The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
The stage is yours
Amrita Singh, former actor, slinks away from the photographers, leaving daughter Sara Ali Khan to enjoy the blitz after some me-time at a salon in Juhu. Pic/Satej Shinde
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Pic courtesy/Jamaica Gleaner
The other Tony of West Indies cricket bids goodbye
The world of cricket writing lost a giant earlier this week - Tony Becca, who wrote extensively for Jamaica's Gleaner newspaper. Becca, 78, was being treated for dengue but suffered a cardiac arrest at a Kingston hospital.
He travelled the world with Clive Lloyd's all-conquering West Indies team, many a time with his namesake Tony Cozier. Both also wrote authoritatively for our very own Sportsweek magazine.
Becca witnessed Viv Richards taking over the leadership role from Lloyd to ensure continuity of West Indies' world cricket dominance. Richards did not lose a Test series during his 1985-1991 captaincy stint.
In his book Fire in Babylon, Simon Lister asked Becca about the captaincy of Lloyd and Richards. What he got from the veteran journalist was profound: "If Lloyd went to a man and said, 'Jump over that mountain,' the guy would try his utmost just to please Clive. If Viv asked the same, the guy would do it because he'd be afraid of the consequences if he didn't."
By the way, Becca believed Richards "knew his cricket" better than his predecessor. That Becca was always analytical in his writing is not the only reason why the full stop to his innings is sad.
Of a city street named Johri
Late poet and voice-over artist Raajesh Johri has several unforgettable jingles and songs to his credit, including Suneeta Rao's Pari Hoon Main, which he penned in the 90s. Come Monday, he will also have a street named after him in Oshiwara. "My uncle came up with this idea when we were thinking of ways in which we could pay tribute to his legacy. Since we have no political connections, we simply submitted an application, little expecting to hear back," says his daughter, Ratika Johri. Last week, the family received a letter from the BMC stating that the street will be named Geetkar Raajesh Johri Chowk.
A Mumbaikar's seasonal blues
Mumbai-based director Manish Singh's short film, Season's Greetings, is set to be screened at the upcoming Indian World Film Festival in Hyderabad. What caught this diarist's eye was the film's storyline, discussing SAD or seasonal affective disorder. Singh shares, "Mumbaikars have a habit of complaining during every season. We long for monsoons, but when it finally showers, we want the season to end. My film is, thus, about a man who faces seasonal depression; something most Mumbaikars relate to. The motive is to create widespread awareness about the disorder and its treatment."
Paper works by Husain
Pundole's new auction in April, The Works on Paper Sale, includes a wide range of works on paper by leading artists, including VS Gaitonde, SH Raza, FN Souza, Akbar Padamsee, and others. But, it's the MF Husain works this diarist is going to take a loan for. The works include early line drawings from the 1950s, including a rare double-sided preparatory drawing for one of his toys and one of a Horse and Rider. Also included is a group of four ink drawings inspired by Chola sculptures, and a large watercolour from his Ghashiram Kotwal series. Mallika Sagar, auctioneer at Pundole's, picks a copy of the book Husain by Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S Kapur, as her favourite.
Writer of the year
Bengali writer Manoranjan Byapari, a pioneer in regional Dalit literature, is riding high post the signing of a multi-book deal with Westland Publications last year, to translate 14 of his works. The author of There's Gunpowder in the Air (translated from Bengali into English by Arunava Sinha) was in Mumbai over the weekend to receive the Gateway LitFest Writer of the Year Award. "There was a time when my books were only read in Bengali. But with the books being translated, a lot of people are now picking up my novels. There is no greater satisfaction for a writer than the fact that readers enjoy his stories," Byapari told this diarist. "The award has come at a good time. I am really humbled and appreciate the support that I am receiving from the literary community."
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