Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Harmony Within Diversity

Yesterday, Mumbai marked the occasion of Eid with its customary festivity across the city, as Muslims and non-Muslims came together to exchange greetings, gifts

Yesterday, Mumbai marked the occasion of Eid with its customary festivity across the city, as Muslims and non-Muslims came together to exchange greetings, gifts and prayers to mark the end of Ramzan, the holy month of fasting. Families, dressed in new clothes, were seen visiting markets and malls with many of the young women’s hands and feet adorned with mehendi. Friends and neighbours gathered to partake of specially prepared dishes and sweets like sheer kurma, firni and falooda. One such celebration saw chief minister Devendra Fadnavis attend the Daawat-e-Roza organised by BJP spokesperson Shaina NC and Zainuddin Zaweri. Held at Najam Baug in Dongri, the evening saw Shehzada Qaid Johar Bhaisaheb, eldest brother of the incumbent Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, along with other dignitaries including writer Salim Khan, ministers Girish Mahajan, and Mahadev Jankar, celebrate the occasion with residents of the area. But even in such an august gathering, the presence of the graceful octogenarian designer, Munira Chudasama, Shaina NC’s mother, who hails from an old and renowned Bohri family, stood out. Over the years, the soft-spoken and artistic Munira has played a strong and silent role of support for not only her late husband, the outspoken and feisty Nana Chudasama, but also her daughter Shaina, whose political allegiance happened to be with BJP. Such a palpable example of the city’s harmony within diversity.
As we were saying, yesterday, Mumbai marked the occasion of Eid with its customary festivity.

(From left) Munira Chudasama, Salim Khan, Shehzada Qaid Johar Bhaisaheb and Shaina NC.

To See The Queen

Rima Jain (centre), Armaan Jain, (third from left), Manoj Jain (second from right) and Adar Jain (extreme right) with their relatives in London.

When the late Raj Kapoor’s younger daughter, Rima Jain, put up this portrait of herself on social media with husband-businessman Manoj Jain and their dashing sons Aadar and Armaan Jain holidaying in London this week, the avid Instagrammer’s post was flooded with more than its usual share of likes. And that’s because, as HER friends knew, a family holiday had been long overdue for the Mumbai-based close-knit clan, as Rima has more than had her hands full over the past few years, practically moving to New York to look after her ailing siblings – first, elder sister Ritu Nanda and then her brother Rishi Kapoor, both who received treatment in the same hospital. “Finally on holiday together,” went one typical response. And given how precious this downtime en famille was, no surprises that they were determined to make every minute count. Manoj, who had been a student in London and quite familiar with the city, took his sons out to a local pub to watch the exciting final of the UEFA champions league earlier this week, and since he is a huge Liverpool fan, its victory was even sweeter for the company he was in. Other outings also included meeting close relatives such as Agastya Nanda, son of Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and Nikhil Nanda. But of course, given the Kapoors’ celebrated passion for food, the highlight of the trip was the many lunches and dinners with the family’s long-standing favourite, London’s Royal China (which inspired its popular Mumbai franchises), being given a much cherished pilgrimage.

Suhel’s Day Out

(From left) Laxmi Menon, Suhel Seth with brother Swapan Seth (extreme right) and his family.

Ever since his alleged involvement in #MeToo and his subsequent marriage to the statuesque model Laxmi Menon, bouncing bon vivant, Suhel Seth, has been out of circulation. The spinmeister, who had been an ubiquitous presence on prime-time TV, lit fests, conclaves, yachts and PJs, had not been sighted in a while. Which is why, when pictures of him in London this week with wife Laxmi, brother Swapan Seth and his family surfaced, there was considerable interest. In them, the marketing maven appears slimmer and more rested away from the spotlight and his well-worn jeans and sneakers seem to indicate an individual different from the suited-booted Delhi mover and shaker of yore. The lion in winter?