The city — sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
On board the Costa neoClassica docked at Ballard Pier, Sonakshi Sinha didn’t miss the chance of striking the Titanic pose with Monisha Jaising yesterday. Pic/Satej Shinde
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Of desi Titanic moments and Page 3 latecomers
Against the light of a setting sun and a cool, evening breeze, artistes in carnival costumes entertained Mumbai’s fashion forward junta and socialites aboard Costa neoClassica, a luxury cruise liner docked at Ballard Pier, as they waited for Monisha Jaising’s opening show for Lakmé Fashion Week to commence.
Then, bare-chested male models in white sailor shorts and caps paraded the deck that also doubled up as a green-carpeted ramp. This too was a teaser. The real action began when the female models walked in, wearing everything from shimmering minis to cocktail gowns, embellished net saris and one-shouldered satin tops paired with pencil-cut denim.
While we liked a few structured silhouettes and a dash of marine blue and fuchsia in the collection, the wow factor was missing until Sonakshi Sinha scorched the ramp in a burnt orange short dress attached to a foot-long cape trailing behind her, cheered on by Manish Malhotra sitting in the audience. As the crowd began to exit, the diarist overheard a bunch of socialites marvelling at the movements of Latin dancers who were the following act.
“And that guy’s butt!” exclaimed one. We smiled and made our way through the cruise’s huge roulette table studded casino room to the ship’s exit.
When the famous came late
We are not very good with following instructions, are we? When the publicity team of the event said they would need ID proof submitted in advance since the ship was docked inside the port, they meant it. But Mumbai’s famous couldn’t care, it seemed.
The show was meant to start at 5 pm, and stylist-actress Pernia Qureshi was waiting for entry outside the gate at 4.45, hoping for clearance. Former singer-actor Suchitra Krishnamoorthi was left stranded because she had forgotten to carry an original ID proof. And Shobhaa De sighed, “I didn’t think we would make it,” to daughter Avantikka.
Free, safe play
While maidan cricket is the proud foundation stone of the ever-so prominent structure that’s Mumbai cricket, it also is common knowledge that at some parts across maidans, the cricket ball can prove to be a dangerous proposition for passers-by.
The new fences erected across the path leading to Khau Gully from Fashion Street. Pic/Ashwin Ferro
One such area is Cross Maidan that connects Fashion Street to the common man’s foodcourt, Khau Gully. Cricket balls from Sunder Cricket Club, National Cricket Club and other nearby pitches, often go flying past the heads of people walking towards Khau Gully. But not anymore.
Thanks to National CC president Rajdeep Gupta, 14-foot metal fences have now been erected on both sides of Khau Gully. “Almost daily there are incidents of people getting hit by the ball and complaints would flow in, so, we decided to spend from our pocket (an amount of '7 lakh) to erect these fences,” Gupta told mid-day.
There’s a rather selfish but sporting motive too nevertheless for the club chief. “Due to these accidents, our batsmen would restrict themselves from hitting big shots. Now, they can bat freely and score some big runs for us,” Gupta added with a chuckle.
And the honour goes to...
Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain has been highly regarded for his ever-expanding collaborations. SF JAZZ - an international organisation for Jazz creation, presentation, and education that has presented Hussain with various collaborators - will be felicitating the virtuoso with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“[Our relationship] allowed people to look at me... as not only a classical Indian tabla player but a percussionist at large. I’m humbled by the honour” said Hussain.
Cross-country search for ingredients
Copenhagen-based Matt Orlando is in town, currently hosting an elaborate 12-course meal at Masque. On this trip, he has steered clear of using any exotic Nordic ingredients as he does at his restaurant Amass, choosing instead to go foraging for ingredients across India with Masque's chef Prateek Sadhu.
Matt Orlando (centre) at a farm
Among the farms they've travelled to prior to the pop-up include Talakad - First Agro in Mysore district, as well as Offerings Farms and Masque Polyhouse in Pune. It's not often that we find chefs putting in this much effort into a pop-up menu.
Where is the spirit of cricket?
As India clinched the ODI series from England amidst stellar performances in the Cuttack match, author and cricket buff Jeffrey Archer had an observation to share.
“Disappointed Indians didn’t applaud Morgan’s century. I have stood & applauded at Lord’s for Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Shastri,” Archer tweeted yesterday. The tweet unleashed a barrage of comments, where many spoke of Morgan’s post-match speech where he thanked the crowd, while a handful agreed with Archer. All in the spirit of the game, we believe.
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