If there is any single transformation in the city of Mumbai, it is that of Amruta Fadnavis, the attractive banker wife of CM Devendra Fadnavis, who is fast emerging as an articulate and high-profile personality in her own right
Amruta Fadnavis
If there is any single transformation in the city of Mumbai, it is that of Amruta Fadnavis, the attractive banker wife of CM Devendra Fadnavis, who is fast emerging as an articulate and high-profile personality in her own right. From engaging with worthy causes to an active presence on social media, she appears to be omnipresent.
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The weekend saw her singing the National Anthem at the Pro-Kabaddi League featuring a match between Ronnie Screwvala's UMumba and the Jaipur Pink Panther team owned by Abhishek Bachchan. "Let's support this true game of India!" she had instagrammed after the event, adding, 'Thank u @neeta_lulla for the lovely saree!' We agree, the saree (and its wearer) looks lovely.
Echoes and grumbles
She may have infused the Delhi cultural scene with fresh new vigour with her Bikaner House, but last week saw the feisty Mala Singh travel to Bhutan for Mountain Echoes, of which she is an advisor.
Mala Singh, David Abraham, Prasad Bidappa, Rakesh Thakore with friends in Bhutan
"We have brought Rajasthan khadi used and transformed into a iconic fashion collections by designers - Abraham Thakore and a fashion walkabout with Bhutanese fashion designers, all topped off with a conversation between Prasad Bidappa, David Abraham, Rakesh Thakore and others about textiles, design, and fashion," she had texted to us while at the event. "All this presented as one seamless element at Mountain Echoes, the annual fest in Bhutan for literature, poetry, design, et al ..."
However, the happy tribe of traveling designers had come in for some good natured flack on social media from none other than Delhi's reigning designer and enfant terrible, Rohit Bal. "And how come I wasn't a part of this????? Dekh loongi tumhe," he'd sulked on social media, even refusing to be placated when Bidappa good-naturedly rushed to make amends with an 'Oooieeee Maaa naraz mat ho chal abhi chalenge...." ( Gosh, don't get angry! let's go now).
"Ab toh meri jutti bhi nahin jayegi" (It's too late to try to make amends , now my shoe will not even go," said the diva Bal. Only proving that when it comes to a faux tapori patios (that too in the feminine), no one does it better than some of India's most sophisticated fashionistas.
The not-so-secret seven
Question: What do Malaika Arora, Amrita Arora, Ranvijay, Sophie Choudhry, Nikhil Chinappa, Maria Goretti and Cyrus Sahukar have in common? Answer: MTV! Yes, all the aforementioned have at some time or the other in their careers, fronted programmes for the channel.
The MTV gang
No surprises then that on Saturday night at the dinner jointly hosted by Neha Dhupia and Nandita Mahtani at the latter's house, when the MTV veterans found themselves together, it gave rise to much high fiving, nostalgia and an endless number of selfies together! Sweet.
Piyush Goyal with Chanda Kocchar
Bi-partisan pooja
Every year Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal and wife Seema's Ganpati Pooja attracts some of the country's most famous movers and shakers, and this year too was no different.
Poonam Dhillon and Kumar Mangalam Birla
Seen at the low key but high-profile celebrations were actresses Hema Malini and Poonam Dhillon, industrialists Kumar Mangalam Birla and Ajay Piramal, banker Chanda Kochhar and Congress leader Rajiv Shukla, the last whose presence evoked one guest to remark "Thankfully Ganpati celebrations are bi-partisan."
Different strokes
It was a rather different group of weekend painters who gathered yesterday at the Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA), Vikram Sethi's cozy gallery on Rampart Row, to try their hand at brush strokes.
Harsh Goenka
The brainchild of industrialist and art patron Harsh Goenka, it saw the likes of Anand Jain, Munesh Khanna and Jaisinh Sisodia channel their inner Picassos and Husains, guided by a trio of established artists led by Paresh Maity, all in the pursuit of unleashing artistic expression.
And coupled with this creative exercise was Sethi's famous culinary inspiration that made the afternoon sparkle. The last time we'd supped at the gallery, Sethi (whose auction last week had featured a Tyeb Mehta picked up by Adar Poonawalla at a record-breaking price) had whipped up a feast fit enough for a king served in 14 distinct courses.
By those standards, yesterday's fare had been more modest, but certainly as delicious: asparagus mousse, Burrata and cherry tomatoes salad with Italian herb dressing, blue cheese naans, truffle infused scrambled eggs, fried fish, teriyaki chicken, Singapore prawns and caramel custard followed by blueberry cheese cake. "There were also wasabi cucumber salad and cheese profiteroles," said Sethi. Clearly the days of the hungry artist are gone.
Of culture and kheema
Anil Dharker and Amy Fernandes hosted a convivial evening at their home at Worli last week, in honour of Homi K Bhabha, Professor of English & American Literature, and Director of the Mahindra Humanities Centre at Harvard University.
Tasneem Mehta, Nadir Godrej and Homi Bhabha
Seen on the occasion were poet and cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote with wife, art critic Nancy Adajania (whose book 'Some things that only art can do: A Lexicon of Affective Knowledge' launches today), industrialist and weekend poet Nadir Godrej, and Tasneem Mehta Managing Trustee and Honorary Director of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum amongst others.
As was expected, the conversation was erudite, covering all manner of subjects from cricket to art with Dharker playing Devil's Advocate, and questioning the validity of art criticism from the assembled art critics, and Rajat Gupta head of McKinsey India offering instances of his firm's research into global trends like urbanisation and the creation of jobs.
Bhabha, who is a Mumbai boy from Cuffe Parade, and who returns home as often as he can, was overheard asking the gathering what it was about the city that made it so hard to love or leave. But since the question was instantly recognised as a rhetorical one, the assembly was spared the task of coming up with a suitable response and could concentrate on other important matters at hand: namely, the outstanding kheema on the table and a rousing discussion on the appropriation of history by fascists of various hues.
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