To Cuba with Fry

Like everything else about him Lalit Modirsquos current trip to Cuba is kingsize Organised by his good friend the legendary Sir David Tang of such excellent ventures as the Shanghai Tang fashion label the Cipriani in Hong Kong and Havana House and the Pacific Cigar Company Ltd distributor for all Cuban cigars in Asia Pacific the trip has seen the Indian bon vivant and IPL founder rub shoulders with Fidel Angel Castro DiazBalart son of Cubarsquos former Prime Minister and President Fidel Castro visit a Partagas factory and be presented with bespoke cigarettes with his face on the packet But by far what had us most envious was the presence of what looked like English comedian actor writer presenter and activist and one of our abiding heroes Stephen Fry on the tripStephen Fry Lalit Modi Sire David Tang with friends at Nassau airportWas it really the humanist and LGBT activist Fry amongst the merry group shot before take off at the Nassau airport we asked Modi ldquoYes He is here with me He is a marvellous person Loves cricket and footballrdquo said the bon vivant To which what else could we say but ldquoWow You have the best liferdquoJail House RockWe bumped in to Namrata Sanjay Duttrsquos lovely sister on Monday night at a dinner Anju as she is known amongst friends was overheard expressing concern about her incarcerated brotherrsquos health and the poor quality of prison food he is served at the Yerawada jail where he is serving sentence in the 1993 Mumbai Bomb blast caseNamrata andSanjay DuttldquoRecently he was given daal which contained live worms in itrdquo said Namrata ldquoLuckily the meal was served at 4 pm but he hadnrsquot eaten until 8 pm and the worms had been noticed and he didnrsquot consume themrdquo said the doting sister ldquoThe problem is that there is a tender system to purchase food raw materials for the prisoners and it always goes to those who submit the lowest pricesThis results in poor quality and even harmful food Sanjay has already lost 18 kilosrdquo she rued However there is a high note for the actorrsquos family His daughter Trishla has blossomed into a fine adult according to her aunt who was showing pictures of her stunning New Yorkbased niece proudly to the gatheringldquoShersquos a trained couplersquos counsellor and also a criminal lawyerrdquo she said ldquoBut she also runs this beauty blog and is doing very wellrdquo she said Any plans for a career in films we enquired about the 25yearold ldquoShe was keen but I think her dad put his foot downrdquo said NamrataWomen to the foreldquoIndia is well represented on the list with six candidates the second highest group after ChinaHong Kongrdquo said Naazneen Karmali India Editor of Forbes Asia when we asked her about the magazinersquos recently published list of Asiarsquos Power Businesswomen 2015 that showcases a year of accomplishments by the regionrsquos female entrepreneurs and executivesAmeera Shah PicTwitter andKiran Mazumdar ShawSpeaking of the list which has the likes of Arundhati Bhattacharya Chairman State Bank of India Chanda Kochhar Managing Director and CEO ICICI Bank and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Karmali said ldquoInterestingly of the dozen lsquowomen to watch candidatesrsquo one third are Indians We profile Ameera Shah of Metropolis Healthcare from that group in this issuerdquoWill India have an even larger presence on future lists ldquoWith the government making it mandatory for companies to have at least one female director expect to see more Indian women making it to the list in the futurerdquo said KarmaliNot about my sisteryou donrsquotThe repercussions of the AIB roast are still being felt According to a source the latest Bollywood heavyweight to take offence is this hunky superstar who went ballistic over an uncharitable remark made about his sister one of the participating starsThe reference apparently was made about her appearance and it alluded to all of Indiarsquos offensive and unforgivable colour prejudices So incensed was the star that he is said to have called up the person who made the remark and threatened dire consequences ldquoThe industry seems pretty much divided down the line about the event with most of Bollywoodrsquos establishment weighing in against itrdquo said an insiderHappy Bikers in GoaThis weekend witnessed the third edition of India Bike Week held at the 10acre festival village in Vagator Goa Said to be the countryrsquos largest biking festival it saw the coming together of 10000 riders and bike enthusiasts including 2000 Harley Davidsons who rode crosscountry to Goa to celebrate the spirit and lifestyle of the Indian Biking communityDino Morea and Martin da CostaAnd representing Autologue Design a car and motorcycle customisation Company launching its new custom bike designs at IBW was cricketer and bike enthusiast Yuvraj Singh known for his enthusiasm for automobiles along with other wellknown faces like Dino Morea Arjun Khanna Martin da Costa CEO of 70 Event Management Group and the festivalrsquos founder organiser and Gaurav GillldquoIt was incredible to see over 10000 bikers ride up on to a hill overlooking the Indian Ocean in Goardquo said da Costa ldquoIt was an amazing two days which included some real bucketlist moments Riding out with Dino Morea and friends on the GQ Gentlemanrsquos Ride to la Plage to raise money for Matthew Spaciersquos Magic Bus was definitely one of themAnd riding down from Alibaug down the coast to IBW with Colvyn Harris from JWT Kersi Khambatta Matthew Spacie Yudhishtar Urs and Ed McMullan bunch of middleaged men acting like kids Never laughed so much in our lives We canrsquot wait for next yearrsquos festivalrdquo