![Fiona Fernandez: Stir the pot, and start a festival]()
It was one of those indulgent, happy-go-lucky Sunday afternoons spent with a few hardcore foodie travellers, each showing off their exploits across the globe. And while at it, everyone's bucket lists for the coming years were being plotted and dotted on a make-believe world map.
*To the South*
"Buenos Aires!" shouted one of the biggest gastronomes in the group. What was interesting is that Mr. Culinary Explorer had already been to "BA" (as he chose to call it), albeit on a whistle-stop visit, and was lusting for more. Why the revisit?
Alas, for many in the group, Argentina meant acres of ranches, the sensual tango, Malbec wine, Maradona and Gabriela Sabatini.
After 15 minutes of a palate-pleasing virtual adventure, courtesy his stash of videos and Instagram photos, we were sold. Suddenly, Bologna, San Sebastian, Melbourne or even Fez in Morocco, which has been quickly rising up the charts, didn't sound as inviting. Turns out, the Argentine capital is a heady mix for foodie travellers, where diverse ingredients and local produce make for a cracker combination to make it a world-class food and drink destination.
Piqued, we decided to dig out more. BA hosts some of the biggest, most expansive food festivals in all of South America, some of the best classic steakhouses and wines, and, what intrigued us the most, had simple, executable lessons for Mumbai.
Every November, it plays host to a four-day food festival, Feria Masticar, that is held in a large warehouse in Colegiales, north of Palermo. This, we were told, is where the best of BA's cuisine is on display. Visitors can interact with chefs from some of its most popular, big-ticket restaurants; many of these tend to be off-limits, so this is a fantastic platform where, for a nominal entry, anyone with a passion for food can explore and experience an unmatched spectacle of fresh food and wines. It's also a must-visit on the city's calendar, and is teeming with tourists, naturally.
*A food riot*
Watching a master BBQ chef in action as he packed in a mean stack of high-quality cuts was a delight, as was a lesson in Argentina's impressive wine culture that went beyond its signature Malbec wines.
We also marvelled at how farmers struck deals with confectioners to use their local produce (fruit) for ice creams and desserts. Mentors and their apprentices from the F&B industry, dressed in their chef whites, were seen sharing a laugh and a tip each time they'd bump into each other at the festival.
It was a riot for the eye, a feast for the senses and above all, a celebration of a city.
Imagine recreating a similar festival here, where the best and biggest restaurants and chefs take on a pop-up avatar by offering visitors a taste of their creations and menus? Mumbai possibly boasts of more intense flavours and an unmatched culinary diversity. A start needs to be made somewhere. Now, as we witness a far more enterprising bunch take centre stage in its attempt to change the way the city dines, why not give us an annual food festival that represents its countless communities, its rustic origins and its tag as India's original cosmopolitan city?
It's high time we do justice to the country's real melting pot in every sense of the term.
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Richard B is my close friend. We graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1981; we lived in Queens, New York, he in Forest Hills and I in Flushing. As teenagers, we read Dostoevsky together, and the first porno I watched was on a projector in his basement. We together discovered India on an IndRail pass in the summer of 1982 (along with another friend who has since become a ruthless venture capitalist). Richard even visited Muzaffarpur, Bihar. We went to separate universities and lost touch after I left the US in 1986. The Internet reunited us in the late 1990s, and we've met occasionally since then. He physically changed — tall and lanky in high school, he put on a lot of weight in his 30s and, by his 40s, was a hulking giant, though his gentle nature was eternally endearing.
He emailed on Saturday to say that two months ago, oncologists determined that his prostrate cancer therapy was failing. He had first informed me of his cancer in 2014: he had been battling it for “a couple of years” when it metastasized and cast a shadow over him. Richard was on a clinical drug that kept him alive and he was optimistic that by 2020 cancer would be a manageable disease like diabetes, ie, chronic and treatable. He invited me to the US to celebrate his 50th birthday that year, but unfortunately I could not go.
Richard has published a few books in the US in which he reimagined the infamous 19th-century teenaged murderer Lizzie Borden, accused of axeing her parents to death, as an Agatha Christie-type, brainy crime solver. I bought his collection of short mysteries, Lizzie Borden: Girl Detective, as well as his 2015 novel, The Minuscule Monk, in which a talking dog is key to solving the crime. Reading these stories set in Victorian New England, I could lucidly hear my friend's voice and wit, unchanged from our teenaged years. It's a truism that when you read a book, you're actually reading the writer.
In his email, Richard said as his cancer therapy was failing, he was offered an immunotherapy trial using the clinical drug Keytruda, which gained famed as “the President's drug” when administered to former US President Jimmy Carter last year. Carter's cancer had spread to his liver and brain, and he had been given five weeks to live; a few months of Keytruda, however, and he was declared 'cancer-free'. Richard naturally jumped at the offer.
The first few days he was expectedly ill with chills and the flu. But on the fourth day, his platelet count plunged, leading to heavy internal bleeding in his bladder. He says it was painful. Doctors are now trying to bring his platelet count up and determine if Keytruda was the culprit. Today he starts a radiographic treatment to reduce the swelling and bring the platelet count back up. By the week's end, his future should be clearer.
This is déjà vu, for me. In 2010, my University roommate Jean-Etienne Duboscq died of brain cancer. He was a particle physicist at CERN in Geneva, in the 1990s. I cried and cried when I heard of his passing. I wish I had visited him before he died: we last met in 2002 when I drove up with my family to Cornell University, where he taught and did research. He was divorced and lived with his young daughter; in later years, he grew close to the widow of a friend (also a particle physicist, who earlier died of brain cancer). When Jean was diagnosed he was treated at Sloane-Kettering in New York, but the cancer was just too deeply lodged in his brain. Perhaps there is a link between experimental physics and brain cancer, but no physicist is likely to ever suggest this.
I pray that Richard's current cancer treatment works and he reaches remission, and that we are able to meet again, soon. Journalist colleagues, friends made during reporting assignments, and various relatives have passed away; but it is when friends from your youth stare death in the face that the full force of mortality hits you.
