The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Shadab Khan
Phata Poster, Nikla...Billi?
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A school girl walks past a cat-peeping-out-of-a-poster mural at Marine Lines.
Mughal showcase in the US
A moment from the Mughal-e-Azam musical
Uncle Sam will get a taste of India’s rich history this week. After over 200 shows across Asia, Feroz Abbas Khan’s Mughal-e-Azam is finally heading to America. The production will set up its first show in Atlanta on Friday, May 26. With over 13 cities on the tour itinerary, the director said, “I guess, the first show of Mughal-e-Azam- The Musical will be a litmus test and will set the tone for the tour. However, given the success at other international venues, we are expecting an even more vociferous response.” Among the venues is the revered Lincoln Center at New York City. But the greater challenge is physical, the director admitted. “To get the logistics right and maintain a consistent level of motivation, fitness and excellence while traveling extensively and performing at a new venue and city every other day will be the biggest trial,” he shared.
Feroz Abbas Khan
Decoding India’s queer mythology
Utkarsh Patel and Arundhati Dasgupt
With the recent ongoing debate about the marital rights of the LGBTQiA+ community, Utkarsh Patel and Arundhati Dasgupta founders of Mythology Project — an online platform for myths, history, folktales and ancient belief systems — held an online session recently. “There is a notion amongst many that the gender spectrum is very new and elitist, and does not belong to India, and that it has been imposed upon us by foreigners. Both these ideas are incorrect; we wanted to bring that out. Bringing a modern idea with the reference of something that existed in the books was more effective,” Dasgupta told this diarist.
Tune in to the Indian tuna
Ganesh Nakhawa with a yellowfin tuna
This diarist recently came across Ganesh Nakhawa, a fisherman from the city’s indigenous Koli community, who has been working tirelessly to ensure that India’s tuna fish doesn’t become an endangered species in the future. He threw light on tuna harvesting and the unsustainable practices that harm the species on World Tuna Day (May 2). Taking to his social media, he shared that while the species is currently in good numbers, some policies that look at capitalising on tuna put its harvesting and sourcing in danger. “These schemes did not focus on proper harvesting, and handling of harvested tunas. The species have to be taken care of even after fishing; they have to be iced properly, neatly gutted, which was not the case,” he said. Nakhawa revealed that this affects sourcing in a big way, “There are several sushi and seafood restaurants in the city but unfortunately all of them source imported tuna.”
A Puneri pagdi for the King
(From left) Ullas Shantaram Muke, Ramdas Karvande and Sopan Mare present the pagdi to Alan Gemmell
The clock ticks for Coronation day that falls on May 6 in London. It will see Charles III crowned king of the United Kingdom and 14 other Independent Realms of which he is also Head of State. Alan Gemmell, British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India hosted a celebratory event at Taj Mahal Towers, Colaba earlier this week where Mumbai dabbawalas were also a part of the special evening. While the day will be rooted in tradition, it will also reflect a modern, multicultural UK. Despite hosting many of Mumbai’s famous, who better than our dabbawalas — who we are happy to say are not forgotten when it comes to all things royal — to espouse a mix of modern and traditional? Tradition, because the doughty dabbas continue to survive in the age of online deliveries and modern, as the dabbawalas always keep pace in these hurried times. They handed over a Puneri pagdi to Alan Gemmell as a mark of respect for His Majesty ahead of The King’s Coronation. Here’s to the Coronation and the dabbawalas, our very own kings of lunchtime.
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