The Sunanda effect

The impact of the Sunanda Pushkar tragedy can being felt far and wide as this incident that occurred in Dubai over demonstrates Sunanda Pushkar is widely called Daughter of Dubai because she lived and worked here for nearly two decades says our friend the distinguished former NYT journalist and author Pranay GupteOn the occasion of her first death anniversary NewsXs Geeta Mohan flew in to interview Pushkars friends And since Ive been living here since 2007 and knew Sunanda before her marriage to Shashi Tharoor coincidentally I also knew Shashi from his NYC days she came to see me at Jumeirah Living World Trade Centre Residence where Ive been residing since 2007Sunanda Pushkar PicShilpa Mukerji andPranay GupteHeres when the plot sickened Accompanied by a local cameraman Mohan and Gupte went to a quiet room off the buildings lobby to record when an officious and overzealous officer from the buildings security detail called Sreekumar Nuuphala barged in demanded they stop and got into a verbal spat with GupteAll this while the camera was running He said that building rules prohibited TV interviews When I asked him to produce these rules he said he would report me to his boss the assistant security manager says PranayHis rudeness and silliness blew a small episode out of proportion it brought embarrassment to Jumeirah Living and to Dubai at a time that Dubai is working very hard to create global goodwill for World Expo 2020 says Gupte adding But most of all it was shameful because it happened over as I recalled for Indian audiences a lovely and decent daughter of Dubai Sunanda Pushkar TharoorHowever alls well that ends well Following a missive to Jumeirah Livings general manager Samer Khanfar the two met and Khanfar officially apologised for his staffs rudeness He is the first Emirate national to be made head of a major property of the Jumeirah Group one of the worlds leading hospitality organisations said a satisfied Gupte And he couldnt have been more gracious or more warm and welcomingAs for the bumptious Nuuphala Maybe the Delhi Police have asked him to join their investigation of Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor is Guptes parting shotUnapologetic luxury and eleganceI believe in quiet elegance and unapologetic luxury says Nirmal Kolte Project Director for 24K by KoltePatil Developers the 24yearold softspoken scion of the KPDL group Punes largest developer and the man who led the companys diversification into its overthetop sevenstar luxury residential properties with its 24K brandNirmal KolteFounded by his grandfather the real estate company is headquartered in Pune with 1 crore sq ft of developments across multiple segments such as residential commercial retail IT parks and integrated townships Young Nirmal could have easily settled in to managing his extensive legacyBut with his Bachelors in Construction Management from the University of Melbourne and his Masters in Management from the Lancaster University and his understanding of the luxury upscale market he wanted more He worked on diversifying into luxury residential properties with the 24K brand in 2010 and the group created headlines when it teamed up with the glamorous Gauri Khan to design some of its apartmentsToday the demand for luxury properties far exceeds the supply he informs us over coffee at the Four Seasons To give the 24K brand a truly international quality we initiated a dialogue with Spains famed Porcelanosa Group known to have furnished some of Europes finest homes including the British royal familys he saysBut that is not all Last week KPDL announced the launch of two new mobileapps Customer Connect and Partner Connect with a splashy launch featuring none other than Parineeti Chopra and NDTV tech expert Rajiv Makhni at the BandraKurla Complexs Sofitel Hotel It is the first time a realestate company has launched an application offering transparency to both consumers and channel partners with a click said Nirmal We never stop innovatingThe Second ComingThe cast of Jesus Christ Superstar had a surprise star visitor on Sunday when Jaya Bachchan took time off to catch the play at the St Andrews AuditoriumBoth casts of JCSWhats more when the actor went backstage to convey her compliment she was inadvertently part of quite a dramatic spectacle herself We had put together a historic picture featuring almost 200 people and consisting of not only every member of BOTH the casts the play has two distinct sets of actors says producer Raell Padamsee but also all the techniciansJaya BachchanJust then I got a message that Mrs Bachchan had come so when we opened the curtains there were 200 of us on stage standing posed and when they saw her there was a roar of excitement she says For the record the picture with its two Jesuses two Mary Magdalenes and two Judases etc is well Biblical in proportionsLooking for Ms PrettyAlong with his sister the late Nazia he was a teen sensation which is why the presence of Zoheb Hassan at the SCMM15 curtain raiser party at the Trident in the company of party hearty and former IPL team owner Mohit Burman this weekend created a stirZoheb Hassan andBidduOlder but just as handsome the singermusician from Sindh who along with his sister had burst upon the scene with the Biddu composed Aap jaisa koi single for Feroze Khans Qurbani in 1980 which went on to helm the siblings debut album Disco Deewane followed by the equally successful Boom Boom was said to be in town to shoot a music video for one of his compositionsThe song is titled Always on my mind and he is looking for a pretty face to play his wife said a sourceAny takers