It's a cliché that mortality puts life's mundane events into perspective, and that it matters little if BJP wins UP or if Australia whups India's ass in Bangalore or if hate crimes in the US are actually a subset of terrorism. However, when I think of the loved ones who are no more, I feel as if they missed the drama of the world, for these mundane events do matter. These are the very things that fill up our life and make it worth living, that make us want to go on till the end. I hope Richard pulls through, if only to exchange jokes about the tamasha we call life.
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The rivers of Mumbai may not compare to the picturesque beauty of their counterparts in other cities, say London or Amsterdam. The four rivers of the city — Dahisar, Poisar, Oshiwara and Mithi — are known to be the victims of reckless urbanisation and pollution.*At Krishna Nagar, where the Dahisar river flows out of the SGNP, a dhobi ghat makes full use of the water supply. Pics/Aslam Saiyad*
However, documentary photographer Aslam Saiyad wants to change that picture. The Kandivli resident who goes by the Instagram handle Bombay ka Shana, has been documenting the Dahisar river stretch for the past year. Tracing it from its point of origin in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) till it empties out into Manori creek, the photo series was exhibited yesterday at an open school ground by the side of this very river that is Saiyad's muse.*Arti Gotarne, a college student from Chunapada in SGNP fetches water from the Dahisar river every day for her household needs*
The series, titled Journeys Along the River Dahisar, comprised 15 colour works and was shown as part of the River Utsav Festival, conducted by a community called Mumbai Olympics 2028, and River March, a citizen initiative to rehabilitate the dying rivers of the city.*Near the summit of the Kanheri Caves, a 2,000-year-old tank meant for water harvesting provides relief to a tribal woman*
"My project began after an awareness workshop by River March in 2015. I knew I wanted to do something about the city, and, rather than capture the filth of the rivers, I wanted to show them as places that people interacted with, for daily chores or for leisure," says Saiyad, 39.*A couple makes the best of a vista by the Dahisar river at the SGNP*
A graduate in mechanical engineering, Saiyad teaches photography and is also general manager at an animation school. His ongoing project, titled Mumbai River Project, has been self-funded and guided by photographers Chirodeep Chaudhuri, Padma Shri awardee Sudharak Olwe, Indrajit Khambe and Ritesh Uttamchandani. The Dahisar series is the first of the lot. Saiyad will turn to other rivers soon.*Having docked his boat in the mangroves, fisherman Dattaram Patil, a resident of Dahisar gaothan, returns from a day which has seen a poor catch. It has been so, thanks to pollution and plastic disposal, for the last few years at the Manori Creek, the place through which the Dahisar river meets the Arabian Sea*
The Dahisar River has been the subject of much attention thanks to citizen efforts, which have charted communities and industries along its banks, such as the dhobi ghats, tabelas and gaothans.*Aslam Saiyad*
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The mysterious death of Lance Naik Roy Mathew has spurred the Army and the Deolali Camp police to go after the reporter of a web portal whose sting operation on the 'humiliating' sahayak system allegedly drove the Armyman over the edge.
The decomposed body of Mathew was found hanging in an abandoned barrack in Deolali Cantonment, Nashik, on March 2. It has been assumed that he committed suicide in a state of distress after the sting operation video, in which he featured, was aired on TV channels on February 23.
*Security breach*
Highly-placed sources said the Army and the Deolali Camp police are looking at the reporter's entry into the highly-restricted Cantonment as a security breach. Photography/videography is prohibited in and around Army Cantonments without official permission.
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Just when the drama over the selfie point appeared to have concluded, the BMC took a sharp U-turn over its earlier decision. A day after it permitted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena to build their own selfie spots at Dadar's Shivaji Park, the corporation, on Saturday, cancelled the permission.
This startling decision came in following the orders issued by Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta on Saturday. The ward office then issued a letter to all three parties informing them about the cancellation of permission. In a bid to solve the matter and avoid quarrels, the BMC had on Friday granted permission to all three parties for a selfie point each.
'There has been a lot of opposition from locals and taking into account their complaints, the Municipal Commissioner has ordered that all permissions be cancelled," the ward office letter stated.
BMC's G-North ward officer Ramakant Biradar said, "We started receiving many requests for selfie points and considering the citizens' point of view, it would have been unfair to grant permission to some and not to others."
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The election of Vishwanath Mahadeshwar as the mayor on March 8 is almost in Sena's kitty. Mahadeshwar, who filed his nomination for the post yesterday, is a three-time corporator from Bandra and a former college principal.
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Barely two days after the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination's Marathi paper was leaked on WhatsApp, news of another paper leak surfaced yesterday. This time, the Secretarial Practice question paper from the Commerce stream was available to students on WhatsApp just 13 minutes before the exam.
The state board's Mumbai division has confirmed the paper leak. "We received images of the question paper through the media. The images were circulated at 10.47 am, while the paper was scheduled at 11 am. We have approached the Vashi police station," said Dattatray Jagtap, chairman of the Maharashtra State Board's Mumbai Division. However, officials at the board claimed that since the students are expected to enter the exam hall 30 minutes before the scheduled exam, it's unlikely that they could have had access to the paper.
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The Ulhasnagar police have solved the mystery surrounding the discovery of the body of a 26-year-old woman in a playground, with the arrest of a Pakistani national. The police said the woman was in a live-in relationship with the man. who has been living in the country for the past five years.
On February 27, the Ulhasnagar police had found the body of Vandana Jagtap at the Gol Maidan. She had been stabbed several times.
"We later found out that Vandana has two children, a seven-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son. She had been married to one Deepak Jagtap, but as they did not get along, she moved in with Suraj Shijanani one-and-a-half years ago," said Shakil Shaikh, senior inspector of Ulhasnagar police station.
The police also learnt that Shijanani had gone missing ever since the murder. On Saturday morning, the cops got a tip-off that Shijanani was planning to flee and caught him from Ulhasnagar station.
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Of the total 2,91,901 candidates who had applied for re-evaluation at Mumbai University between 2014 and 2016, 72,973 have been declared passed.
