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

Window To The World

Workers catch up with each other from their windows amid the lockdown in Kurla. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Mumbai Without Mumbaikars

Can you imagine Mumbai without its hustle-bustle, chaos and Mumbaikars? The last couple of weeks of lockdown changed the way the city has existed in our imagination, something that website Mumbai Live captured in a four-and-a-half minute drone video. Shot by creative director Kushang Dholakia and freelance cinematographer Omkar Pathak, the video captures aerial shots of an empty CSMT, Bandra, Dadar TT, the Bandra Worli Sea Link and Marine Drive, among other landmarks.

Nishant Sabnis, the CEO, shares that the idea came to them after similar videos from Wuhan and London emerged. “We got permissions from the Mumbai Police and set out to shoot wearing gloves and masks. While shooting, we realised how beautiful Mumbai looks, but there was a void as it doesn’t feel like Mumbai without all the honking and heckling,” said Pathak.

Bhai, Looks Who’s Back On TV

After Shaktiman, Ramayan and Mahabharat, the iconic comedy show Dekh Bhai Dekh is now back on Doordarshan. The antics of three generations of the Diwan family, which included actors like Farida Jalal, Shekhar Suman, Sushma Seth, Navin Nischol, Bhavana Balsavar, Urvashi Dholakia and Deven Bhojani, were a part of the TV routine for any ’90s kid.

Speaking to this diarist about the show being aired again, creator Aanand Mahendroo said, “It’s been 26 years [since the show]. Dekh Bhai Dekh coming back on TV, at this time, is a great feeling. I’m flooded with messages. It feels good to have one’s work appreciated. A lot of people from the new generation will also watch it now.”

The sitcom, which first aired on Doordarshan in 1993, became career-defining for Suman and Dholakia.

A Mythology Quiz For You

Who cried in the sound of the horse when he was born? Who was born with a horn on his head? These are some of the many questions that author Anand Neelakantan has been asking his Twitter followers as part of his #MythologyQuiz series.

Not only has he been getting a great response, but each day, one winner will get a signed copy of his book Vanara. “I was thinking of ways to keep my followers engaged so I came up with the quiz. I’m posting a quiz whenever I get the time. There’s no hard and fast rule here. I’m trying to keep the questions uncommon as a lot of people will Google the answers, but at least it creates an interest and prompts them to read up, instead of getting engaged with news about the virus,” he shared.

Kamra Takes On Tejasvi

In a new episode of his show Shut Up Ya Kunal, Kunal Kamra takes on Tejasvi Surya in a conversation that lasts for over an hour. Kamra talks minimally, Surya speaks of patriotism and in his trademark style, Kamra intersperses the episode with news items, video footage and a list of labels that Surya uses to describe him and his ‘ilk.’

“I was in two minds about posting the video. But it’s quarantine time, so I thought why not. What I did to Surya on the edit table is an unequivocally condemnable act. I painted him to be far more unintelligent than he is. Why I did this is a deeper question but I feel it is in the greater good of balance,” Kamra told this diarist.

Delivering Hope Amid Despair

Citizens have been ramping up efforts to help each other get through these difficult times. This is what prompted Malad-based eatery IDlish to start a campaign to ensure house helps, daily wagers, security guards, sanitation workers or anyone finding it difficult to survive, gets a wholesome meal.

They have introduced a ‘feed the needy’ meal on their Swiggy and Zomato pages, which customers can purchase and have delivered to those they want to help. “We wanted to contribute to society but due to restrictions on movement, we approached Swiggy and Zomato. We pay 50 per cent of the cost and customers pay 50 per cent. This is available at our Malad outlet. We can deliver to parts of Goregaon, too,” said owner Sankar Kasirajan.

This article is originally published on Mid-day