Staying put!

gtgt They are one of the most popular couples in Mumbai and a familiar one on its social scene and now word comes in that the Indialoving Richard Rothman Chief US Commercial Service Mumbai married to the petite and charming Tabu has detached from mother ship after decades spent assiduously building up USndashIndia business ties Does this mean his wiry athletersquos silhouette will not be seen anymore in the places that matter Unlikely Tabu and Richard Rothman With his knowledge and expertise of the subject consultancy work in India appears to be imminently on the cards Another one bites the dust gtgt Hats in the air again we hear man about town and confirmed bachelor Ashwini Kakkar head of Mercury Travels has finally decided to tie the knot and settle down with long time beau Beate Mauder who used to earlier work for Taj and who now heads a hospitality management company With the couplersquos expertise in travel and hospitality in mind Kakkar headed Thomas Cook one of the countryrsquos largest travel agencies friends are hoping that the nuptials will take place in some hitherto undiscovered exotic location that will up the destination wedding bar all over again the last time that was done was by a prominent Mumbai family when it chose Tuscany as the venue for one of its daughters A book a poem and some wine gtgt Nice to know that the indefatigable Anil Dharkerrsquos literary juggernaut moves on regardless of rain or shine Next week it will host our friend Pavan K Varma diplomat and author of over a dozen books including the seminal The Great Indian Middle Class ldquoThe next Literature Live monthly event is a very interesting one Nadir Godrej with wife Rati We are collaborating with Godrej to bring wellknown writer Pavan K Varma to give a talk on an unusual and fascinating subject followed by an interaction with the audiencerdquo writes Dharkar Varma will be talking about his latest tome the enigmatically titled Chanakyarsquos New Manifesto To Resolve the Crisis within India Aleph Pavan K Varmau00a0 Incidentally the collaboration with Godrej promises two things a selection of wines from Nature Basketrsquos Berkmann Cellars and the possibility that the effervescent and poetically inclined MD Godrej Industriesrsquo Nadir Godrej might regale the audience with a charming poem composed specially for the occasion Business on their mind gtgt And on the subject of USIndia ties we were amused to see that the card inviting business leaders to hear USA Vice President Joseph R Biden speak on USndashIndia partnership on Wednesday at the Bombay Stock Exchange have been advised to wear their hearts on their sleeve How so Well the dress code for the morning event succinctly instructs in a single word Business So business on their minds and business on their personages Could sartorial symbolism be any more upfront Eating well in Mumbai gtgt And on our desk has landed this excellent collection of Mumbairsquos best places to eat for under Rs 50 and Rs 100 And whatrsquos best about this list is that whereas it features the usual suspects like Golden Bhel at Golden Bhelpuri House in Girgaum and Omelette Pao at B Merwan outside Grant Road station there are many surprises that will delight even the most jaded Mumbai foodie such as the intriguingly named russian kebab at Al Tosh the Moghlai joint at Versova a thin fried farchalike batter coats the chicken kebab that melts in your mouth as quickly as a galouti Rs 12 per piece Koki at Royal Sindh the koki is to a Sindhi household what parathas are to Punjabi ones but the koki has chopped onions green chillies cumin seeds and salt added to the dough at the time of rolling at Versova Andheri and Kadhi Vada at Amba Bhavan Matunga soft bondalike vadas soaked in a creamy lightly sweet and tangy yoghurt and gram flourbased kadhi In the more extravagant Rs 100 and under list for the slightly better heeled are featured the Seekh Kabab at Sarvi at the Nagpada Junction Byculla Sarvirsquos legendary seekh is a tender beef kebab made by pounding the meat before cooking Batsal batata wadabased Dahi Missal at New Sardar at Lalbaug and Thali at Manirsquos Lunch Home again in Matunga Ah Mumbai how we love thee Let us count the dishes Actresses then and now gtgt She was the subject of a Shyam Benegal film Zubeida the story of a princess scripted by her son the wellknown film critic Khalid Mohammed in which her poignant life and tragic death were so evocatively brought home by Karisma Kapoor But however attractive the contemporary actress she was not a patch on the original as this latest picture posted by Mohammed on Facebook recently shows ldquoFOUND another pic of my mum Zubeida sent to me by an old photo studio which had preserved itrdquo says the doting son Karishma Kapoor in the movie Zubeida For the uninitiated Zubeida was a Bollywood actress daughter of a movie producer who left films to marry the Maharajah of Jodhpur and who died along with him in an ill fated plane crash We recall seeing the film a few years ago and were particularly moved by Mohammedrsquos endearing attempt to pay tribute to a mother he lost too early and hardly knew Zubeida We are printing portraits of both actresses to demonstrate the adage they donrsquot make them like they used to u00a0