Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Royal Visitors

The royal delegation will join the likes of former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

Word comes in that Mumbai will play host to a member of the UAE’s Royal family later this month. His Highness Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Saeed Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, the prince of Abu Dhabi and grandson of the ruler of Abu Dhabi’s Al-Ain will be in the city to attend the Kumite 1 League, a global mixed martial arts league, which is said to kick off at the end of the month at the NCSI Dome, with a face-off between team India and team UAE. The royal delegation will join the likes of former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who is one of the ambassadors for the new league, and who will be visiting Mumbai for promotional purposes. “It’s a unique opportunity for both India and UAE to increase a bilateral connect at a people-to-people level, which will further boost historical ties between India and UAE. Any opportunity to strengthen this century-old bond is always priority at the Royal office,” said a spokesperson. Interestingly, HH Sheikh Tahnoon (famous for his passionate preservation of falcons at his private bird sanctuary) and other royal family members are trained army men and have a history of practicing MMA fighting as part of their training.

Prince of Abu Dhabi, Al Nahyan

Party Time for Mehta

Juhi Chawla (left) with her husband Jay Mehta. (HT Photo)

It’s been cause for a double celebration for businessman and foodie Jay Mehta this week. Not only has the co-owner (along with wife Juhi and SRK) of Kolkata Knight Riders seen his second franchise, the Trinbago Knight Riders, come out winners in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League Championship match to lift their third CPL crown, much to the delight of 18,000 cheering fans, but food tastings have already begun for his soon-to-be launched Mumbai eatery, ‘Rue de Liban’. Nestled in a quiet cul-de-sac at the Kala Ghoda, the restaurant, which serves Levantine cuisine follows on the heels of Gustoso, Mehta’s cozy paean to authentic Italian at Kemps Corner. And, as a run-up to the launch, Mehta is inviting a slew of his well-travelled circle of epicures to sample Dolmas, Kibbehs, Falafel and Baklava.
Party time!

A Double Whammy

Deepika Padukone

We’ve heard of stars being discovered by an unerring eye, but what do you say to fashion designer, the Goa-based Wendell Rodricks, who apparently has to his credit, the discovery of not one, but two of the country’s most luminous stars: Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma? “I was conducting a workshop at a hotel in Bangalore for a jeweller. The topic was about what clothes suit different figure types and what jewellery to wear with various garments. We picked out three ladies from the audience. Sitting near a client, Ujjala Padukone, was a young girl. I picked her out as a ‘normal’ figure type. When she rose with a shy smile and stood near me, I asked her name. “Deepika”, she replied, blushing through her dimples,” he says, of his spotting of the lissome Padukone, who, though still a school girl, had made such an impression on Rodricks that he’d returned, post the event, to convince her about a career in modelling. “Don’t put these ideas in her head,” mother Ujjala had said, but as Rodricks recalls the ‘inevitable happened’. As for Anushka Sharma, Rodricks recalls how he’d spotted her at a Wrangler shop in Bangalore and had invited her to Mumbai to walk for him for Lakme Fashion Week. “She was excited, but not nervous,” he says, adding, “Eventually, I gave her the finale gown. The rest is history.” As for his discovery of the two biggest stars in Bollywood, Rodricks is modest. “If not me, someone else would have discovered them,” he says. “Girls like them don’t go unnoticed for long.”

The Eternal Sufi

The late MF Husain.

This striking portrait of the late, great MF Husain, looking very much like the Sufi master he was, happened to be posted by his daughter, the designer Raisa Husain, on the occasion of his birthday which fell this week. The artist, known for his barefoot nomadic wanderings all over the planet, exemplified an ethic, which set him apart from most others, being someone who supped happily with kings and commoners alike. Not surprising then that his favourite quote, according to Raisa, which accompanied this image was, ‘Na Aane Ki Khushi, Na Jane Ka Gum’, is redolent of the Sufi-like existence he led.