These figures were revealed by the RTI, after activist Vihar Durve filed a plea to investigate the authenticity of the evaluation process at Mumbai University. Durve has also stressed that students should be given a refund of the re-evaluation fees because it was the University's failure to manage an effective evaluation process in the first place.
"Why shouldn't these students who pass after re-evaluation, be given refund of the re-evaluation fee? It is the varsity's inability to conduct accurate assessment in the first place. Why should students be made to pay for that? It is because of the fee that so many students don't even apply for re-evaluation," Durve said.
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Is this a masterstroke or a tacit deal? The BJP has pulled out of the race for the mayor's post and has instead, planned to support the Shiv Sena's candidate. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the coup barely 10 minutes before the nomination process ended last afternoon. Although the jury is still out on whether the BJP caved under pressure, it's a no-brainer that it will give the party leverage over its frenemy in the BMC."
By vacating its claim to the post of the First Citizen, the BJP has ensured that it can use the same arm-twisting tactics in the BMC notoriously associated with the Sena. The Sena has threatened to pull out of the government time and again to get its way. The BJP has also decided not to hanker for the deputy mayor's post or positions in the BMC's important committees.
*In the control seat*
Denying any political understanding with the Sena to prevent it from destabilising the government by pulling out of it, Fadnavis contended that the decision will allow the BJP to act as custodians of transparency — its main poll plank — in the civic body. He said a committee of retired bureaucrats — Ramanath Jha, Sharad Kale and Gautam Chatterjee — will recommend measures to implement transparency in the BMC in three months.*The jury is out on who has bested whom - Devendra Fadnavis or Uddhav Thackeray?*
He said the BJP's 82 corporators will stall any "wrong proposal" placed before various committees of the BMC. That's plainspeak for dishing out to Sena its own dirty tactics. The state government controls civic bodies, although they are deemed autonomous units. Fadnavis heads the urban development ministry that regulates civic corporations. The CM reserves the right to appoint senior IAS officers in key posts such as commissioner, additional and joint commissioners. Six months ago, the CM had told mid-day that he has set up a separate mechanism to expedite, supervise and plan city projects in the Mantralaya's war room.
Political bosses like the mayor do not hold as much power as the municipal commissioner. The commissioner, who reports to the CM, is expected to be more empowered in the current situation.
*Power to the people*
Asked if the remote control will rest with him, the CM said power will lie with the people. "We will not indulge in any politics, but will keenly watch governance and improve decision-making. Our people will act as guardians," he told reporters at his residence, Varsha. He said since the party did not win a clear majority, getting its mayor elected by any other means would be disrespectful of "the people's wish for transparency".
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Three months after demonetisation hit pause at the power looms of Bhiwandi, the textile industry is slowly whirring back in action.
Migrant workers who had left for their hometowns, have started returning to the city.
Last year, on December 4, mid-day had reported how loom owners's inability to pay hard cash to daily-wage labourers, had resulted in many leaving in droves for their native in UP, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The exodus caused hundreds of power looms to shut shop.
However, when mid-day recently visited Bhiwandi, the scenario seemed to have improved, if not changed. With little or no work in their own hometowns, workers have started trickling into the city. If this continues, the power loom industry is likely to pick up pace, owners said.
*'We need the job'*
Udal Prasad (28), who hails from Allahabad and was among the many labourers affected due to demonetisation, said he returned to Bhiwandi a month ago. "When I came here, I found that the loom that I used to work in, was shut. Instead of wasting time, I decided to work at a maintenance shop where looms are repaired."*mid-day report dated December 4*
Mohammed Akram (45), who returned from his village, Gorakhpur, in UP, said he has started approaching other power loom owners. "People are doing whatever jobs they are getting," he said.
*Situation changing*
With labourers returning to find work, power loom owners are hopeful. Bhiwandi businessman Fahad Bubere, said, "If we can't accommodate them in the mills, we send them to the dying or packing department." Rashid Tahir Momin, who owns 500 looms, says that 50 per cent of his looms are already functioning. "The situation has improved since February," he said.
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Former Bollywood actress Sonu Walia has lodged an FIR against an unknown person for sending her obscene messages.
Speaking to mid-day, the actress, who is most known for her role in the Hindi film Khoon Bhari Maang, said, "I have been getting lewd messages and calls from this person for over 10 months.
Initially, the messages were decent, but slowly, he started sending me vulgar jokes. I didn't pay attention thinking he is a fan but, when I started getting obscene videos, I blocked him. He then started harassing me from a different number, after which I filed a complaint with the police." Walia said that she didn't know the person.
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Dharavi's 21-year-old football star Gulafsha Ansari is not one to rest on her laurels. After participating at the 2010 FIFA World Cup's Football for Hope and representing Maharashtra at numerous national tournaments, Ansari will now train mentors at the OSCAR Foundation, an NGO, which she has been working with for the last three years.
"It's a big leap for me. Training a mentor means I will train girls who will go on to mentor others. This way, there is decentralisation and awareness at the same time," she says.
As a mentor trainer, Gulafsha will help girls from the slums realise their potential. "There are 20 girls. Not everyone will end up becoming coach, but they will at least look beyond marriage and home. Parents now send their children to me thinking they will also travel the world like me. Whatever the reason, the girls are stepping out of their homes, which is the objective," said Gulafsha, who has a D-Licence, which is a certified football coaching licence.
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Taxi aggregators will not be allowed to shirk accountability anymore. As per the newly drafted Maharashtra City Taxi Rules-2017, they will have to share equal responsibility for any untoward incident during a ride.
Taxi aggregators have time and again drawn flak for refusing to shoulder any liability in case of accidents/misdemeanours, claiming that it only allows taxi drivers and customers to connect with each other.
Revealing this to reporters yesterday, Transport Minister Diwakar Raote said fares of such services will also be regulated — an indication that overcharging during peak hours would go. Besides, app-based taxis will not be allowed to ply within Mumbai Metropolitan Region on just a national permit; they will have to get local permits. They will also have to ensure the use of clean fuel, like compressed natural gas.
