Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Here, There and Everywhere

It is a truth universally acknowledged that some of the most celebrated ladies of leisure and ladies who lunch hardly have any leisure and never actually eat lunch.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that some of the most celebrated ladies of leisure and ladies who lunch hardly have any leisure and never actually eat lunch; consider for instance the activities of the past week in the life of fashionista and philanthropist Natasha Poonawalla, wife of the billionaire Pune-based industrialist, Adar Poonawalla, who, like Woody Allen’s celebrated character Zelig, appears to have been at all places, at all times.

Natasha Poonawalla with American singer Katy Perry and Prince Charles at the Taj Mahal Hotel, last week.

From attending Karan Johar’s dinner at his residence for Katy Perry, where she rubbed designer shoulders with Bollywood’s best and brightest; to discussing global health issues with Prince Charles at a reception at the Taj in the Prince of Wales’ honour; to attending Aradhya Bachchan’s birthday party along with her family and the likes of SRK and Gauri Khan with their kids; to having an informal dinner at Priyanka Chopra’s Mumbai residence along with Alia Bhatt; to spending an exclusive evening at BJP spokesperson and designer Shaina NC’s SoBo home, the lissome head-turner was at her stylish best.

How on earth does she manage to do it all along with her other quotidian duties of wife, mother, daughter and daughter-in-law, and still look good?

“No Sundays for us,” Poonawalla responded with a wink emoji, when we posed the question to her yesterday. What’s more, she was not kidding. “And now we’re in Delhi for our annual meeting with Bill Gates. He’s giving my father-in-law, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, an award for his outstanding vaccine work at the Indian Council of Medical Research,” she said.

Phew.

TRUELIES: New Hostess in Town

Move over Mumbai’s gaggle of society hostesses and event managers, there’s a new kid on the block and from all accounts, she has taken the game to a whole new level. According to sources, this well-heeled young lady, married into a prominent business clan, is fast becoming the go-to hostess in town, organising soirees at the rate of almost four a month — from artsy champagne and cheese openings to glam fundraisers, if sources are to be believed.

What differentiates this latest hostess with the mostest from others of her ilk is that she does not charge a penny for her efforts, given that she does not need the dosh. “For her, it’s a fun new distraction, say insiders, a pleasant way to make friends and influence people…As is known, the minimum fee demanded by most high society women who organise such events, starts at ₹5 lakh,” said one source, adding, “Mind you, that is for ensuring only the most run-of-the-mill and basic guest list, comprised of all the usual suspects. It gets much more if they can bring in a hard-to-get socialite or Bolly star of course. So you can imagine how her entrance is disrupting things.”

According to those in the know, the new entrant on the scene has excellent connections with the who’s who of the city, and makes no bones of flaunting them. What’s intriguing is that her success is predicated on her segregation of Mumbai into water-tight compartments, with a Bandra list, a Parel List, a Malabar Hill list and a Colaba list.

“Beyond that does not really matter for the kinds of events I host,” she was overheard simpering recently.

The mind boggles.

Tweet Talk:
I’m no hard core biker, but I couldn’t resist swinging on to this incredibly beautiful beast. Who knows, I may just be lured into becoming a grey-haired easy rider...heading out onto the highway...

— Tweet by industrialist Anand Mahindra at the launch of his company’s new motorbike.

Greener Pastures

Shaina NC with Manish Malhotra, Manish Munot, Tina Ambani and Alvira Khan at the dinner.

Deep in the throes of the Maharashtra political imbroglio, BJP spokesperson and designer Shaina NC, whose prime-time appearances defending her party have made her a familiar presence, managed to have a more relaxed evening with friends. “#CharliesAngels. Weekend #girl gang bonding.....” the politician had tweeted, along with a picture of herself with old friends, Gauri Khan and Rima Jain, from the occasion, most likely a welcome diversion from her usual activities. Sources say the dinner was an impromptu, casual one, hosted by Shaina and her husband, real-estate tycoon Manish Munot, at their old-world residence in SoBo, where, along with Jain and Khan, the guest list had included Tina Ambani, Adar and Natasha Poonawalla, Yash Birla, Manish Malhotra, Alvira Khan and Kaajal Anand.

Interestingly, this was not the only green spot in the arid political landscape: The week also saw Shaina organising her annual four-day flower and plant exhibition with the NGO I Love Mumbai, founded by her late father, Nana Chudasama, where a variety of flowers and plants were showcased and sold at Marine Drive, to the delight of nature lovers.