Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Different Strokes

“It was at a lunch hosted by an investment bank, which had brought down Andre Agassi to India last year. It believes, sports icons who have triumphed against personal

“It was at a lunch hosted by an investment bank, which had brought down Andre Agassi to India last year. It believes, sports icons who have triumphed against personal challenges can impart valuable advice to business leaders,” said industrialist Harsh Goenka, about his photograph, which he had tweeted about yesterday, with retired competitive swimmer and the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps. The picture featured Goenka measuring his arm against the Olympian. “The biggest game changer for him is his wingspan. When Phelps hands are extended, they reach 6’7”. With his 6’4” height, that’s wider than he is tall! Poor me!” the industrialist had said on the micro blogging site. The soiree, held at the rooftop of a SoBo hotel, had seen an impressive representation of about 40 members of India Inc: bankers, executives and business heads like Marico’s Harsh Mariwala and Ambani cousin and sports entrepreneur Vita Dani, who was the sole female in the gathering. Phelps had spoken about the importance of having a good coach and the role of sacrifice and phenomenal determination required in achieving one’s goals, and the talk had ended without the customary Q&A with Phelps – on his first visit to India and now happily retired – slipping away soon after. But not before Goenka, thinking on his feet, had managed this memorable capture. Come to think of it, that takes another kind of wingspan too.

Michael Phelps and Harsh Goenka (right). (HT Photo)

Where’s The Beef?

Congress President Rahul Gandhi (HT Photo)

Did he or didn’t he? Ever since stories that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had eaten beef at a £1500 breakfast at a five star, during his recent visit to Dubai, had gone viral, many media outfits had clarified that it was fake news, most likely spread by vested interests out to tarnish his image and create a spurious controversy in the run up to the general elections. “The breakfast was not hosted at a five-star hotel, but at a Dubai-based education entrepreneur Sunny Varkhey’s house,” one said, while AICC secretary Himanshu Vyas, who had been present on the occasion, issued a statement saying that no beef had been served. (The deliciously-arranged slices of pink meat that could be seen in the foreground of pictures from the event had in fact been ‘turkey meat’). However, in a country where beef is an extraordinarily emotive issue and people have been lynched on the suspicion of consuming it, the issue continued to simmer. Journalist and food writer Reshmi Ray Dasgupta, who rushed in where angels feared to tread, received a mouthful on her Facebook timeline when she had suggested that the matter could be put to rest by checking with Indian ambassador to UAE Navdeep Suri. “So what if he did? Anyone can. What is the debate here?” went one response. “Hope he did [eat it]! said another, while a third read, “who gives a toss, bar tossers”.
To her credit, Dasgupta, who often writes about delicious non-vegetarian dishes in her columns, tried to reason. “If there was beef and if he ate it, it’s really no one’s business but his.” But the responses, most of them witty and urbane, flew fast and free with. “If ANY beef is being wasted, kindly send it to me. Do send even otherwise. Hungrily yours,” embodying the general drift amongst the well-heeled circle. Incidentally, for all the heat generated at the breakfast meet, it turns out Rahul had in fact stuck to fruit and juice!

Overheard
“Read somewhere that a film is being made, titled, ‘THE ACCIDENTAL PRIZE MINISTER’.
- Meme on a friend’s timeline, yesterday

Obvious Star Power And Charisma

Sunil Chhetri (HT Photo)

At a time when India’s cricket heroes have demonstrated their crassness (think Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul) and are receiving widespread criticism for it, we fail to comprehend why someone like Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri doesn’t get his due. Chhetri, who is second to Cristiano Ronaldo, in having scored the maximum goals in international football matches, even topping Argentina legend Lionel Messi on the list, hails from an Army family and rose up the ranks to become Indian football’s face. We chanced upon his articulate charisma and obvious star power during a jugalbandi he had last year with spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, at a Bangalore book store. In it, the two men are shown discussing a range of issues from motivation, meditation, values, ethics and attitudes, which establish the football captain as a remarkable individual with a strikingly progressive approach to life. Sporting fans will remember Chhetri’s spirited plea last year, when he took to social media to urge Indians to support the national football team by showing up at stadiums to motivate the squad during matches. Though the video had gone viral and received over 1,40,000 likes on Twitter and had been supported by the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Vir Das, Abhishek Bachchan, football and its heroes remain a poor second in comparison with cricket. In his chat with the Sadhguru, the visibly-impressed spiritual leader hinted at more substantial engagement with the sportsman aka Captain Fantastic, to popularise the game amongst India’s youth. We hope many such initiatives spring up and succeed. Meanwhile, as we were saying, the fact that a man like Chhetri is not heard over the likes of Pandya and Rahul in our country, is something that should be of deep concern to all intelligent people.