Boys will be boys

Stuart Semple and Anish Kapoor PicsAFPIn our reading the finest comment on the recent arm wrestle between two of the modern worlds most celebrated artists the India born UKbased Anish Kapoor and UKs Stuart Semple who have been squabbling over the provenance of two colours which happen to be known as the blackest of black and the pinkest of pink was by Mumbaibased fellow artist the lovely Kahini Arte MerchantKahini MerchantAs is known the problem began when Kapoor as alleged by Semple had used his considerable clout in the art world to acquire for exclusive usage the rights to the blackest pigment known to man and then had added insult to injury by posting a picture of his middle finger coated in the substance on Instagram Semples outrage was over the fact that not only was he barred from using the allegedly illegally cornered black but that when he had created the pinkest of pink he had been more than happy to share it with the rest of the art communityWell to all this alpha crossing of swords Arte Merchant known equally for her graceful presence as for her dreamy canvasses delivered a lofty but firm rap to on the pugilists knuckles ldquoCome on boys share your coloursrdquo She commented on social media yesterdayGrape expectations all roundHas India finally made it as one of the important wine destinations With the recent influx of visiting highprofile winemakers it appears so We wrote about the visit by Clovis Taittinger from the Taittinger Champagne family at the end of last yearKapil Sekhri and JeanCharles BoissetFollowing this we had attended a wine dinner hosted by Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta from the Sassicaia wines family and next week the Indian wine industry is gearing up for the visit of JeanCharles Boisset the president of the Boisset Collection who hails from the acclaimed Boisset family Burgundys largest wine producerAnd given the esteem he enjoys backtoback events have been lined up during his time in Mumbai First is a dinner in his honour hosted by Rajeev Samant followed by an intimate luncheon hosted by the founder of Fratelli Wines Kapil Sekhri Interestingly wine is not JCBs only passion ldquoHe is flamboyantly into fashion and is known to sport trademark red socks Tom Ford Jackets and Louboutin shoesrdquo says an insiderMuch popping of bubblyNews of his big career move from Ambit Alpha to head Avendus Capitals new hedge fund division had attracted notice in the pink papers late last year but it was this week that highprofile finance wiz Andrew Hollands endofyear plans were revealed And as befitting of a man whose his wife is a celebrated wine aficionado in her own right they had much popping and uncorking of joieldquoIt was celebrations galorerdquo Sonal had said when asked about the couples holiday season ldquoA trip to Beijing followed by an exciting holiday in London Thereafter a short break in Sri Lanka And of course much uncorking of some significant bottles like that of a 2003 Dom Perignon and a sparkling 2007 Ferrari Perle Trentodocrdquo she saidAnd apparently not to be left behind daughter Rianna described by her mom as all of seven with a licence to steal a couple of sips toasted her parents with a miniature goblet all of her own Some bankers have all the luckBefore the FloodUnless you have been living under a rock these past months youve most likely heard of Fisher Stevens documentary on the impact of climate change Before the Flood which has been a pet project of actor environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio who is one of its producers along with Martin ScorseseFisher Stevens and Leonardo DiCaprio PicAFPThe film follows DiCaprios journey around the world exploring the impact of climate change and global warming and has been critically received Now word comes in that closer home the film has been championed by the nonprofit Gaia Conservation Foundation which will be screening it for the first time in India later this month at an iconic city cinemaAnushka and Sonam KapoorWhats best of all is that taking a leaf from Hollywoods book Bollywood appears to be lending its heft to the cause with the likes of Anushka Sharma Sonam Kapoor and Imran Khan backing the initiative and promoting the film Now for a beacon of light like Meryl Streep to emergeSingers models VJs and restaurateursOh dear The marketing team of this international biz glossy with a considerable reputation abroad has become something of a laughing stock amidst the very people it hopes to engage with leading captains of industry A recent muchhyped event saw a turnout that boasted a glaring paucity of denizens from the world of finance ldquoWe saw singers VJs models restaurateurs and a few Bolly producersrdquo says one guestldquoEveryone had come dressed as if for a red carpet event But as far as we looked forget one recognizable Alist industrialist present for a prestigious business publications event mdash there was not even any from the B and C listsrdquo he said adding ldquoand to think it is considered an authority on the world of financerdquo