Besides, the government has given kaali-peelis the go-ahead to affiliate themselves with ride hailing app platforms, but they will be strictly regulated. Raote said, "We are trying to modernise the commuting experience without compromising benefits that the commuter, drivers and the aggregators seek."Key rules> GPS-based display board in taxis showing the route, the distance covered and the fare charged. Receipt compulsory
> 24x7 control room mandatory for aggregators
> Minimum and maximum fares to be fixed. The parameters will be based on demand and supply ratio
> Taxis to be classified in three categories — small, medium and large — based on their engine power. Fares different for each category
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/mar/5Kangana-s.jpg*Anamika Singh with Kangana Ranaut on the set of the commercial*
"Kangana is a keen learner and was eager to learn the nuances of every movement. She rehearsed it a number of times before the shot in order to get it right," says Singh, who is trained in 19 dance forms.
"It is all about the movement of various galaxies and if you were to embody that in human form, how it would be." We'll leave that to Kangana.
*The wait is over*
A good story can't go unnoticed for too long. Something of that sort happened with auto driver M Chandrakumar — popularly known as Auto Chandran, whose poignant 2006 Tamil novel that recounted his experience of being incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, became the toast of the town last year.*M Chandrakumar*
A film based on the book, Visaranai, bagged the National Award and was also Indian's official entry to the Oscars. Now, nearly 11 years after it was first published, Westland is making the book available in English. The title, Lock-Up, which has been translated by noted columnist Pavithra Srinivasan, will bring Chandrakumar's jail-time jottings to English readers. We can only see Auto Chandran's fan club growing.
*A far cry from Hollywood*
This one's for those who take their indie cinema seriously. As part of their Women's History Month celebrations, the US Consulate in Mumbai has partnered with Asia Society to organise a talk by Richard Peña, former programme director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, that organises the New York Film Festival.*Richard Pena and Maya Deren*
The session titled, Maya Deren — A Centenary Tribute By Richard Peña (March 9), will see him enlighten attendees on the "godmother" of American independent cinema. Film nerds can immerse themselves in discussion on Deren's poetry, choreography, dance, films and her work as an anthropologist. Peña, who's currently teaching at Columbia University, will also screen one of her films in its entirety and a few clips from the others.
*Going classic*
Earlier this week, Saffronart previewed the lots that will go under the hammer on March 9, when the auction house hosts its second-ever sale of classical Indian art. The first one was held in 2015, and, while 2016 was a dry spell in this particular section. We are excited to see some important pieces come into auction for the first time. After all, the December 2015 sale did fetch Saffronart Rs 16,39,02,000, when a notable sculpture of Parvati alone went for Rs 6,48,00,000.
The sale includes 36 Rajasthani miniatures from the property of jeweller Motichand Khajanchi from Bikaner. The sale also features a sandstone sculpture of Mahishasuramardini (below), estimated to go for around R3-R5 crores. We can't wait to see who'll buy this beauty.
*Prabhadevi, the willow and leather side of town*
The news of Prabhadevi-based Mumbai cricket stalwart Padmakar Shivalkar being nominated for the BCCI Colonel CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award that will be presented to him in Bangalore on Wednesday, reminded our in-house cricket nut of the number of cricketers who either live or have lived at Prabhadevi.*Padmakar Shivalkar*
At one time, Shivalkar and former Mumbai captain Milind Rege lived in the same building before Rege shifted to a nearby high rise. For a while, Prabhadevi was home to Ajit Wadekar when he was captain of India in the early 1970s — remember the story about him and his wife returning from shopping for curtains for their new flat only to discover celebrations in the compound which Wadekar mistook for a State Bank Of India officer's promotion party?
Sanjay Manjrekar is still a Prabhadevi resident. In the Twin Towers Lane, (what Prabhadevi residents call it) lived Mumbai Ranji Trophy captains Raju Kulkarni and Shishir Hattangadi. Kulkarni's parents still live there while Hattangadi has now made Ahmedabad his home. Prabhadevi has even attracted Aakash Chopra, the India batsman turned commentator and columnist. The list could only get bigger. Watch this space.
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It was a matter of a minute. At 9.15 every morning in the late 1960s, Uttara Parikh entered the Air India office. The phone rang an exact minute after, at least once every week. It was her boss Bobby Kooka's crisp 9.16 am greeting. Keen to crack a fresh idea for a hoarding he had drummed up at night or to tweak an artwork, Air India's commercial director was bent on apprising his young assistant of plans the moment she stepped into their office, then in the Bank of India Building at Fort.
The Maharajah mascot was Kooka's 1946 inspiration. By the 1960s the national carrier had already put out some of the world's best airline advertising. Cleverly conceived, executed with rare flair and finesse, the hoarding at Kemps Corner preceded the bigger billboard which fronts Air India's present hub. That went up with the portly mascot quipping, 'Nariman had a point and I'll be on it'. In response to JRD Tata's 1970 announcement that the company would be headquartered at the Nariman Point tip of Marine Drive, the ad drew the Maharajah squatting atop that iconic tower soon also to boast the country's first escalator.*Amul's stark indictment of politicians after the 26/11 terror tragedy.âÂÂPic Courtesy/Amul*
Parikh followed a drill. Having heard Kooka's instruction, she made two calls. One was to Bahadur, the J Walter Thompson artist, who'd rush on motorbike across from the agency on PM Road in 10 minutes. Bahadur sketching the visual, she dialled a second number. That was for Creado, the man who actually shimmied up the scaffolding to hand paint what was on paper - a skill lost to public sight around the year 2000 with the arrival of printed flexes. "Using refined language and imagery, our ads relied on humour to convey civic messages before Amul did," Parikh says.
