Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pawse and poseA pet dog poses for the lens while waiting with its parent outside a shopping plaza on SV Road in BorivliThank you for the TampTA view of the restaurant Pic CourtesyToastandtonic on InstagramIt had been coming but that does not ease the blow BKC haunt Toast amp Tonic called time on its nearly decadelong run in the city on October 5 The decision was doing the rounds in FampB circles with the announcement gone viral as early as May this year The Bengaluru outpost soon followed suit But patrons neednrsquot fretAD Singh File PicRestaurateur AD Singh confirmed the news ldquoWe knew we were much loved in Mumbai and so many of our lovely diners had some of their best memories with us over the years However we assessed that they were now looking for a refreshed venture for the future and we are in the process of creating thatrdquo Though he didnrsquot reveal much to this diarist about future plans Singh shared ldquoClosing hasnrsquot been an easy decision but our senior management team and I are already in discussions on refreshing the vision and design and working on the way forward for Toast amp TonicrdquoSmall steps green impactA moment from a previous workshop Pic CourtesyTafreehwaleWersquore tipping our hat to theatre group Tafreehwale for going green this month In preparation of their upcoming play Fever Dream the troupe has ditched the usual shopping spree and reached out to the general public to crowdsource props ldquoClimate consciousness has been at the heart of our productions Wersquore making a small contribution for a sustainable futurerdquo cofounder Meghna Telang told this diarist Those keen to help can log on to tafreehwaleNo Mumbai smash for these PumpkinsA moment from The Smashing Pumpkins documentary Pic CourtesyThe Smashing Pumpkins on Youtube FacebookLast weekend ended on a sour note for grunge fans with the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins cancelling their India debut Led by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan the twotime Grammy Awardwinning band had performed in Singapore over last weekendThe bandrsquos official statementIndian fans were let down by the official statement by the band on Facebook as the signoff sentence read ldquoWe cannot perform these shows up to the standards that we and our fans expectrdquo With several heavyweight acts heading to India we hope organisers pull up their socks and save fans from heartburnWhen the train is your museSachin Banne works on the canvas in the train Pics courtesySachin BanneArt can find its inspiration during the most mundane periods of time such as during a journey that is inconveniently long This is exactly what happened with Worlibased artist Sachin Banne who was in a train bound to Kolhapur from Mumbai which was delayed by three hours due to technical issuesThe completed artworkldquoThe train was supposed to reach Kolhapur by 8 pm but ended up reaching at 11 pm During this time I took out my canvas and art tools and set them up in the compartmentSachin BanneMany fellow passengers took great interest as they watched me at work I have painted scenes depicting the same compartment on an oiloncanvas piecerdquo Banne told this diaristTo Gail with loveBharat Patankar and Gail Omvedt in a moment from the documentaryA journey of eight years finds summation with the first premiere screening of Somnath Waghmarersquos documentary Gail amp Bharat at the London School of Economics on October 14 Based on the life of Dalit activists scholars and sociologist Gail Omvedt and her husband Bharat Patankar the film captures their journey and challengesSomnath Waghmare extreme left with Gail Omvedt in orange and Bharat Patankar extreme right Pics CourtesySomnath WaghmareWaghmare who grew up in Malewadi in the Sangli district of Maharashtra shared ldquoI lived almost 20 kms from where they were living and working So I knew them up close through my youth I began recording our conversations and interactions starting late 2017rdquo After Omvedtrsquos passing in 2021 he returned to the project ldquoWe are screening it in London followed by interactions in the University of Cambridge Oxford Sussex and will also travel to Berlin and the Netherlands The first India showing will take place in Pune or Mumbai in December followed by the Kochi Biennalerdquo he shared