Celebrating a Gandhian

Last Friday saw us attend the 90th birthday celebrations of a very special man the activist philanthropist and Gandhian Dr G G Parikh who has devoted his entire life to the cause of empowering the poor and vulnerableHeld at the Sydenham College and chaired by industrialist Kamal Morarka the event saw the likes of Janata Dal Uniteds Sharad Yadav Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and former AAP politician Yogendra Yadav and Medha Patkar activist and foundermember of Narmada Bachao Andolan on stage to commemorate Parikh who is a dead ringer for the late great Frontier GandhiBhai Vaidya Kamal Morarka Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari second from right Bhalchandra Mungekar extreme right and others at the birthday celebrations of G G Parikh centreWe have heard stories of leaders in the freedom struggle but in the present society GG is a great example of what an individual can do at his own level provided his mindset is Gandhian wrote Morarka in his foreword to the handsome souvenir printed for the occasionOne of the best things about GG said Patkar fondly about the medical doctor who served time in jail during the Emergency is that he never did ji ji to anyone in his lifetime she said cleverly punning on his name while alluding to the culture of sycophancy which has tainted politics in the country He stood tall and above it all she saidMeanwhile Parikh never one to encourage praise or accolades about himself sat in his distinctive erect posture on the podium with a bemused expression on his face How strange to hear all this praise in ones own lifetime he remarked candidly in his speech to the audience Usually such tributes come in afterwards he addedWellattended book launchThe launch bowled me over for the fact that I didnt just see old and good friends there but also many people I dont know it was the Delhibased journalist and author Padma Rao Sundarji telling us about the housefull launch of her book Sri Lanka The New Country HarperCollins which was released at a high powered and wellattended event at Delhis IIC on SundayPadma Rao Sundarji left with former foreign secretary Nirupama RaoSaid to be one of the best books on the subject of postconflict Sri Lanka Sundarji the South Asia bureau chief of Der Spiegel till 2012 and a great lover of the country says Especially thrilling was the panel chief guest Indias former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao flew in just for the event and the indomitable Swapan Dasgupta moderatedI was also chuffed to have the softspoken intellectual Sri Lankan professor Pradeep Jeganathan and South Asia Universitys Sri Lankan faculty member Sasanka Perera on the panel that evening she said adding Super busy TV journos like Barkha Dutt and Outlooks editor Bish Moitra left work early just to be there Just for meAs for the book after receiving excellent reviews and notices from the media and pundits alike it is reported to have brisk sales Dasgupta had tweeted that he strongly recommends the book as an antidote to propaganda drivel that often appears in the media and in her own tweet the former foreign secretary Rao described it as searingly honest finely drawn portrait of postcivil war nation and its peopleI heard from Barefoot Bookstore Colombo that the book was already sold out I hope I will get an opportunity to introduce the book to the discerning readership of Mumbai too said SundarjiChocolate WeddingThe card was as stylish as its senders but what impressed our friend a lady of discerning tastes the most about the wedding invitation sent by Nyna and Sunil Bharati Mittal for their son Shravins wedding to be held at the end of this month in Delhi was the outstanding box of chocolates that accompanied the summonsSunil Bharti Mittal and his wife NynaFrom La Maison du Chocolat no less she called us to say La Maison du Chocolat of Paris is believed be the makers of the worlds best chocolates she said It specialises in these precisely made perfect ganachefilled chocolates infused with flavours of menthe du Maroc citron dAndalousie vanille or framboiseShravin will be marrying Sakshi the daughter of Anju and Sunil Chhabra she said And you can bet it will be one of Delhis best attended weddings she added as she popped one of them into her mouthPenthouse to repent houseHes long enjoyed the title of Mumbais ultimate connoisseur and even though this lowprofile industrialist the scion of an old industrial family which has now splintered is hardly seen in public those in the know swear that he has the best decorated duplex apartment in Mumbai a sprawling affair of over 7000 sq feet with one of the highest ceilings in town the finest collection of Razas and that he is known to send his expensive bespoke suits abroad for dry cleaningSo you can imagine the shock and horror of the chi chi crowd when word went around that facing pressure from creditors from whom his companies have taken massive loans the highflying businessman has informed his landlord that he will be unable to pay rent on the Sobo duplex apartment he resides in and will be moving out shortlyThe process of furniture being shifted out has already begun says a source But how on Earth things came to such a head God only knows The rent though relatively high could not have been more than around Rs 14 lakh per month says the source incredulouslyA single painting from his collection or a gewgaw could take care of that says the source adding Its Mumbais season of penthouse to repent house