The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Ashish Raje
Always look up!
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With Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner, a vegetable vendor’s stall in Lalbaug market gets a pretty canopy, thanks to pandal décor items on sale
Light up, Pune
Chef Amninder Sandhu is back on the restaurant scene “with a vengeance”. After rolling out her delivery venture, Ammu, last year, she’s opened a new restaurant — Nora — in Pune. “For a long time, I thought I wouldn’t open restaurants in Mumbai or Pune. But now that I have a home in Pune, too, I realise that there’s a gap in the city when it comes to chef-driven restaurants,” she told this diarist. The all-day kitchen and terrace bar serves up a hearty, wholesome selection of salads, small plates, flatbreads, grazing platters, grills, baos, sliders and cocktails. “There’s no specific cuisine but the menu leans towards Indian. It’s the first time I’m doing this [kind of food]. It’s a homely place; Nora translates to light. We have upcycled a lot, and my mother-in-law has even crocheted mats. It’s like an extension of my living room,” she chirped, adding, “After two years of cloud kitchens, I’ve missed being able to see the faces of diners enjoying my food.”
Hit the pedals for Aarey forest
Youth for Aarey is trying to get citizens to be part of the cycle of change, literally. Joined by the Marol Cycling Club, the group offered a ride to participants through the Aarey forest last Sunday. Tanmay Shinde of Youth for Aarey told us that it was an effort to engage people and re-establish their connection with nature.
“Not everyone wants to join a protest march. This ride was a creative way to engage with people, interact with them on a personal level, and show them what is at stake and why it needs to be protected.” With a petition to the President of India, Draupadi Murmu, and plans to conduct more such experiences after Ganesh Chaturthi, the movement is gathering steam.
Beer-y good idea
Nothing like chilled beer to bring people together — even if they are continents apart. Take for instance, Chatty Girija (inset, top) — creator of Cheers Chatty, a podcast on beer — who has tied up with South African filmmaker Obakeng Malope (inset, below) for the latter’s initiative, Beer is Art. It aims to teach unemployed youth there the art and science of brewing beer, and open up career opportunities in the industry. “She is interested in how Indian spices, which have also travelled to South Africa due to migration and cultural similarities, can be used to brew beer. My team will provide education to the youth on how to brew beer from an Indian perspective. We’re devising a whole curriculum. The podcast will be a mouthpiece for the initiative,” she told us. The programme will later travel to India, too. Cheers to that.
Lording over all of Mumbai
After two years of subdued celebrations, Vile Parle’s Mumbai cha Peshwa will live up to a tall order this year. How tall, you ask — only 22 feet. Touted as the city’s tallest green murti, the mandal known for making tissue paper idols for 15 years, is marrying civic and social concerns with their towering creation. Since last year, the mandal has committed itself to forging a stronger relationship with nature. “Our Ganesh idol in 2021 was made using alum. This year, we thought of collecting small banana trees that are widely used in weddings and other auspicious occasions,” said mandal secretary Amey A Khaple. He told this diarist that once these events are over, the banana trees are thrown away as waste. “After collecting these used trees, we passed them through a grinder, mashed them and paired the material with tissue paper. After drying, it was subjected to water pressure tests.” The Ganpati idol that was created over a span of nine months won’t accept sweets as offerings. “We prefer if devotees offer books, notebooks, pens and more — articles that we can donate to the ABCD Foundation, dedicated to child education,” Khaple shared.
Meet the messiah on autopilot
Sandeep Bacche’s auto offers a (from right) phone, water, mouth freshener and more
What’s the most mind-boggling quaintness you have spotted in a Mumbai auto? This diarist has travelled in one with a mini garden, and another with an elaborate first-aid kit. But Sandeep Bacche’s auto won our heart with its STD phone booth, drinking water stand, shoe polish holder, biscuits, WiFi, charger, and the notice: Free For Hospital. Triggered by his mother’s cancer and the related hassles, the driver doesn’t charge for any hospital visits. “Passengers warm up to me on noticing the services in my rickshaw,” he said. Having worked as a peon, Bacche was inspired by the interiors of a luxury bus in the 1990s. “I started off by providing newspapers. People liked the idea. Social service doesn’t mean only contributing money; it can be as simple as bringing a smile on someone’s face,” shared the Sanjay Dutt fan who calls himself Munna Bhai SSC. Lage raho.
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