Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

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

SONA, KITNA SONA HAI 

Sonakshi Sinha stays true to her name, dazzling in gold at the launch of a hair styling product at an Andheri five-star on Monday. Pic/Sameer Markande

Leading from the front 

Adi Godrej, Sudha Murthy and Anu Aga

Kickstarting its 150 year celebrations with a grand alumni dinner earlier this year, St Xavier's College is now hosting a leadership summit for the first time. With an illustrious line-up of speakers — including Adi Godrej, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Narayan and Sudha Murthy, and Anu Aga — the essence of the event is to understand the way great leaders think and learn from their journey. The theme of the summit is The Inflexion Point, and there will also be panel discussions on the present and future of the banking sector in India and the post-election future of Indian financial markets. The event takes place in the college auditorium on July 13 and tickets range from R2,000 to R4,000. A hefty sum to pay to get inspired?

A quick nostalgic trip for Sonu

Sonu Sood 

In 2016, Sonu Sood lost his father, Shakti Sagar, to respiratory illness. And yesterday, the actor took to Twitter to post a video of himself taking a quick ride on his father's Chetak scooter in his compound in Moga, Punjab. "It's so special for me. I got him a new car, a new scooter but still this one remained his most favourite one. N now it's my favourite, forever.

Sonu Sood rides his father's Chetak

I would ride with him many a times. The sound of the engine is nostalgic. I miss u Dad (sic)" he tweeted. And his post sent many fans reminiscing about the days of the Chetak and Vespa and riding it with their parents. Some also commended the actor's humility. "These pictures and videos make us realise that stars are from humble background just like everyone (sic)," a fan wrote.

It's never too late

Anshu Mor

"When even the cameraman laughs at your jokes, and the audience is rapt with attention, you know you've arrived," is how presenter and entrepreneur Roshan Abbas chose to define Anshu Mor's recent stand-up gig. The Gurgaon-based comedian has an interesting story — he gave up heading the Xbox business at Microsoft India in 2016 to pursue comedy full time, working hard on his delivery and timing.

Roshan Abbas

"I have seen his journey from the beginning and I can safely say he has come such a long way... A Netflix special is waiting to happen," Abbas added.

The Italian getaway is back

Mangi Ferra in 2003

In 2003, under a mango tree, Juhu gained a fine Italian eatery - Mangii Ferra which literally translates to Mango Tree in Latin. And while a slew of Italian restaurants now dot the city, the restaurant is set to reopen next month after it shut down in 2011 in the same location. "We are re-launching Mangii Ferra to bring back the original authentic Italian experience that people still remember with such fondness and good memories," owner Prashant Chaudhri told this diarist. The menu will have more handmade plates of pasta and the recipe for Neapolitan pizzas is different. He adds, "These pizzas are now double fermented in authentic Italian wood-fired ovens as opposed to the handmade brick Indian ovens that existed back then. In addition, even the salads have newer ingredients like pinenuts and quinoa. We have also added a sumptuous variety to the nibbles and light-bites."

For the sake of poetry

Is the term poet gender-neutral? If so, should we renounce "poetess"? Well, that's the debate city-based contemporary poet and art critic Ranjit Hoskote triggered with his tweet, wherein he stated that the term "poetess" should be renounced since it's dated and patriarchal. "It makes my hair stand on end. Always 'poet', no matter of what gender or orientation. 'Poetess' is dated, patriarchal, offensive," he wrote. Not one to ignore this, the social media platform was soon aflutter with Twitteratis pointing out that the term "poet" isn't exactly gender-neutral. While one questioned the same gender questions that hover around terms like doctor, pilot and minister, another compared it to the argument that "guys" is gender neutral. "If that were true, then my husband could say he was married to a nice guy...," a follower wrote. Hoskote responded saying that it called for greater reflection.

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