Head honchos from PricewaterhouseCoopers meet for some laughter and nostalgia

From l to r Sid Khanna Jairaj Purandare Munesh Khanna Bobby Parikh Bela Parikh and Ashok WadhwaAt one time Arthur Andersen based out of Chicago was amongst the big five accounting firms in the world along with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte But that was before it went belly up after a slew of lawsuits following the Enron scandal affected its performance and morale and the verb enronned entered the lexiconIn India during its heyday it had been known as an incubator of exceptional talent after it opened shop in 1987 Which is why recently when five of its senior personnel met at an unrelated business event there was much laughter over shared nostalgia and serendipitous encountersThe five who met were Sid Khanna founder of AAs India operations and current chairman and MD of India Equity Partners Munesh Khanna whod worked with Arthur Andersen India for 17 years before joining Merrills India op Jairaj Purandare former national tax head for Andersen and later Ernst amp Young India Bobby Parikh former head of Arthur Anderson and COO of EampY India following the merger of the two entities and Ashok Wadhwa one of the first CAs to join Arthur Anderson in Mumbai in 1989 when he headed its Tax Advisory Practice till 1996 when he left to found AmbitWhat had struck bystanders at the event about the happy coincidence was that each man had left his mark on the institution before branching on his own to even more successful enterprises and careers in Indias financial universe Actually there was a sixth former Anderson colleague Dr Rajesh Khanna who also happened to be there that day but whod left before he could pose for the picture says a business insider That would have been a coupShift in citys cultural axisThis past weekend saw another historical milestone for the wellappointed Royal Opera House as it relived its glorious days of the past the first full threeday opera production in a 100 years played on its stage once morePheroza Godrej Gerson da Cunha and Anil DharkerIl Matrimonio Segreto The Secret Marriage the muchloved classic 1792 opera by Domenico Cimarosa was brought by Patricia Rozario and her charitable trust The Giving Voice Society with an allIndian cast symphony orchestra and conductor as one of the performancesThe cast of Il Matrimonio SegretoIn attendance were some of the biggest names in the culture circles Pheroza Godrej Anil Dharker and Gerson da Cunha along with various diplomats including the consular generals of Australia and the Netherlands Meanwhile word is out that the migration from South to North is being regarded with a fair deal of alarm by diehard SoBokars who worry that the cultural axis like that of the FampB might pass them by tooOf Chief Willies and other membersOnce in a while the snootiest club in Mumbai brings the full impact of its rectitude on members who dont play by its rules This includes arriviste gentlemen who dare to impose their odious charms on its lady members Which is why the harassment case concerning this senior citizen with delusions of being one of the Chief Willies of the august institution refuses to die downAmongst the muchmarried gents more eccentric ploys was to don a tee shirt two sizes too small and emblazoned with a saucy message and leer at pretty young ladies in the library or on the clubs verandah in the hope of starting a conversation He had been tolerated for all this while as an old fool out of consideration for his longsuffering wife says a sourceIts just that this time around he picked the wrong lady to try and flirt with And her family is not amused Oh dear Will the Chief Willy retreat now that his antics have become a cause ceacutelegravebre Watch this spaceGully cricket in styleOf all Mumbais grand traditions nothing so epitomises its cool quotient as much as gully cricket Played on Sundays and other public holidays on its backstreets and main roads alongside parked cars and public amenities with homemade bats and rubber balls or full Test cricket regalia by street urchins or putative business tycoons gully cricket epitomises the great democracy of Mumbais street cultureGreg Foster PicRacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088BurmanSachin Tendulkars diamond is said to have been polished to perfection through it and Campion and Cathedrals most entitled have stolen a few hours away from homework and math tuitions to lose themselves in its excitement Even Bolly legends like the great Dilip Kumar have succumbed to its attractions in the bylanes of Pali HillSachin Tendulkar plays at Sahitya Sahawas where he used to stayAnd so this weekend when we chanced upon the editor of a stylish international glossy architectural tome Greg Foster indulging in a bit of bat and ball on a Mumbai street corner along with an equally wellheeled architect we could not help but salute the spirit Gully cricket as Mumbai as vada pav or the Churchgate 845 am scramble Long may it ruleTake that trollsIn these dark days with their gathering clouds what could be better than some inyourface careadamn feistiness especially when it emanates from two spunky and highprofile women who were supposedly rivals at one timeBarkha Dutt and Sagarika GhoseBoth erstwhile anchors and now authors and columnists Barkha Dutt and Sagarika Ghose have been famously akin to lightening rods for rightwing fundamentalist rage in recent times Celebrated for their liberal views and their refusal to kowtow to the powers that be or their legion of trolls they have both individually taken it on their chin often giving back as good as they gotNow the two women whose careers and lives have been inextricably linked in many ways appear to have buried the alleged hatchet and banded together in a great show of strength Hello Trolls Two for the Price of One posted Dutt on social media along with a selfie of herself and Ghose We like