Here comes the sun

And just as the sun appears dispelling clouds after a storm so too there is good news for the family of the late Congress leader Murli Deora who passed away in November His elder son musician poet and film producer Mukul will be tying the knot with the lovely Nitasha Thapar this FebruaryThe romance which came to light during the highprofile wedding of Nitasharsquos elder sister Ayesha to former senior vicepresident of Google Nikesh Arora in Italy last year is said to be a meeting of minds with both parties interested in the arts Thapar the daughter of the prominent business family ran her own graphic studio until recentlyHema Deora below and Nitasha Thapar at the Sitaram Poddar School in WorliWhat will she do in Mumbai we enquired of her soontobe motherinlaw Hema ldquoShersquos keenly interested in continuing Murlirsquos philanthropic workrdquo said Hema ldquoAs every one knows Murli was tirelessly engaged in helping whomever he came across in whatever way he couldNitasha came to the eye camps wersquod conducted on his birthday and to the Sitaram Poddar School in Worli which had been so close to Murlirsquos heart and was moved by what she experienced She is keen to take this onrdquo said HemaRunning for SwadesldquoFive of our Runners from Raigad completed the half marathonrdquo tweeted the ebullient Zarina Screwvala one half of the team that launched Swades the notforprofit organisation that has pledged to transform the lives of 1 million rural Indians every five years ldquoAnd a Swades team septuagenarian completed the fullrdquo she saidThe team from Swades Foundation including Zarina Screwvala Ronnie Screwvala and Simone Arora were at the marathon to promote rural empowerment Rahul Bose Tara Sharma Saluja and actress Dia Mirza also joined inThe Screwvalas both of whom have recently turned their attention to social entrepreneurship and philanthropy had along with actress Dia Mirza and Swades patron Simone Arora initiated a walk for the NGO at yesterdayrsquos Standard Chartered Marathon 2015 where contributions would go towards rural empowermentAnd from the looks of it the venture has been a success ldquoA super run for great causesrdquo tweeted marathon runner and TV anchor Tara Sharma Saluja to Mehta ldquoBig hug and love Thank you for making my morningrdquo tweeted MirzaNiceCelebrating a legendThe weekend saw Nargis Wadia aka the First Lady of Indian Advertising celebrate her 80th birthday A trailblazing graduate of the J J School of Art Wadia started her own ad agency in the sixties Called Inter Publicity and launched in the garage of her familyrsquos bungalow it expanded rapidly to a mediumsize boutique agency with offices in all the major metros winning dozens of national and international awardsNargis WadiaAnd besides employing some of the industryrsquos most creative names like Farrokh Mehta Nauzer Nowroji Agnello Dias Farid Currim Sohrab Ardeshir it boasted of some of the countryrsquos most respected corporates as its clients Godrejrsquos Cinthol which incidentally spawned the first ad in which Kabir Bedi and Zeenat Aman appeared together Arvind Mills Binnyrsquos Aristocrat luggage Nirlon Nerolac Paints were just some of themThe celebration organised by her son Roy a communications media and social development professional was held at the Yacht Club and was attended by friends from the many and rich phases of Wadiarsquos lifersquoldquoAbove all everyone spoke about her ability to withstand significant challenges including my brother Riyadrsquos premature death with fortitude and acceptance and to emerge with joy and genuine love for the world at largerdquo said Roy ldquoHer amazingly youthful appearance reflects a heart full of joy and peace amid lifersquos turmoilsrdquoTurning the tablesItrsquos been a welcome addition to Soborsquos smorgasbord of FampB delights and so the fact that Gauri Devidayal and husband Jay Yousufrsquos labour of love The Table turned four over the weekend was an occasion for celebrations all aroundChef Alex Sanchez Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousuf PicPrabhat ShettyldquoIt makes me really proud to see not only the trio of Chef Alex Sanchez my husband Jay Yousuf and me still together after all these years but also so many of our service kitchen office and farm team who have been with us since the day we openedrdquo said an emotional DevidayalThe restaurant famous for its bitesize portions that include miniburgers and pork sliders has had many milestones in its fouryear journey Sanchez an import from New York has won the Best Chef in India and the restaurant has walked away with the Best Restaurant prize last year ldquoAs we move on to the next phase of The Table stick around to find out more soonrdquo said DevidayalThe Brat Pack UnpluggedldquoLook what we came across Our little Dolly before her icon days startedrdquo commented star wife and mom Sunita Kapoor about this archival pic from the family album that redefines the meaning of the phrase lsquobrat packrsquoFrom the family albumBecause there pictured with her cousins actors Arjun Kapoor and Mohit Marwah along with Akshay Marwah and little sister producer Rhea Kapoor is Sunitarsquos daughter actress Sonam Kapoor Talk about Bollywood being one big happy family and this is ample evidence of the industryrsquos hottest emerging clan in their chuddy buddy era ldquoArenrsquot they too cuterdquo says Sunita Indeed But where was cousin Ranveer SinghObviously picture abhi baaki haiMaster of the UniverseNever underestimate the tyranny of peer pressure An Alist industrialist alighting from his luxury car was overheard this weekend blithely informing the doorman of a fivestar hotel that his lsquonewer model is in the workshoprsquoThat he did so unsolicited speaks volumes of the necessity in some circles to be seen in possession of nothing but the best and latest products in the market The doorman of course just shrugged and waved the Master of the Universe by