Sound bytes from Arnab and Rajdeep

It was couch potato heaven when the two alpha males of English TV news gamely agreed to participate on the same panel discussion over the weekend in Mumbai The top two of Indian news television EditorinChief of IBN18 Rajdeep Sardesai and EditorinChief of Times Now Arnab Goswami were on the same panelYes they were a seat away from each other and they were discussing Narendra Modirsquo reported FirstPostcom about an event organised by the Press Club of Mumbai which saw Uday Shankar CEO of Star India as moderator and senior journalist Kumar Ketkar as part of the discussion over the weekendArnab GoswamiAnd of course when you have two of Indiarsquos most celebrated anchormen together the chance of receiving scintillating sound bytes is a very real one ldquoA section of the media has converted journalism into lsquosuparirsquo journalism Journalists must ask themselves why they elevated Narendra Modi to God Hersquos not a messiah They did this to get interviewsrdquo Sardesai is reported to have saidRajdeep SardesaildquoRajdeep has been my boss for a decade I wonrsquot quarrel with himrdquo said Goswami adding ldquoBut I donrsquot know about super journalismrdquoMeanwhile this onstage bonhomie was followed by a cryptic comment posted on Facebook by a wellknown publisherldquoI know personally that these two hate each otherrdquo he wrote ldquoOnce I was on a jury which favoured one of them and the other attacked me though a series of midnight messages and even questioned my integrity It is a surprise that they agreed to be on the same stagerdquoHappy birthday NeenaShersquos been MIA ever since she got married to an investment banker in Delhi and yet Neena Gupta the lady who had riveted audiences of the small screen with her performances in domestic soaps has a strong Mumbai presenceAnd yesterday on her birthday we wished her as did many of her Mumbai pals What did she do we enquired ldquoI was in Nainital with the family and relativesrdquo she said ldquoIt was lovely except for two sad things Firstly Masaba was not with meshe was busy with some work and secondly my husband Vivek Mehra in picture did not give me a presentrdquo said the lady when we asked her for her pictureNeena Gupta PicPablo BartholomewldquoWhy donrsquot you use Pablo Bartholomewrsquos lsquobachpan ka photorsquordquo she said ldquoKitni jawan thi mainrdquo We have Neena We haveExceptional marvellous rareldquoSaw Shiamakrsquos Selcouth show last night Take a look at this stunning image Now imagine it in motionrdquo Boman Irani When you chance upon a comment like this from one of the countryrsquos most highly rated actors you can be sure that the subject could only be one person dancer choreographer singer and spiritualist Shiamak DavarBoman IraniOf all the people we have met Shiamak Davar is perhaps one of the most interesting A South Mumbai Parsi born to an established business family the Davar College of Commerce was started by them Davar blazed a whole new trend by teaching jazz dancing to Mumbairsquos callow youth almost three decades ago and in doing so proved irrefutably that you could make a living doing what you love bestSelcouthIf this were not enough he then regaled audiences with his outstanding Shiamak Davar live shows The hysteria and adulation he evoked had to be seen to be believed As if this was not enough he then engaged with Bollywood and taught it how to shake a leg or two breaking every SoboNobo barrier as he did soShiamak DavarAnd of course this is only the tip of the iceberg Therersquos Davarrsquos spiritual side which led him to spirit writing and also to Canada where it is rumoured hersquos sitting out an early premonition therersquos his personal magnetism that has had some of the most cynical people eating out of his handsand now all these rave reviews circulating by astonished and delighted audiences who witnessed his newest offering lsquoSelcouthrsquo over the weekend at the NCPAIncidentally according to the urban dictionary Selcouth means exceptional marvellous rare spectacularwords that describe Davar aptlyDrink up your OvaltineBy now most would have guessed that we are suckers for nostalgia Show us portraits of grandparents all dressed to the nines or pictures of Mumbai in the good old days and we are delightedKeith Stevenson with mother RayWhich is why this post from actor Keith Stevenson of himself as a child with his mother the legendary Ray Stevenson whose famous Raechelle salon at Kemps Corner was the goto place for Mumbairsquos beauties in the cityrsquos salad days gladdened our heartldquoThis is a photo taken from around the early lsquo50rsquos at the Victoria Garden in Bombay It was also called Rani Baug Rani being queen and Baug being garden It was the zoordquo said the Cathedral alumni immortalised in his classmate Salman Rushdiersquos seminal Midnightrsquos Children as lsquoGlandy KeithColacorsquo the overweight bully at the Cathedral school Well hersquod not had his Ovaltine when this picture was taken obviouslyIrony DeficiencyAre we the only ones who find Sonal Mansinghrsquos well orchestrated charm offensive on Indiarsquos new PM a bit ironic ldquoMeeting with PM Shri Narendra Modi yesterday ie 7th June was bahut hi sunderrdquo the dancer had posted on her website along with a professionally shot clip of the sameNarendra ModildquoIrsquove become ARDENT admirer of his humane qualities Was very warm cordial affectionate during meeting which lasted almost 30 minutes He showed no impatience though time for next meeting was close at handhellip Thank God for him to appear on scene like the meteor at right momentSonal MansinghPray that he stays long years to get India back on track Amenrdquo shersquod written Why the irony Well after all Mansingh is a close relative of Pupul Jayakar known to all as Indira Gandhirsquos closest confidante Incidentally Mansinghrsquos exuberance over Modi was followed by many Amenswhich kinda seemed a bit ironic too