Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

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

Mujh se dosti corona

Kartik Aryan's state of mind is loud and clear as he's spotted at the Mumbai domestic airport on Friday evening. Pic/Anurag Ahire

A new beginning 

Chef Sanjana Patel's Bandra offering La Folie Lab, the patisserie's first outlet with an open kitchen, has temporarily shut shop. Known for their impeccable chocolates and millefeuille, the eatery will be moving to a bigger space in Bandra.

"The lease of five years ended, so we are now looking for a space in the same area to open the same concept, hopefully by June," Patel confirmed to this diarist. Watch this space for more details.   

Cursory stamp of approval

Classic Jalabiya by Rohit Bal

India Post has released a series of nine stamps featuring the works of known names in Indian fashion, including Indica Emporia by the late Wendell Rodricks, Flared Sherwani by Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla, Anita Dongre's Ambika Jacket, and Rohit Bal's Classic Jalabiya. While this inclusive move by the India Post is welcome, we can't help but wonder if it's a mere gesture? The nine outfits featured as part of commemorative postage stamps are, filed under 'Indian Fashion', and don't bother mentioning the maker of the said outfits. Neither do they inspire jollity; the images look like they have been pulled out of a dusty archive.

Royal Mail fashion stamps 2012

When Oscar de la Renta and his iconic works were highlighted on the 2017 postage stamps, the United States Postal Service featured a Inez and Vinoodh-photographed portrait of the late designer along with a selection of his celebrated intricate floral prints and pleated ruffles. And back in 2012, the United Kingdom's Royal Mail got Claire Wilcox, a senior curator at Victoria and Albert Museum to work extensively on fashion stamps that included iconic designs by Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes, Paul Smith and Alexander McQueen.

Courting gender equality 

The revamped basketball court of Bandra's St Andrews High School, worked on by artist Khatra, which aims to eradicate gender imbalance in sports culture by influencing a change in mindset, was recently unveiled. The artwork reflects the changing narrative around women in sports. "The piece responds not only to the gender gap in sports but has also transformed an iconic location like St Andrews School, using an urban arts intervention. Sport creates invaluable connections between players; by amalgamating art on the court, we hope connections between players and bystanders will motivate to pick-up the sport," Priyanka Mehra, project manager, St+art India Foundation, told this diarist. 

Common ground with Meghan

Rohit Lahoti (in red tie, fourth from right) at the meeting 

Earlier this week, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, hosted young scholars from 11 Commonwealth countries, including India, at Buckingham Palace. These scholars will use the knowledge and skill they gain during their period of study in the UK to make a difference in their home countries. Mumbai-based architect-urbanist Rohit Lahoti, was part of this event, and told this diarist, "I'm interested in understanding low-income housing in India and how communities can act as developers in addressing the issue of socio-spatial justice. Meghan seemed impressed by this and spoke about her visit to India, and how she thought it is vital to look at cities through the lens of urban planning."   

Kamra flies into further trouble

Following comedian Kunal Kamra heckling news anchor Arnab Goswami and the subsequent bans placed on him by domestic airlines, Kamra maintained that Vistara had not put him on the no-fly list. In a fresh twist, Kamra yesterday received a notification from the Appellate Authority of Air Vistara informing him that he has been placed on their no-fly list till April 27, 2020. According to the notification, this has been done "in reference to the order dated February 27, 2020 by the Internal Committee for Adjudication by InterGlobe Aviation Limited (In­d­igo)". In response, Kamra told th­is diarist, "I am not surprised or flustered. This tells us that Arnab Goswami is an important person for all airlines. I have zero f**#$ to give."

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