The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Sameer Markande
SRK Hoon Na
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The Bollywood superstar gestures to the crowd against an aptly worded backdrop at a movie premiere in Andheri on Wednesday. Pic/Sameer Markande
The first chapter
One of the country's premier media institutions, Xavier Institute of Communications (XIC) is commemorating its 50th jubilee year. To celebrate, they are giving the city another literary festival.
Titled Alfaaz, it will take place on March 12 and include panel discussions, interactive workshops and discussions. So, you will see stalwarts like Dolly Thakore, Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, Meghna Pant, Usha Thakkar and Kiran Manral in a panel that analyses the representation of women in mainstream media and literature, theatre director Jeff Goldberg engaging in a discussion on method acting, and marketing guru Harish Bhat talking about his career.
A troupe from Whistling Woods International will also ensure that the event isn't incomplete without some melody. Here's hoping it's a successful first edition.
Cooking up a melody
A fan of Indian Ocean since his college days, chef Kunal Kapur recently cooked for musician Rahul Ram of the band in his show, My Yellow Table. "Back in college, we would switch off the lights and listen to Indian Ocean songs on cassettes, and even wake up to them," reminisced Kapur.
He cooked four Konkani coastal dishes that Ram would like — neychoru, the Kerala style ghee rice with dry fruits that has influences from the Arab trading community in the state, Bengali chingri malai curry, Kokum curry and payasam. And Ram strummed the guitar and sang about them! "He's a well-read person and a brilliant musician, so this was one of the most interesting times I've spent cooking as the entire experience became a song. When you have a meal together, it becomes a bond. There are few people from art-driven streams I can relate to. He's one of them," Kapur told this diarist.
Compassion first
It was a proud moment for children of Mumbai's Podar International School when PETA India honoured 10-year-olds with compassion certificates from the school for their #DontKillForFun music video that features a rap battle between a group of wild animals and the wealthy hunters intent on killing them.
"I know trophy hunting is not practised in India but cruelty and environmental hazard in any part of the world has an adverse effect on the rest of it. The PETA certificate will be a constant reminder of more good work I have to do in my life," Abner Sharma, the class five student who conceptualised this film, told this diarist. "#Don'tKillForFun shows the damage done by wealthy hunters who gun down wild animals for a photo and a body part to hang on a wall," Puja Mahajan, PETA India education and youth outreach manager, added.
When Mumbai grooved to Manu
There are times when music transports you to realm where the world around you tends to disappear. This diarist reached such a place when Manu Chao took the stage at Antisocial earlier this week.
Accompanied only by a guitarist and a percussionist, he strummed on his own guitar like a man possessed, belting out one Spanish tune after the other, the language barrier making no difference to the audience. Chao returned for an encore where he played some of his biggest hits like King of the Bongo, and was later joined by three rappers from The Dharavi Project. What's more, he hung around after the gig interacting with his fans and posing for selfies.
SOI heads to Delhi
Mumbai's The Symphony Orchestra of India is going to make its debut in the capital tonight with an evening of classical music by Vivaldi, Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart at the India Habitat Centre. Renowned music director Marat Bisengaliev will conduct the ensemble, which will also have soloists such as cellist Salauat Karibayev in Haydn's Cello Concerto No 1.
Four violinists will weave together Vivaldi's Concerto that has been selected from a set of 12 concertos for stringed instruments, first published in Amsterdam in 1711. Bisengaliev, who will perform the solo in Beethoven's Romance in F major, told this diarist, "I believe the crowd in Delhi loves Western classical music, so we have chosen a programme that presents music of some of the greats from the genre. We also hope this will be appealing to those new to the genre as well. It's a Viennese programme and has serious western classical pieces."
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