The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Food car-ma
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A car becomes a makeshift dining space for a man taking his lunch break at Mahalaxmi
Rarer art dekkos
Gupta’s illustrations of the erstwhile Rhythm House
From Jehangir Art Gallery to Swastik Court, Mumbai’s tryst with Art Deco is well documented. But for artist and illustrator Varunika Gupta, it is the lesser-known icons that make for good subjects. Her latest illustration is the yellow brick structure of Cafe Madras at King’s Circle in Matunga. The now-US-based illustrator shared, “I have been creating illustrations based on Art Deco buildings around Mumbai for the last two years, often to reflect someone’s nostalgia.
Cafe Madras. Pic Courtesy/@madebyvarunika
This time, I picked Cafe Madras since it is a standout,” she remarked, adding that while the cafe takes all the limelight for the food, it hides the building’s architectural beauty. “My next work would be on Regal cinema, for its individuality and resilience.”
Fashionably sweet
Thushi jewellery in fondant placed on the Paithani saree cake
Ever spotted a dress so good that you’d like to eat it up? Well, baker and founder Gauri Kekre aka Cake Ed might just have created one. A creator of customised cakes, she recently showed off a creation that is closer to fashion than cuisine. Upon request, Kekre and her team designed a cake that looks like an assortment of Maharashtrian traditional fashion, from the Paithani saree base to detailed jewellery including anklets, necklaces and earrings. “The jewellery alone took us six days. It was all handmade,” Kekre told this diarist. The time taken was because of the challenging traditional designs, she revealed. “There were no moulds for the jewellery. So each roundlet that you see was made from fondant and had to be shaped by hand with painstaking detail, before being painted over,” the baker shared. Among the necklace was the thushi — a detailed bridal necklace with beads. While this diarist wondered who would order a Paithani saree for a cake, Kekre had an answer. “It is quite a popular request,” she said, adding, “it is an order people choose for their moms or moms-in-law, to impress them.”
Keeping an AI on cleaner coasts
Aditya Kakodkar
Chatbot can do more than just annoy writers, evidently. WWF India has turned to the very popular AI as a means to counter plastic pollution on the beaches and oceans around Goa. Aditya Kakodkar, senior coordinator, marine conservation for WWF India, Goa, shared, “To counter the manpower crunch in collating information, we decided to use the chatbot to assist the beach cleanup drives.” A simple message sent to a number by passersby who spot plastic on a beach will prompt the chatbot to direct questions about the quantity and location of the plastic. “We launched it on World Oceans Day, and will study its efficiency. From what we know, it may work efficiently in urban locations as well,” Kakodkar said.
What’s the new normal at office?
Nirajita Banerjee
The use of phrases like “Give your 110%” or “Keep me in the loop” at the workplace are likely to get you cancelled by your co-workers. Recent research by LinkedIn and Duolingo revealed that millenials in India (39 per cent) are frontrunners in the jargon game, followed by GenZers at 36 per cent. Nirajita Banerjee of the employment-focused social media platform shared, “We are witnessing a shift in how language is embraced at the workplace. For instance, “let’s get our ducks in a row” is being replaced by “let’s prepare and get organised.” Younger professionals seek simpler, more inclusive ways of communication in order to build a more nurturing workplace.”
Dissenting for the truth on stage
Sunil Shanbag (behind) looks on during an earlier performance of the play
In a city that nurtured Saadat Hasan Manto and Ismat Chughtai’s rebellious minds, it is not surprising that words still have resonance. Sunil Shanbag’s tryst on the Prithvi Theatre today will echo this phenomenon. The playwright will be part of the performance, Words Have Been Uttered, that will also feature Irawati Karnik and Sapan Saran. “This is a piece we have been doing for a few years now, and is an exploration of dissent. It is universal and goes beyond time, history, geography and cultures,” Shanbag told this diarist. Beginning with Galileo Galilei’s famous stand, to Bertolt Brecht and the modern age, the performance will utilise different mediums — from visual elements to poetry, satire and snippets — to explore dissent, he said.
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