"You think Maharajah and you automatically think Air India. The Maharajah legacy continues. And he has moved with the times. He's slimmer and savvier now. Some campaigns have depicted him with headphones and gadgets even," says Air India's Commercial Director Pankaj Srivastava.*This banner framed by Nana Chudasama saluted the resilience and recuperative spirit of Bombay a week after serial bomb blasts ripped the city in March 1993. Pic Courtesy/History on a Banner*
I dig delightedly into cartons crammed with ad albums. Leafing through, I can smell the 1960s and '70s at the turn of each brittle page. City-specific gems include the Maharajah gasping 'Bombay takes my breath away... 60% of air pollution is caused by automobiles' and the jollier 'Love, sax and all that jazz' celebrating a 1990s Jazz Yatra with the tubby mascot in longhaired rock star avatar.
Aviation-related ads show him in charming Chinaman garb, declare 'Confucius say Man who fly Boeing, know where he going'. And, as a 1998 tribute to 50 years of Indian women pilots, 'There's no clipping their wings'. Guffaw-worthy too is the smart series asserting punctuality: from 'Quicksand – 92% on time in Dhahran' and 'Mall the time in the world – 94% on time in Singapore', to my favourite, 'Hey big mamma, on time me comma – 100% on time in Africa.'*When JRD Tata announced the plan for Air India to move into its new headquarters, this was the Maharajah's quip. It referred to corporator KF Nariman, who masterminded the Back Bay Reclamation that formed the commercial district of Nariman Point. PicâÂÂCourtesy/Air India*
I get delicious background details from Saleem (Bittu) Ahmadullah and Gita Mistry, whose mothers were Kooka's sisters. I largely owe Bittu my love of local history, ever since he led me on a heritage trail interesting enough to trundle along tightly clutching an eight-month bellyful of baby! The cousins share how Kooka and JWT artist Umesh Rao tried a thousand designs of the bowing Maharajah with perpetually closed eyes, experimenting with different girth measures for him. He was intended as an overdressed flunkey, not courteous royalty.
"The mischievous character was Bobby's personality. He taught us to laugh at ourselves," says Saleem. "To get the Air India ad you needed to be urbane with a touch of sophistication," adds Gita. "It was iconoclastic but worked in days when we were more self-confident."
This sense of loss is as strongly felt by Karan Johar. In an interview with Amul adman and mid-day merry man Rahul daCunha, the filmmaker said, "At the moment we seriously lack humour. Amul hoardings stand for three qualities - morality, intelligence and humour. If only our people had all three." Johar's earliest memory of an Amul ad is the one on Marine Drive (beside Bachelor's ice cream stall near Patel Bridge) thanks to his movie mogul father Yash Johar. In the utterly butterly sunny new book, Amul's India 3.0, based on 50 years of Amul advertising by daCunha Communications, he says, "Dad would drop me to school and college.*When the 1970s property boom led to more and more high-rise buildings mushrooming across Nariman Point, Nana Chudasama's banner protested this dangerous trend on reclaimed land. Pic Courtesy/History on a Banner*
I remember the spot on Marine Drive where he'd crane his head out of the car window to see something, chuckle, stick his head back in and drive on. As a child I'd no idea what he was chuckling at. Those days you looked out of the window and appreciated the landscape outside, unlike today where your face is stuck in a phone. Amul topicals are never offensive because they aren't personal. It is always gentle sarcasm."
That particular Amul billboard was superbly situated. On view for about a decade from the mid 1980s, it still gave the impression of offering twice-monthly changed ads for far more years. I remember wishing the car or cab that hurtled me down the promenade would halt right here in traffic, to catch more than a passing glimpse of those taglines. The ad strategically faced office-goers in vehicles snaking along the street's north-south axis. Evenings saw it lend the Queen's Necklace a sparkle beyond its pearl strand of lights. The Amul message was mostly a chirpy chide, a naughty nudge, at worst a rap without rancour.
When a butter brand becomes the barometer of a nation, how could it not scoop urbs prima in Indis within its savvy sweep? The longest-running outdoor advertising campaign on the planet continues to benignly berate local civic and political apathy. Whether the city is troubled or terrorised, flooded or neglected, the polka-dot dressed Amul girl's heart beats for Bombay.
She brings laughter to an age of lout-giri. Shining her vibe from prime spots across town, the little moppet with a blue fringe over saucer eyes, imagined by Sylvester daCunha and visualised by Eustace Fernandes in the 1960s, reigns as a one-woman champion. She is her own Aam Aadmi Party. Ribbing without ridiculing, teasing not taunting, her puns are fun, her jokes never jibes. Staying cool in an insanely volatile era, she urges us to likewise.
A short hop from the Air India hoarding, a banner has fluttered in the Arabian Sea breeze for 40-odd years. Nana Chudasama's message blazes on, fiery as the sunsets opposite this site (outside Talk of the Town, where Pizza By the Bay is currently a corner cafe). His terse terminology makes the former sheriff and president of the NGO, I Love Mumbai, something of our original tweeter.
Narendrasinhji Mansinghji Chudasama began writing banners with the headline: 'Say it fast, say it slow, rationing must go'. The chronicler of the common man's concerns endearingly says, "I'm a fluke. Politicians provide me with ready fodder for my phrases." Stark, in the absence of visual illustration of his words, Nana's wit is yet enjoyed widely to tickle our collective funny bone.
Churchgate station within waving distance means millions of commuters stop in their tracks on the pavement below his office.
Grinning as they read lines like 'Save mangroves - our natural coastguards', 'Dalal Street turns into Halal Street - investors slaughtered' and 'Police - decades of service cannot be erased by one black sheep', alluding to rampant criticism against cops after the Marine Drive rape case shocked the city in May 2005.
"This is legitimate dissent," says the author of Bombay's most audacious banner. "One message asked 'How long will the tolerant tolerate intolerance?' Other questions have got us into trouble with powers such as the MNS vandalising our premises. I do think one has to remain fearless, speak out. Satire has its special place but my banners are very direct when called for. It's wonderful we at least have a degree of freedom of expression compared with the rest of the country."
Is it fading freedom? Fans and followers of Nana's fixture outside Soona Mahal will surely echo what Akshay Chudasama wished for his father in the book, History on a Banner: "May the sun never set on your balcony, to which the city's eyes continue to turn."
