Rosy beginnings
Students at Saraswati Vidya Mandir High School in Mahim are greeted with roses before their SSC board examinations.
Smoke House returns with fire
A view of the new exteriors of the café in Borivli. Pics Courtesy/Smoke House Cafe
The phrasing seems apt, as the name now moves northwards from Bandra. Riyaaz Amlani is back with a new venture in Borivli as the next evolution of the famed foodie favourite, Smoke House Deli. Titled Smoke House Café, the space will offer a more refined, and contemporary cafe experience at the Sky City Mall. The space marks the next step in the journey of Amlani’s restaurants.
The kitchen will be helmed by an old familiar, chef Rollin Lasrado, which promises the familiar Smoke House Deli standards. The new café will also bring in the diversity of continental cuisine with fresh pastas, pizzas, and inventive cocktails. But it is the décor that promises more. We learned that the space will mirror the ‘earthy textures and muted tones’ of the neighbourhood.
Riyaaz Amlani
“Smoke House Café takes forward the 15-year legacy of Smoke House Deli, building on what people have always loved about the brand in a more contemporary setting. It brings together global flavours and ideas in a way that feels familiar, relevant and right for today’s neighbourhood,” shared operations head, Vinod Shetty.
With the café set to open doors by next weekend, it will be interesting to see if this will live up to foodie expectations as well.
Cut for happiness
Poulami Chakraborty (standing) gives a member of the cafe team a makeover. Pic Courtesy/@bombaytobarcelonalibrary cafe
Kindness to those in need doesn’t always have to involve volunteering at a school or making donations. Sometimes, it comes in the most interesting ways. That is what city-based hairstylist Poulami Chakraborty aka Paula did earlier this week, by giving a stylish makeover to team members of Bombay to Barcelona Library Cafe in Marol over a five-hour visit.
Recalling the hairstyle sessions, she told us, “Everything was done in the café itself; we spread out a few spare newspapers, and let in some natural light to create a setting good enough for haircuts.” Chakraborty shared further, “Many of these team members are youngsters [from lower-income backgrounds], some barely 20-years-old. To them, it’s not just a new haircut, but mainly, a new sense of self, and also a necessity, considering they often need to look presentable for patrons at the venue.”
United colours of Cutpiece
A panel from Indu Harikumar’s book, Cutpiece Kumar
It is a long journey from being a nickname to a table at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Author Indu Harikumar’s 2021 work, Cutpiece Kumar, will join the other nominees of the Bologna Ragazzi Awards on display in New York till March 13. “The story began when I used to teach in a school, and would collect forgotten objects, and unused clothes from tailor shops to create crafts. That’s how the name ‘Cutpiece’ came about,” she shared.
Celebrating movement
A performance by Ratikant Mohapatra
As the Spectrum Dance Festival concludes with the performance of BRICKS at the Experimental Theatre at NCPA, Nariman Point tomorrow, it will be a moment of ‘celebration for all movement practices,’ shared Swapnokalpa Dasgupta, head, dance department, NCPA. “The festival reminds us of the sheer joy of movement.”
Wild girls on the March
Bboyer MGK. Pic Courtesy/Sudarshan Dudi
Talk about being a girl’s girl, the Wild Wild Women are set to kick off March with The Wild Jam, a celebration of hip-hop, with dance battles to boot. Having completed five years in December 2025, the group has now stepped up to help the next generation of ‘wild women’. “It started off when two members, MGK and FlowRaw, wanted to do something similar to B-boying and breakdancing as what we have done for hip-hop,” shared Pratika Prabhune aka Krantinaari. The event is scheduled on the same day March 8) that the all-women group had released their first single, I Do It For Hip Hop was released in 2021. “The first half of the day will witness an open competition and dance battles for B-boyers and break dancers, including a BGirls only section, 7 to Smoke. The second half will see live performances and rap cyphers by an all women line-up,” Prabhune revealed. Readers can check out @wildwildwomen for details.
