Worth a thousand words

If there was one picture that could be called priceless itrsquos the one wersquove carried here of two celebrated and brilliant men conductor Zubin Mehta and scientist Yusuf Hamied childhood neighbours and now best friends from the late thirties to the present dayldquoThis photograph taken over the years from 1938 to the present day at the same spot outside 21 Cuffe Parade Colaba where we both grew up is a ritual wersquove been practicing over the decadesrdquo says Hamied the feisty Chairman of CIPLA whose humanitarian work in the field of AIDS relief in Africa has won him international acclaimZubin Mehta and Yusuf Hamiedrsquos photographs taken outside 21 Cuffe ParadeMehta and Hamied represent Mumbai at its cosmopolitan and gracious best And both are at the top of their game even now in their late seventies winning accolades honours and achievements wherever they go Whatrsquos most significant about this timelapse picture is that the two men in it have between them a Padma Bhushan and a Padma Vibhushan How many other lsquochuddiebuddies can that be said ofWhorsquos that girlAnd as the Mumbai Indians keep their fans ardently praying many IPL viewers have wondered who the lady with the sunglasses often seen seated next to Mukesh Ambani in the private Ambani box isMukesh Ambani and Nita AmbaniFor the uninitiated she is his first cousin Vita Dani nee Meswani married to Jalaj Dani scion of the Asian Paints family and an avid sports lover herselfVitarsquos passion for cricket is only matched by her passion for table tennis and her own son Mudit Janirsquos prowess in the latter he is a national level Junior TT player has led her to take up official patronage of TT She is VP of the All India TT AssociationVita DaniAnd because she is such a close and trusted member of the family Mukesh and Nita leave many of the finer points of their interaction with her and she is most likely to keep MDA company while Nita is in the dugout during the gameIncidentally where the family and friends are seated during a game is a matter of great importance for team owners for superstitious reasons The Ambanis we hear look upon Anu Malikrsquos presence wearing a green Tshirt as vital to their winningSherawat ki ShararatAnd more Cannes gupshup While Sonam Aishwarya and Freida are getting their looks right for their red carpet outings at the prestigious international film festival word has come in that theyrsquore all a bit nervous about the lsquoMallikarsquo factorMallika SherawatApparently the motor mouth Haryanvi has made it a habit of showing up at the fest with billionaire Parsi BF in tow and upstaging the Indian actressesldquoThey never quite know what shersquos going to do there and it keeps every one on edgerdquo we were told And of course this scoring of brownie points with impunity is known as lsquoSherawat ki Shararatrsquo as far as the LrsquoOreal beauties are concernedTwo great raconteursIt canrsquot get more delicious than this Fans of Saadat Hasan Manto that brilliant raconteur of Mumbairsquos mean streets and underbelly and fans of Aakar Patel are both thanking their luck because both men can be found between covers of the same book now WHY I WRITE ESSAYS BY SAADAT HASAN MANTO Tranquebar edited by Aakar Patel is now available at a bookshop near youlsquoOne of the greatest raconteurs of 20th century Saadat Hasan Manto declares that he was forced to write when his wife routinely demanded that he put bread on the table for the familyFor the first time ever this unique collection of nonfiction writing from the subcontinentsrsquo greatest writer translated by well known author and journalist Aakar Patel showcases Mantorsquos brilliance while dealing with lifes most mundane things graveyards bumming cigarettes a film crew with motley characters from mythology and a sharp dissection of what ails the subcontinentrsquo says the promotional blurb NiceAll that glittersOh dear Things donrsquot seem to be going too well for Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra at the moment Not only have they been under a cloud since their IPL team Rajasthan Royals came under scrutiny for illegal and insider betting by regulators but it now it appears that the ambitious gold scheme that they announced with much fanfare recently might also go the same wayShilpa Shetty with Raj KundraWhen it was announced a few months ago that Satyug Gold the company promoted by the Kundras was offering discounts of up to 37 per cent on gold bars and coins to people willing to pay the amount in advance and defer payment to up to five years the concerted authorities were quick to take actionAccording to one pink paper Sebi officials felt that ldquoSatyugrsquos scheme is violating both CIS and forward contract regulations if it has not sought any permission to launch the schemerdquo See what we mean When it rains it pours and now that we are on to banal epithets we might as well add all that glitters isnrsquot goldShortchanging once moreA guest at an exclusive Sobo dinner recently was narrating how a top cop known for his integrity and honesty told them of the latest fraud that he and his team are investigating counterfeit currency handed out by political parties to influence votersldquoHe said the 100 rupee notes are brought in from China at the rate of R40 each And that they are much better produced than the Indian version and therefore very hard to tell apart form the real thingrdquo said our source So like in every thing else politicians have shortchanged the public even in this Any one surprised