The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Satej Shinde
All eyes on the ball
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Spectators watch a cricket match through the window of the recreation centre at the MCA cricket ground in BKC.
Hrithik’s gone arty
The freshly painted space; (right) Hrithik Roshan and Raj Pathare. Pics Courtesy/Instagram
Graffiti artist Raj Pathare aka Mooz’s funky street art has found a new lavish abode. The artist has just wrapped up work at Hrithik Roshan’s swanky new pad on Juhu-Versova Link Road. “Hrithik reached out to me in February with his request. We have been working closely to paint graffiti and abstract art in various spaces including the gym space,” Mooz shared with this diarist, adding that the actor contributed ideas and shared feedback at every stage of the project. To Roshan’s keen interest in the lesser-known art form, we say in his signature style, “Fantastic!”
A paw-some cause
Visitors at a previous adoption event
Zane’s Cafe, a pet-friendly café and spa in Todi Mills, recently hosted Project Kibo, a Raigad-based NGO providing rescue and rehabilitation to animals. They organised a two-day adoption drive featuring indie cats and dogs rescued by this organisation. “I had visited Zane’s last year with my rescue dog and was moved by how attentively they cared for my dog,” expressed Prageeyaa Khanna, its founder. The event drew a positive turn out, fuelled by social media buzz with its central location attracting walk-ins. “We were thrilled to raise awareness about the ‘adopt, don’t shop’ cause,” Ashka Saxena, head of marketing at Zane’s concluded.
Silent page turners
Readers at the session in Churchgate
The Churchgate-based silent reading club, Bombay Bookies, have introduced Saturday reading sessions. “We decided to hold the sessions on both Saturdays and Sundays due to the positive response and large volume of applications coming in,” said event host Gargi Sandhu. After their largest meet-up of 250 readers at a garden near Churchgate station on October 20, Sandhu emphasised, “We didn’t want to overburden the crowd or take away from the silent reading element.” The initiative aims to revive the habit of reading and foster community reading amidst nature. “We were very happy with the participation of 150 people and aim to continue this every Saturday.” she concluded. For registration, visit @bombaybookies.
Memories of a maestro
AR Rahman, Namrata Gupta Khan, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan and Rabbani Mustafa Khan
Every master was once a student, they say. Maestro AR Rahman will take a musical walk down memory lane to remember his guru, late Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan at a tribute concert in Bandra in January next year. The performance will be a part of Hazri, an annual musical tribute that marks the Ustad’s death anniversary (January 17). “Rahman shared a close bond with my father. Ustad ji didn’t speak much English, and on the other hand, Rahman wasn’t fluent in Hindi. But they somehow managed to connect on a spiritual level through the language of music,” recalled Rabbani Mustafa Khan, who organises the annual tribute in his late father’s memory with wife Namrata Gupta Khan.
Rahman announced the event through a video. Pics Courtesy/Rabbani Mustafa Khan; Instagram
For Rabbani’s brothers, Murtuza Mustafa and Qadir Mustafa, who have collaborated with Rahman on popular sufi songs like Piya haji ali, Noor un alaa noor, and Al madad maula, it will be a doubly nostalgic reunion. Rabbani informed this diarist that the event will also see attendance from the Ustad’s protégés like singers Hariharan, Sonu Nigam, and Shaan.
Catching practice
Omkar Dhareshwar teaches young monks in Sikkim how to juggle
Ever felt like two hands were not enough for everything you were juggling with? Well, Marol-based flow artist and juggler Omkar Dhareshwar agrees. His new series brings the audience into the act of juggling as participants. “When I juggle for people, they’re usually passive spectators. To make it fun, I introduced the Royal Rumble. I throw the balls at them during the performance and ask them to throw it back at the right time,” he shared. To start with, Dhareshwar tested the series out with young monks in the Rinchempong monastery in Gangtok. “They were all smiles and did a good job with the catching. I will take this series to other cities as well. It shouldn’t be hard in a cricket crazy nation like ours,” he said.