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In a major climb down, the BJP has withdrawn from the race for post of Mayor of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced here on Saturday.
Fadnavis said his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ready to offer support to the Shiv Sena but would not take any post, including of Deputy Mayor, Leader of Opposition, or chairmanship of any committees in the country's richest and biggest civic body.
"However, if they require any votes, the BJP is ready to offer support to the Shiv Sena and will always vote in favour of progress and development," he told media persons here.
The BJP decision would pave the way for a Shiv Sena mayor to sail through easily at the elections scheduled on March 8.
The Shiv Sena immediately welcomed the BJP decision with Transport Minister and party leader Diwakar Raote saying the BJP has recognised the mandate of the people of Mumbai.
On the other side, Congress spokesperson Raju Waghmare said this was expected since the match between the BJP and the Shiv Sena was "fixed", while Nationalist Congress Party state President Sunil Tatkare said the BJP move was not surprising, as his party had maintained all along that the Shiv Sena would not implement its threat of leaving the central and state governments.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis added that the BJP corporators would serve as "soldiers of transparency" and keep a watch over the BMC administration - which will now be solely in the hands of the Sena.
"We will appoint a three-member coordination committee which will submit its report in three months on how to bring about transparency in the BMC functioning," he said.
He also announced he would request the Maharashtra Lokayukta to appoint a Deputy Lokayukta exclusively for Mumbai to ensure a transparent city administration.
Fadnavis also made it clear that the Shiv Sena is very much an ally in the Maharashtra government "which doesn't face any threats".
The sudden developments came even as both the Shiv Sena and the BJP continued to adopt a tough public stance with claims that the next mayor for the civic body, which had a budget of a whopping Rs 37,000 crore plus last year - would be from their party.
Until Friday evening, hectic efforts were underway on both sides to muster adequate numbers for the mayoral polls after Mumbaikars gave a sharply fractured verdict in last month's elections.
In the 227-member BMC House, the Shiv Sena secured 84 seats, the BJP got 82, the Congress 31, the NCP nine, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena seven, the Samajwadi Party six, the AIMIM two, the Akhil Bharatiya Sena one while five Independents also won.
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The city of dreams is where the most terrible nightmares play out for some, for example Parveen Shaikh.
The 20-year-old, employed as a maid, faced assault and torture at the hands of her employers as well as her own relative to such an extent that she has almost lost her mind.
*Torturous tale*
According to the police report, the victim lost her mother four years ago; her father then decided to send her to her aunt’s place. Her aunt Ramiza sent her to work for Kasam Chouhan, who ran a motor training school, so that she could earn some money.
And thus began the girl’s nightmare, who started being constantly tortured and abused by her employers. Her aunt took away all her salary and refused to take action against those who were troubling her niece. Ramiza too assaulted Parveen.
According to the police, Parveen was petrified and did not know who to call for help. For about four years, she silently bore the torture. Finally, on February 27, 2017, she managed to escape the employer’s house.
“She had no money, so she went to a railway station and started begging. After getting enough, she reached to her father for help,” said an officer.
Seeing her state, her father took her to DN Nagar police station, where a case against Kasam and Fareeda Chouhan and Ramiza was filed.
In the meantime, the employers, on finding out that Parveen had escaped, registered a case of theft of R1.25 lakh worth of cash and jewellery against her.
*Trauma treatment*
In her statement to the police, she said, “They were torturing me for the last one year. Saab used to beat me with a hockey stick for the smallest of mistakes. Memsaab used to abuse me frequently; she even shaved my hair. There was no way to escape; my mother is no more and my father is old and doesn’t have any job.”
Officers said she said to them ‘I don’t want to die, please save me’.
“We are going file a B summary in the theft case against her by her employer; as per our investigation, it is a false case,” said senior inspector Dhanaji Nalawde.
The police sent Parveen for a body check-up to Cooper Hospital and for a mental check-up to KEM Hospital. She is said to be severely traumatised and unable to communicate properly. She is now being monitored by a panel of doctors, so that she can give a statement to the police.
“The victim has still not regained consciousness. Once she is coherent and can tell us what happened, we will add more sections against the accused couple,” said Nalawde.
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The Byculla police have claimed to have cracked the case of the mysterious fall of five-year-old Manavi Ingle. Manavi was flung from the 15th floor of the building she stayed in with her parents.
The police arrested the victim’s neighbour, 35-year-old Rekha Sutar, yesterday; cloth fibres stuck underneath her nails were examined by a forensic expert and found to be of the girl’s.*Where cops later conducted a test to determine how she suffered the fatal fall. Pic/Bipin Kokate*
She will be produced in court today. A spat between the deceased’s father and the accused had allegedly led to the crime.
*Fatal fall*
Manavi, who stayed in Vighnaharta Society, Ghodapdev, was found lying in a pool of blood in the building’s parking lot by the security guard there on December 19, 2016. She was taken to KEM Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. The Byculla police had registered a case of murder against unknown persons.
During investigation, Manavi’s father Ashok said he suspected two women who lived on the same floor to have committed the murder.
The police then questioned the two neighbours - a 58-year-old woman and Sutar - and registered a detailed statement. The Crime Branch was conducting a parallel investigation.
Ashok had told the police that when he was getting Manavi ready for school, he had gone into the kitchen for a while, and on returning to the bedroom, had found her missing.
“Ashok came out and saw Sutar in the corridor. He asked her if she had seen Manavi; she said she hadn’t. When Ashok was searching for her, a garbage collector, who had come up in the lift, told him that she had fallen,” said an officer.
Police speak
“Forensic analysis revealed that a young person had thrown the girl with full force, this pointed the needle of suspicion towards Sutar. Also, we had clipped the nails of both Sutar and Manavi for tests and found fibres from Manavi’s clothes under Sutar’s nails,” said another officer.
Deputy commissioner of police, zone III, Pravin Padwal said, “On the basis of our findings, we have arrested Sutar and will produce her in court.”
In a fit of anger?
Sutar had lost her 10-year-old son in June 2016, which had disturbed her mentally. On that fateful day, she had been served a divorce notice, which she had refused to accept.
