Maharashtra Coalition: A many-splintered thing

gtgt The worst kept secret in the state is of the chilly vibes between the members of the ruling coalition The result of this dysfunction is the inordinate delay in the statersquos key projects like the Navi Mumbai airport even after Nagpur has got a splashy new airport the second leg of BandraWorli sea link and the overhauling of the JJ Hospital ldquoWhat can we dordquo wailed a ruling party loyalist ldquoAll the most important portfolios concerning development and infrastructure are controlled by our socalled allies In fact thatrsquos almost 50 of our budgetrdquo We have it from very reliable sources that when one of the seniormost officers of the government sought an appointment with a political heavyweight so that he could make a presentation on one of the governmentrsquos most ambitious projects he wasu00a0stonewalled even before hersquod finished his sentence That therersquoll be no lsquoringrsquo around the roses is a foregone conclusion if you know what we meanhellip but mercifully the same source tells us the TransHarbour sea link is expected to come through lsquoShellrsquo be coming down the mountains gtgt Even as a certain section of the city read its bizsocial creamy layer was caught off guard with the change of guard at Shell India curiosity about Vikram Mehtarsquos successor the London returning Mumbai girl Yasmine Hilton was high Our amateur sleuthing skills revealed that she was a Gandhy Gandhi before her marriage and had attended Welhams later going on to study at one of the United World Colleges and then acquiring a PhD in genetics we also learnt that she is in her late rsquo50s married to an Englishman has two grownup sons and that her father who was an Admiral in the Navy resides at an apartment in one of Colabarsquos toniest buildings Not bad for half an afternoon of playing Sherlock Holmes right Mumbairsquos Museum Lady gtgt Though the spotlight turned briefly on her husband the dashing Chairman of Shell Vikram Mehta who announced his retirement last week the beautiful and talented Tasneem Mehta honorary director of the Bhauji Lad Museum has never been out of it for long To be able to take on Mumbairsquos oldest museum and spearhead a public private initiative to undertake its restoration is no mean task and Tasneem has managed to do so with characteristic grace and style The museum has just concluded an exhibition to celebrate the IndoGerman friendship year and plans for the coming months include an exhibition curated by the Italian menswear brand Zegna and a major project with the Guggenheim museum Also on the cards are new ways to integrate the museum into the daily lives of Mumbaikars with the introduction of a cafeacute a centre for art films and courses on Modern and Contemporary Art in India As Tasneem who has successfully led the heritage protection movement says ldquoMumbai has an extraordinary cultural heritage which we will lose if we do not take active steps to preserve itrdquo Band of girls gtgt Even as elsewhere in the country women continue to be discriminated against in the most horrific ways one more reason to be grateful that we live in Mumbai happens to be the growing number of women who feel confident enough to kick up their heels on a night out with their gal pals And amongst the most glamorous of these bands of girls is the posse that comprises of Hyderabadrsquos loveliest import to Mumbai film producer and cultural impresario Elahe Hiptoola who along with Rahul Bosersquos stunning sister the entrepreneur Anu and the stylish Vandana Kasbekar have raised Mumbairsquos style quotient considerably We spotted them on three different occasions in the last two weeks bringing oomph and cheer with their electric presence A close second in the sassy and stylish stakes is the band of girls led by the Tajrsquos irrepressible Raakhee Lalvani who along with her Bangalore compatriot Leena Singh also know where the best parties happen We like The JinnahRuttie love story gtgt The redoubtable Rafique Baghdadi who along with Mumbairsquos Press Club has organised a 5Sunday lsquoKnow Your Mumbairsquo walkabout had members of the fourth estate riveted with his tour of the Khoja Shia IsnarsquoAshari Cemetery in Mazgaon where lies the grave of Rattanbai Jinnah the second wife and great love of Muhammad Ali Jinnah ldquoRuttierdquo as she was affectionately called was graceful and bright and fiercely supportive of the Swadeshi Swaraj movement of the time She was the daughter of Sir Dinshaw Petit one of Mumbairsquos wealthiest men and although she was 16 years younger than Jinnah she sparked his interest with her sharp intellect and ethereal beautyrdquo says Baghdadi Their first meeting took place when in the summer of 1916 Sir Dinshaw invited Jinnah to his bungalow in Darjeeling Enraptured by his hostrsquos young daughter Jinnah plotted his course with characteristic stealth said Baghdadi Apparently the brilliant lawyer approached Sir Dinshaw with a seemingly abstract question about his views on intercommunal marriages and when his host expressed his opinion in its support Jinnah seized the opportunity to ask for his daughterrsquos hand in marriage But not only was this the end of their friendship but Sir Dinshaw forbade Ruttie to meet Jinnah as long as she lived under his roof As she was still a minor the couple decided to wait out the two years until she attained the age of maturity Their patience paid off and shortly after her 18th birthday Rattanbai converted to Islam and adopted the name Mariam and soon married the love of her life But sadly it was not a case of happily ever after and following differences between them she lived for many years at the Taj Hotel in Bombay more or less as a recluse tragically dying on her 29th birthday She was buried at the cemetery in Mazgaon and it was here says Rafique ldquothat Jinnah is said to have cried for the only time in his liferdquo This poignant story of love and loss moved many of the assembled hacks to tears themselvesu00a0