Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Lucky Stars

Word comes in that that Mumbai boy Nimish Shah will take over as creative director of Bhaane, the clothing brand started by Delhi boy Anand Ahuja, whose high-profile

Word comes in that that Mumbai boy Nimish Shah will take over as creative director of Bhaane, the clothing brand started by Delhi boy Anand Ahuja, whose high-profile wedding to Sonam Kapoor had put him firmly in the media glare. Shah, a graduate from London College of Fashion, is a familiar face in SoBo’s young and restless crowd, and runs his own fashion label. The move seems to be a part of a larger re-branding exercise undertaken by Anand to re-launch the fashion brand he started in 2012. Interestingly, Anand and wife Sonam are loyal clients of Sanjay Jumaani, said to be the city’s most popular numerologist, who appears to have had a major influence on the couple. “Recently, they announced the appointment of their creative director as well as a change in the spelling of their brand, Bhane, post our consultation. Thanks to numerology, the brand is now spelled as ‘Bhaane’ (previously Bhane) which adds to ‘1’ of Anand’s auspicious numbers”, reads a statement from Jumaani (Yes, numerologists release statements these days). This is not the first time Anand and wife Sonam have relied on the numerologist’s advice. We are informed that it was Jumaani who had advised both to change their names post-marriage to ‘Anand S Ahuja’ and ‘Sonam K Ahuja’. And with Jumaani’s website listing the likes of mega successful stars like SRK, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgn amongst others, whose going to quibble with his advice?

Sonam K Ahuja and Anand S Ahuja

True Lies
It’s not often that we come across a joke that is as believable as it is funny. But this one, sent by a long-time and close friend of Shashi Tharoor’s, delighted us on both counts because it rang so true.
The story goes that the MP from Thiruvananthapuram was strolling hand-in-hand with his girlfriend in a high-end mall, when they happened to pass a jewellery store. On display, was a large solitaire, which caught the lady’s eye and she implored him to buy it for her.
But he replied: “Extenuating circumstances preclude me of acquiring a bauble of such extravagance.”
Puzzled, she responded with, “I don’t get it?”
He smiled, and with a famous toss of his forelock, said, “Precisely!”
The reason this meme has found favour with so many, who know Tharoor, is that they can easily imagine such a situation occurring. The much married widower known as “the thinking woman’s pin up” and celebrated for his felicity with words, is said to be currently dating someone, described by sources as ‘an attractive middle-aged woman from a North Indian royal clan, with political ambitions of her own’. So, is it possible that such an incident could occur in Tharoor’s life in the near future? Quite likely. Or as Tharoor himself might put it: “The possibility of such a situation materialising in corporeality are outstandingly conceivable.”

Tweet Talk
Auntypreneur (noun)
Meaning: Someone whose business is to get into your business
- A meme on social media

The Maestros at Home

(clockwise from left) Modhurima Sinha, Sabyasachi, Christian Louboutin, Sreenanda Shankar and Tanusree Shankar.

Theirs is really a partnership of equals, both being wildly creative aesthetes, celebrated for their genius. So, this week, when Sabyasachi hosted an exclusive dinner for fellow-designer and collaborator, the world famous Christian Louboutin, at his new home in Kolkata (described as gorgeous, cozy and grand), you can imagine how scintillating the conversations company and setting were. Seen on the occasion were prominent Calcuttans like musician Tanusree Shankar and her daughter, the actress Sreenanda Shankar, along with Modhurima Sinha of the Taj group. Incidentally, the two men had first met by chance at Sabyasachi’s spectacular boutique in Mumbai , and were said to have hit it off instantly, given their boundless creativity and heightened sense of aesthetics. July 2015 saw Louboutin design shoes for Sabyasachi’s annual couture show held in Mumbai, followed again in October 2016, when he had added his bags to the collection. The friendship and mutual regard was established. What’s more, they share a similar reputation for being soft-spoken and humble. “Every time I meet Christian Louboutin, I am reassured that humility can go hand-in-hand with success and fame,” said Sinha, about the dinner that carried into the early hours of the morning.