The court bailiff had then gone to Ashok, asked him his name and requested him to bear witness to the fact that she had not accepted the notice, which Ashok refused to do, saying they were already not on good terms.
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A 24-year-old woman has alleged that she was sexually harassed by a Hinduja Hospital staffer, asking for sexual favours in exchange for a rebate on her brother’s treatment. The Mahim police have charged the official - Rajesh Rao (50), secretary to the hospital board - under Section 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code. They are yet to arrest him, however.
The complainant’s brother had met with an accident in Thane, after which he was admitted to Hinduja Hospital on February 20. After a few days, when he was due for discharge, the plaintiff learnt about the discount services provided by the hospital. She approached Rao, who is oversees the discount programme.
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Close to a month after arresting smuggler Vijay Nanda, kingpin of an international syndicate smuggling ancient Indian artefacts out of the country, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has made its second big arrest. It has held sculptor Udit Jain, Nanda’s most trusted business associate and alleged member of the infamous Deenadhayalan smuggling syndicate.
“Jain, a sculptor by profession having his own unit in Noida, was supplying artefacts to Nanda and many other Indian and global smugglers since many years.*Udit Jain*
He was instrumental in procuring sculptures from various temples across India by using his contacts,” said a DRI official.
*Modus operandi*
Jain’s name cropped up in the probe few weeks after Nanda’s arrest. Nanda would get demands from various other smuggling syndicates from across the world and accordingly, would place an order with Jain. He would then procure the idols and sculptures and antiques from various temples across the country.
Jain was allegedly in contact with many other global smugglers. The official said they have found several emails exchanged between Nanda and Jain, including an ample amount of incriminating evidence from his cell phone.
*Held in October*
Jain was also arrested in October last year in Chennai in an antique smuggling case. He was in jail for 45 days and had come out on bail, but was again indulging in smuggling.
“He used to smuggle out antiques and sculptures by concealing them between handicrafts,” said another officer. Jain would also help other smugglers in produce fake documents under the direction of notorious smuggler G Deenadhayalan, held in June last year.
*Helped with fake documents*
During the probe of Chennai DRI last year it was revealed that the two arrested smugglers T M Balaji (35), a professor in a Chennai dental college and Srikanth Omkaram (40), grandson of Deenadayalan, had confessed that they were smuggling the items to foreign countries, using fake ASI certificates, and it was Jain who helped them produce fake documents under the direction of Deenadayalan.
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*One-minute food fix from Sanjeev Kapoor*
By now, we’re no strangers to those bite-sized, fast-paced videos in which an overhead shot shows two disembodied hands creating a dish. Because it makes cooking look simple and breezy, it’s a style that Buzzfeed’s Tasty has become popular for, and the format has since been aped by nearly everyone who has anything to do with recipe videos.
So, two days ago, when we came across one such video on celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s Twitter wall, we merely shrugged. It was a video for multigrain bhel, and was followed up yesterday by another one showing us how to make a chicken cheese sandwich. While neither of these have piqued our interest, we admit that we're waiting to see what he whips up next.*Pic/Satej Shinde*
*Seeing eye to eye*
Actress Malaika Arora Khan has an interesting eye contact moment with a security guard at a fashion event in Bandra yesterday.
*When Pichai played hooky*
It was a packed schedule for Google Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai, when he visited Barcelona this week to attend the Mobile World Congress.
And it couldn’t have been otherwise either for the chief of a company that developed an operating system that has captured the smartphone market.
But it wasn’t all work and no play for Pichai, who took time out to visit Camp Nou, the home ground of FC Barcelona, which as he put it was ‘a lifelong dream.’ He also met Barca forward, Lionel Messi.
*Walk with LGBT colours*
When San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed the first modern gay pride flag combining the eight stripes in 1978, shoe manufacturers would have never thought of implementing them in their design some day.
But times have changed, so have people’s tastes and the fashion industry strives to make products that will offer traction. A leading shoe manufacturing company recently revealed their upcoming line of collection dedicated to the shades of the LGBT community. The shoes are likely to hit stores by June. Quite an effort to produce pairs of pride, that.
*Remembering Jamsetji*
It was the Tata Group founder Jamsetji Tata’s 178th birth anniversary yesterday, and the day began with Ratan Tata sending out a letter to his colleagues. The letter said that the day was a celebration of what every employee brought to the organisation.*Ratan Tata paid tribute to Jamsetji Tata at Jamshedpur*
Calling the employees the custodians and inheritors of the Tata Trusts, the industrialist wrote that he hoped they were proud of the group’s capacity to think beyond business - something that many feel was the bone of contention between the group and Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of the group. Tata also made a trip to Jamshedpur to pay tribute to the founder.
*Make (us laugh) in India*
With lyrics like Achhe din ka hai sapna, and Swachh hoga Bharat apna, the funny folks at EIC (East India Comedy) are back with another laugh riot that’s gone viral.
Titled Make in India, and sung to the tune of Alisha Chinai’s 1990s hit, Made in India, their out-of-sync-yet-hilarious take has the seven stand up comics take potshots at all our netas across political parties, as well as policies like demonetisation and other woes of the common man. For those who’re having a slow Saturday, we suggest that you check this out on the web.
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With just days to go before both parties fight for the mayor’s chair, it looks like the BJP has once again managed to clip Shiv Sena’s wings by allegedly delaying the inauguration of the much awaited Humboldt penguin exhibit.
Bringing Humboldt penguins to Byculla Zoo was the pet project of the Sena, particularly Yuva Sena chief, Aaditya Thackeray. mid-day had first reported on March 1 that Mayor Snehal Ambekar had written to the BMC commissioner to allow the opening of the exhibit. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray was invited to inaugurate it on March 6, two days before the mayoral elections. But this plan was nipped in the bud after the BMC’s Zoo and Building Maintenance department said they could not move the penguins to the exhibit space because of the “poor water quality”.
