<img title="Sally Holkar" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/mar/Sally-Holkar.jpg" alt="Sally Holkar" /> Sally Holkar
<img style="float: left;" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2015/dec/Malavika-op.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="57" />Author and textile revivalist Sally Holkar, the Texan who had relocated to India after marrying Richard Holkar, the scion of one of the erstwhile ruling clans of Madhya Pradesh, has much to be chuffed about.
The Handloom School, which she had set up to support weavers and the handloom industry, has been invited to open at an upcoming fashion week, next week in Delhi. Holkar, who was first introduced to the subject through the legendary weavers of Maheshwar in the eighties, had dedicated her life to promoting their cause and the Handloom School had been one of her pet projects.
What particularly pleases her about it is that it has brought together weavers from seven states of India who have been reenergized because of the experience. As for the turn on the ramp, she says &ldquo;The Handloom School is so proud to walk the ramp as the lead show in the event: All in the name of our national treasure: handloom and handloom weavers!&rdquo;
Alpha all the way Once an alpha, always an alpha. This delightful anecdote recalled by school friends about alpha male hunky star Ranveer Singh, illustrates the adage well. Apparently the hunk&rsquo;s leadership qualities were in place even at the school where he studied.
<img title="Ranveer Singh" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/mar/10-Ranveer-Singh.jpg" alt="Ranveer Singh" /> Ranveer Singh
At one of its annual plays, while every other boy in his class was (to his utter consternation) made to don a gown and wig to pass off as a &lsquo;princess&rsquo; for a play, Singh, already a strapping and preternaturally confident young man, got to play the handsome prince who they all had to try and woo!
As is seen, this alpha quotient has had pretty much the same effect in his Bollywood career too.
Of sharpshooters and Trumpsters Suave sharpshooter, Olympian Abhinav Bindra, and medal winning Paralympic athlete Deepa Malik on &lsquo;Finding the champion within&rsquo;; soulful author Pico Iyer on &lsquo;Silence in the world of noise&rsquo;; pixie star Alia Bhatt on the myths and realities about her dad Mahesh Bhatt, and Trump cheer leader Shalabh Kumar, founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition on &lsquo;Why Trump will be good for the world&rsquo;, these are only a few details of the kick ass upcoming conclave that have been shared exclusively with us.
<img title="Abhinav Bindra, Alia and Mahesh Bhatt" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/mar/Abhinav-Bindra.jpg" alt="Abhinav Bindra, Alia and Mahesh Bhatt" /> Abhinav Bindra, Alia and Mahesh Bhatt
The stage is being set, the invitations are being sent out and Mumbai is gearing up to experience a premier talkathon the likes of which Delhi is routinely treated to, and is so blase about. &ldquo;We can also share session details of the corporates, Adi Godrej, Mukesh Ambani and others if you like,&rdquo; says its spokesperson. Picture abhi baki hai folks.
Haute hat and hot Is there any doubt that the Bhagat sisters are made of some rare mettle? In spite of court cases, divorce suits, internecine battles, and accusations of criminality, the two manage to not only make it to every important social event in their respective fields, but what&rsquo;s even more pertinent, show up looking perfectly coiffed - no dark circles to indicate sleepless nights, or extra kilos to indicate binges of comfort eating. How do they do it?
<img title="Sheetal Mafatlal wearing the Chanel hat" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/mar/Sheetal-Mafatlal.jpg" alt="Sheetal Mafatlal wearing the Chanel hat" />
Sheetal Mafatlal wearing the Chanel hat
We had recently bumped into artsy Poonam (Bhagat) Shroff at the Asia Society organised launch of P Chidambaram&rsquo;s book at the Nehru Centre, looking fresh and pretty, even after what would have been for any lesser mortal a harrowing few months. And now we learn that her equally embattled younger sister, the fashionista and international party girl Sheetal Mafatlal, has been featured by the Japanese edition of an international fashion magazine as a trend setter at Paris Fashion Week!
&ldquo;Sheetal, who has set up a luxury consultancy, currently shuttles between London and India, and is spotted at the hottest soirees across the globe in places like Nice, St Tropez, St Moritz, Gstaad, and of course London and Mumbai,&rdquo; says her spokesperson. &ldquo;She sported a custom made haute couture Chanel Hat at the Elie Saab show, and she looked so arresting that the magazine featured her.&rdquo; Nice, but may we also know what&rsquo;s under the hat please?
Prestigious recognition Word comes in that Mumbai-based photographer and mother of 3, Ashima Narain, the media shy wife of Magic Bus CEO, Matthew Spacie, is the only Indian on TIME&rsquo;s top-34 &lsquo;most promising women photographers from across the globe&rsquo;.
<img title="Ashima Narain" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/mar/Ashima-Narain.jpg" alt="Ashima Narain" />Ashima Narain
The list comes as not enough is being done to encourage female photographers. &ldquo;As one of this year&rsquo;s jurors for World Press Photo, I was stunned to learn that over the past 10 years, the number of female entrants to the World Press Photo Contest has hovered around 15%,&rdquo; wrote Kira Pollack, the magazine&rsquo;s Director of Photography.
Since March is Women&rsquo;s History Month what followed was a project to reach out to the most acclaimed female photojournalists, curators and directors of photography, asking them to select one female photojournalist worthy of recognition. America&rsquo;s Ami Vitale described Narain as &ldquo;a poetic photographer and storyteller, who &lsquo;happens to be one of the hardest working photographers/ filmmakers I&rsquo;ve ever had the pleasure of working with.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Food tasting buds It was an eclectic crowd that showed up this Saturday night for a food tasting at one of Juhu&rsquo;s newest eateries, the erstwhile &lsquo;Villa 69,&rsquo; which has been recast this week as &lsquo;Life,&rsquo; a restaurant, bar and night club.
<img title="Tanuj Garg, Ekta Kapoor, Monica Vadra Poonawalla, Tehseen Poonawalla etc" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/mar/Tanuj-Garg.jpg" alt="Tanuj Garg, Ekta Kapoor, Monica Vadra Poonawalla, Tehseen Poonawalla etc" /> Tanuj Garg, Ekta Kapoor, Monica Vadra Poonawalla, Tehseen Poonawalla etc
It saw TV tycoon Ekta Kapoor break bread with Congress spokesperson and prime time sound byte deliverer Tehseen Poonawalla along with his wife Monica Vadra Poonawalla (Robert Vadra&rsquo;s cousin), and producer and industry watcher Tanuj Garg among others, bonding together.
&ldquo;Ekta and I have been friends for 16 years,&rdquo; said Garg. &ldquo;And we had met the Poonawallas at an awards show in Delhi,&rdquo; he says. The Poonawallas who divide their time between Pune and Delhi, had come down for Manish Malhotra&rsquo;s show and stayed back catching up with friends in Mumbai. As for what was discussed that evening: food, films or politics, Garg informs it was a lot more prosaic. &ldquo;Basically we were just catching up, we tried all the starters and then left for a friend&rsquo;s housewarming.&rdquo;

Author and textile revivalist Sally Holkar, the Texan who had relocated to India after marrying Richard Holkar, the scion of one of the erstwhile ruling clans of Madhya Pradesh, has much to be chuffed about

Hand it to her

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