of four. Her student-oriented classes will focus on the student’s needs and will mostly include individual lessons. “I want to work with what the students like. It’s important to give them tools and see what they do with it,” she tells this diarist, adding that she will also be working on music classes for adults. Kapoor is working on her upcoming original album and might also be trying her hand at jazz gigs about town. Now, that’s the kind of revitalising vacation we would like!

What a milestone

It was Aanjjan Srivastav’s 71st birthday on Sunday, and the gathering at the veteran actor’s home saw almost every senior theatre artiste from the Indian People’s Theatre Association — with which Srivastav has been associated for decades — in attendance. While film director and stage designer MS Sathyu came in before leaving for Bengaluru, Rakesh Bedi, Sulbha Arya, Ramesh Talwar, Kanwaljeet Singh and Jaspal Sandhu joined in the celebrations, infusing the evening with nostalgia-filled stories.

Farewell to the queen who broke stereotypes

Last year, at RIFF in Jodhpur, we happened to walk by a room where Spanish Gypsy swing band Nicotine Swing was rehearsing before their gig. They were joined by a graceful Rajasthani folk dancer who taught them a few thumkas. Given the fluid movements, no one would have guessed the dancer was a man. But it actually was the legendary Queen Harish (below), who was a trailblazer when it came to breaking stereotypes. And his recent demise in a road accident caused quite the heartbreak in the LGBTQ community as well as the world of art. Sushant Divgikar (inset), told this diarist, “His performance was art that transcended every demographic, including religion and cast. His execution of the dance was deeply rooted in Indian culture, and his costumes were brilliant. Also, it’s rare to see a man dressing up in drag and performing in remote places. He was so graceful and elegant. His demise couldn’t have happened at a worse time — at the beginning of pride month; especially since he has done so much for the community.”

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