Mumbai Masala: City's Hotel Grant House, a restaurant that’s a hit with cops

Kudos to HC for backing dog lovers

The Bombay High Court deserves kudos for ruling in favour of those who feed stray dogs. There are hundreds of pet lovers in Mumbai who go out of their way to feed and care for street dogs. They spend money from their pockets to buy food for these animals. There is Usha Iyer, who not only feeds strays but also brings them home for deworming and medication. The passion of animal lovers is something to be seen to be believed. Some months ago someone called her late at night to inform them about a dog that had fallen in a nullah at Panvel. She drove down all the way from her home in Deonar, gently pulled down the animal from the nullah and brought him home. Today he is a happy dog playing with children. There is Sangeeta Zaveri, who steps out on the streets with bagfuls of dog feed at night and feeds several strays. In fact, the grateful dogs escort her home like bodyguards. Krupali Shah of Malad runs an animal and bird hospital. So many stray dogs are medically treated and cared for here. Even parrots, horses and others find a loving home here. Krupali has dedicated her entire life to these creatures.

PATRIOTIC FERVOUR

A restaurant that’s a hit with cops

There are a few go-to restaurants in Mumbai. Hotel Grant House, which is cheek by jowl with the towering Haj House near Crawford Market, is easily one of them. Totally unpretentious, it was earlier housed in a corner of old Haj House under a roof of Mangalore tiles. Later when a new Haj House was built, Grant House was relocated on the main road with generous help from the then police commissioner RD Tyagi. Being close to the Mumbai Police headquarters, it is very popular with cops. So don’t be surprised next time you go to the place and you find a swarthy inspector sharing the table with you. It is learned that the food is relished by IPS officers too. They don’t come there, but send their orderlies to pick up their orders. The favourite dish here is keema-pav. The mutton is freshly shredded and cooked with the best of spices. It's slightly oily, but then that is how keema should be. It is served with a deep-fried chilly to enhance the pungency and warm pav fresh from the oven. The seafood pulao is another big hit with the clientele. The prawns masala, kalva (oyester) masala, Murdush fry and Chicken 65 special are all signature dishes. The solkadi with a dash of fresh lemon is an ideal drink to wash down the spicy food. The joint is run by the young Naik brothers who are originally from Andhra Pradesh.

The doyenne of Indian cinema

Discovering Devika, a documentary on the prima donna of Indian cinema, Devika Rani, premiered at the Films Division auditorium recently. She was the first recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Directed by Usha Deshpande with the script jointly written by her and ace journalist Ambarish Mishra, the 68-minute documentary traces the veteran’s eventful life, which was full of romance and pathos. The film also features Sharmila Tagore, Subhash Ghai and a host of film personalities and journos. The movie endeavours to find reflections of her life in her films. It also tries to analyse factors that influenced Devika Rani in her life and career. Moreover, the film uses two on-screen anchors to impart information. The male anchor (Milind Gunaji) narrates factual information while the female anchor (Smita Jayakar) offers supporting evidence and comments from various authentic sources. They use different styles of narration to suit the approach. Also known as ‘The First Lady of Indian Cinema’, Devika exuded panache and was blessed with smouldering looks. She also mentored many actors who went on to become legends such as Dilip Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, and Madhubala, as well as many directors, writers and technicians who later went on to leave their mark on Indian cinema. Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani together founded the legendary Bombay Talkies Studio that produced socially relevant films such as the iconic Achhut Kanya. Incidentally, Ambarish Mishra is also known to superbly anchor Hindi film music orchestras. The value addition he does to each song is something to be seen and heard.

Tailpiece

On a recent visit to Navjivan society building at Lamington Road, where matka king Ratan Khatri lived, this diarist encountered a notice in the loo that said, ‘Don’t wash your legs in washbasin!’ Wonder how one can ever do that!

Compiled by S Balakrishnan

Published on: Monday, May 01, 2023, 11:30 AM IST