*Blame game*
On Friday, a team of Standing Committee members, led by chairman Yashodhar Phanse, visited Byculla zoo to check on the progress of the enclosure work. During the visit, officials from the zoo department explained that it will take at least another week to shift penguins there, since the water was of poor quality and it would be risky to keep the delicate birds in that environment.
After the visit, disappointed leader of the party in BMC, Trushna Vishwasrao, said, “Last week, civic officials had told us to visit on Friday and had assured us that the penguins would be shifted to the enclosure by this time.”
Targeting the BJP, Vishwasrao added, “The delay is due to political pressure. The administration has cited the penguins’ health as the reason, which no one can argue against. Everybody knows that bringing penguins to the city was Sena’s idea. This is nothing but another party’s attempt to usurp a project initiated by the Sena. But ultimately, the Sena, and none other, will inaugurate it.”
*'Pressure from BJP'*
Leader of Opposition, Pravin Chheda (Congress), also visited the zoo and echoed the same sentiments, blaming BJP for the delay. “The work of the penguin enclosure was supposed to complete by December. Officials are now telling us that the water quality is not good enough, so we will have to wait for a few more days. In fact, the BMC was using tanker water to fill the enclosure. This is nothing but a deliberate attempt to delay the opening, under pressure from the BJP,” said Chheda.
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I am very pleased about the Central Board of Film Certification’s decision to deny certification to the film Lipstick Under My Burkha by Alankrita Shrivastava. It’s ‘lady oriented’, according to the Board, which obviously means that it threatens the men of our country. This sort of threat should not be taken lying down because, if we allow films from a female perspective to be shown on the big screen, women may soon start asking for equal rights. I am glad the Board has nipped this in the bud.
The Board’s comments also pleased me greatly because they pointed out that the film depicted “fantasy about life”. Filmmakers shouldn’t be allowed to focus on fantasy, simply because that is reserved for our politicians alone. Our leaders alone should be allowed to incorporate fantasy into their speeches and party manifestos. Filmmakers should only concern themselves with real life, provided, of course, that their view of real life does not clash with the views of real life shared by the esteemed members of the Board.
Here’s another massive problem with the film. It contained ‘sex scenes.’ This horrified me. How can women in India think about sex, let alone have it? Everyone knows that Indian women are pure and untainted by the idea of sex. The fact that they can actually depict the sex lives of women on celluloid is beyond ridiculous, simply because women who like sex belong to the realm of fantasy and that has already been recognised as a problem in the previous paragraph.
I haven’t watched the film, obviously. I can travel to another country and watch it if I feel like, because a lot of other countries populated by literate people simply certify films and then allow people to make up their own minds about whether it is good, bad, tasteful or offensive. Also, intriguingly enough, when people find a few films offensive, they get on with their lives and simply avoid watching those films again. It’s an astonishingly difficult concept for a majority of my countrymen to grasp. Why should we stop watching things that are offensive when we can simply force artistes, writers, filmmakers and painters to stop creating such pieces of art in the first place? Isn’t art meant only for the people? Didn’t the great Soviet leader Joseph Stalin — more relevant to India now than ever before - live and die by that principle? How can we forget about Stalin’s beliefs about art? How can we let artists decide what to create?
This isn’t the first time our esteemed Board has taken it upon itself to protect us from anything that offends its members. A few years ago, it insisted on filmmaker David Fincher editing several scenes before his film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo could be shown to the rest of us. A couple of love-making scenes were a problem, apparently, along with a rape and torture scene. How could people be shown having sex anyway? I was pretty sure, at the time, that no member of the Board had sullied their lives with lovemaking. They must have stayed pure and untouched all their lives, in order to take on the great task of vetting everything for the rest of us. That some of them had children came as a surprise to me, because I assumed these children were born only after the esteemed Board members had condescended to having sex with someone. But how could that be? Wasn’t sex taboo?
Maybe filmmakers should get their scripts vetted first, before starting to work on a project. These scripts should be made available in advance to the public well, so anyone who may find anything potentially offensive can point this out at the onset. Maybe we should simply re-release new versions of films that have already been approved, to make things less difficult for filmmakers. Who needs various points of view anyway, when these have already been decided for us beforehand? Why reinvent the wheel? In fact, we should disallow filmmakers and artists to do anything that does not conform to what our esteemed Board thinks is appropriate. It’s what Stalin would have loved, were he to be lucky enough to be born in our great country.
One of the reasons given most often by members of the Central Board of Film Certification is that a film offends their sensibilities, or has the power to offend some community’s sensibilities. The only thing the Board does, and has done for decades, is offend our common sense.
*When he isn’t ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com*
Reported by Mid-Day 4 minutes ago.
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Reported by Grimsby Telegraph 4 hours ago.
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Reported by MailOnline 9 hours ago.
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Reported by Bristol Post 6 hours ago.
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Reported by Gloucestershire Echo 4 days ago.
The Bombay High Court on Friday warned the BMC that if it cannot show that it is taking proper care of the Humboldt penguins at Byculla zoo, the court will send them back to Seoul, South Korea, where the birds were bought from. However, the court also pointed out that several smaller countries have managed to maintain penguin parks, so there is no reason Mumbaikars should be deprived of a chance to view the birds at a similar facility here.
*Bhumi Pednekar*
It was one of those indulgent, happy-go-lucky Sunday afternoons spent with a few hardcore foodie travellers, each showing off their exploits across the globe. And while at it, everyone's bucket lists for the coming years were being plotted and dotted on a make-believe world map.
SouthGate Bath has released a statement following the death of a teenage girl in the shopping centre. The girl died after collapsing shortly before 3pm on Sunday (March 5). Numerous emergency service crews attended the scene. SouthGate Bath said in a statement: "We can confirm that an incident occurred on site today whereby paramedics were called to assist a member of the public. "It is with sadness that we report that the person passed away, our thoughts are with their family...
Reported by Bath Chronicle 16 hours ago.
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Reported by Bath Chronicle 15 hours ago.
King Henry take part in this stellar new track...
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Reported by BBC Local News 2 hours ago.
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An exhaustive summation of a special project...