He’s nailed it!
A roadside seller in Kandivli beats his brooms on iron nails to make them fluffier.
German salute for Thane’s metal maestros
The band performs the song Emasculator. pic courtesy/@metaldevastationpr
The Germans seem to be a newfound audience for Eternal Returns, a Thane-based band in Mumbai. Having toured Europe earlier this year in March, including cities such as Budapest (Hungary), the band received a pleasant surprise when their songs made it to the Top 50 on the iTunes Top Songs Metal Charts in Germany. Narendra Patel, lyricist and vocalist, shared with this diarist, “The last time I checked we were at 35. Surprisingly, we didn’t tour in Germany, though we intend to sometime next year; but after our Europe tour, our music seems to have resonated with German audiences a lot. Germany is the metal capital of the world. I believe it is our medley of subgenres that has possibly attracted the crowds there. None of us are trained in Indian classical music but we have a good understanding of it, and blend touches of it with other elements like metal core, growling vocals and clean vocals. One song could have at least four subgenres mixed together. We try to show aggression in our performances. Our songs, Greed and Emasculator have been particularly popular.” He added, “Currently, our band is all set to welcome a new drummer, Niveditha Ode Linda.”
The piano man comes to play
Jon Batiste. Pic courtesy/@jonbatiste
Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning composer Jon Batiste has announced his debut tour to India, with a stopover in Mumbai at a BKC venue in November. Following his successful cross-country trails for the Big Money Tour, across America, the composer will be heading to India via Dubai. The first halt in Delhi will be followed by a performance in Mumbai. With tickets set to go online on September 22, it is a rare chance for fans to catch the pianist live in action. Batiste broke through as the leader of the band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In 2020, his composition for the animated feature, Soul, won him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Score.
Mind matters most
Radhika Mohta (far left) with participants at a previous session. Pic courtesy/Radhika Mohta
For women in Mumbai, yesterday was a chance to truly unwind with an interesting activity. Radhika Mohta, a relationship coach and matchmaker based in Bengaluru, conducted a community session on Sunday for women only, at Zen Cafe in Fort. “This session of mine is called Mindful Mornings. I conduct it in Bengaluru, usually on the first Saturday of every month. I gather a group of women, and we engage in different calming activities, be it reading, knitting, journalling, amusing ourselves with poetry, etc,” Mohta told this diarist. “The aim is to slow down, and allow women to experience true connection and friendship with each other, over merely being performative. Many women have previously told me such sessions help them immensely.” She added, “I prefer keeping a tight-knit group of 10, so as to let people get to really know each other.”
Ready for the Hosa hop from Siolim?
A view of the restaurant interiors at Siolim. Pic courtesy/Hosaindia
All those city foodies who continue to have curry leaf-scented dreams of the delish, inspired fare at Hosa in Siolim, Goa, or, keep finding excuses to add it to their itinerary each time they revisit the sunshine state, for another go at its trippy southern spread, we have great news. Last Saturday, a little (and very satiated) birdie who had perched itself by the bar at O Pedro, thanks to Hosa’s weekend pop-up at the BKC hotspot, overheard a juicy detail straight from the horse’s (or shall we say, Hosa’s) mouth; we mean from the brand chef Harish Rao himself. Stakeholders of this popular eatery are scouting for spaces in Mumbai and intend to open a restaurant in the bay by next year. We will be keeping our ears peeled for more Jigarthanda-laced updates for you, dear readers. We are already salivating.
How to get hooked by the book
A box library from the initiative. Pic courtesy/Mission Green Mumbai
The idea of reading a good book in the open air sounds like a dream come true for many in Mumbai. It’s on the way now. Mission Green Mumbai, a non-profit organisation, has begun an initiative, Har Ghar Library, encouraging outdoor reading by setting up small garden libraries in spots across Mumbai. Last year, they had begun a Box Library Project, an initiative to install 100 box libraries across gardens in Mumbai, with support from citizens. They can donate books or funds to construct boxes for such libraries. Spearheaded by environmentalist, founder Subhajit Mukherjee, the initiative aims to promote not only reading as a habit, but also mental wellbeing, relaxation and what he calls a “digital detox” — a break from the constant exposure to screens, and doom scrolling. The platform also plans to initiate community events around reading. For more, log on to subhajit mukherjee.com.
