Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

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

Won’t let you go 

A young girl from the Dombari community playfully wraps her arms around a visitor’s leg at Bandstand Promenade on Monday.

Stamping Pandurang Kane’s legacy

Yesterday marked the 50th death anniversary of Sanskrit scholar Pandurang Vaman Kane (inset). The Asiatic Society of Mumbai (ASM) had approached the Department of Posts to issue a commemorative postage stamp on Kane. “Three years ago, we realised all Bharat Ratna awardees have a stamp except for Kane. He was closely associated with the Society and did his research from our library. We felt we should initiate the process for the stamp’s release,” said Dr Shehernaz Nalwalla, vice-president, ASM. Kane’s stamp was released by Maharashtra’s Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, on Monday.      

Off the beaten track

Tourists share experiences and unwind at a goStops hostel

Six young travellers from across India are heading to McLeodganj. They began from Delhi and proceeded to Amritsar after visiting the Harappan excavation site of Rakhigarhi. This 35-day trip to explore stories from across the land, was suggested by #Odyssey2022 — a scholarship launched by Shoshin Tribe and backpackers’ hostel, goStops. Pallavi Agarwal, the latter’s Mumbai-based founder-CEO, shared, “The idea is to stay at rare places and absorb their cultural habits. Today’s youth are open to such vivid experiences.”

Films for the brain

Tired of watching cinema as entertainment? You may want to head over to the Royal Yacht Club towards the end of this month. The Psychoanalytic Therapy and Research Centre (PTRC) will be screening short films that will then be analysed through a psychoanalytical lens. Nuzhat Khan, psychoanalyst with PTRC, Mumbai, told us, “The aim is not to analyse a film from its technical viewpoint. We are looking at psychology and the portrayal of human behaviour.” The analysis, Khan told us, will be part of a monthly series. “We also plan to hold such sessions over music, art and dance. Perhaps one on Queen’s Bohemian rhapsody or David Bowie’s Space oddity.” Now, that would be something worth checking on @ptrc.

For those who read over a cuppa

A Blue Tokai café in Mumbai

Here’s some good news for coffee lovers who also happen to be avid readers. Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee label, known for sourcing good-quality coffee beans and roasting them for enhanced flavours, is joining hands with Bloomsbury India to introduce the Blue Tokai library. The coffee company has always valued culture; from being dedicated to the country’s roots to sporting regional art on their packaging. They now intend to familiarise award-winning Indian writers to coffee drinkers across cities. “We are delighted at this opportunity to bring fine books to a larger, discerning audience,” Krishan Chopra, Editor-in-Chief, Bloomsbury India, shared.

Take Pandey’s word for it

Do you dream of making a career in the field of advertising but don’t know where to start? Do you rewrite ad jingles from popular media? Advertising veteran Piyush Pandey’s next book might just be for you. Open House (India Portfolio), his second title  after Pandeymonium will be released on May 9, and promises to take the reader through his thought process by addressing questions directed at him over the years, from whether ad agencies work for political parties to if Pandey is too old to be in the business.  

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