Malavika’s Mumbaistan: The Family Way

When Congress leader Priya Dutt, the erstwhile MP for Mumbai’s North Central constituency, had let it be known in January that she was not interested in contesting

When Congress leader Priya Dutt, the erstwhile MP for Mumbai’s North Central constituency, had let it be known in January that she was not interested in contesting elections for this term, many of her friends, fans and followers had been disappointed. After all, Priya Dutt was known to be a chip of the old block, as her parents, the late Nargis and Sunil Dutt, had stood for values of selfless service and secularism. So, a few days later, following her face-to-face meeting with Congress President Rahul Gandhi, when she announced that on his insistence she had agreed to throw in her hat and take on the incumbent BJP MP Poonam Mahajan in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, there was all-round cheer amongst her supporters. Dutt, accompanied by husband, the music impresario Owen Roncon, and brother, Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt had created mob frenzy when she filed her papers as the Congress party candidate. And what was noticeable to all was the solidarity of the entire family behind her decision. “Yes, the whole family is with Priya in this,” said Roncon, when we spoke yesterday, even as he fielded hundreds of calls and attended to the crazy schedules and demands of campaigning. “Sanju’s support and encouragement is solid and I have taken time off from my work. I am in Priya’s office all the time doing what I can,” said the supportive and proud husband, a long-time resident of Bandra, which forms the bulk of Dutt’s constituency. But, it was his next words that made us realise just how much of a family effort the back-breaking and foot-aching task of campaigning was. “Most important, in all this,” he laughed, “is our son Sid’s role. He is the official foot massager and his brother Sumair is the shoulder guy,” he said, about their school-going sons and their chipping in to help their mother, adding, “So one can say she’s sorted.”
Indeed.

Priya Dutt with Sanjay Dutt (HT Photo)

The Messenger?

Anshuman Mishra during an address by US President Donald Trump at the Venetian Hotel in Vegas. (HT Photo)

International finance wiz and known as the RSS’s Blue-Eyed Boy, the London-based Anshuman Mishra, who, on Twitter, describes himself as an “admirer of Rodin, Aurobindo and Rumi”, seems to have found himself right in the middle of some high-powered international political diplomacy this week. Mishra, known to be close to global leaders like the Middle East’s Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Hollywood star Goldie Hawn and luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault, was in Las Vegas to attend an address by US President Donald Trump at the Venetian Hotel. But, even the well-connected Mishra could not have expected that during a part of the address, Trump would bring up a bone of contention between USA and India on tax-related issues and would notice Mishra’s presence in the front row, look him in the eye and seemingly ask him to deliver a message on USA’s position on the topic. “I guess as the only Indian in the room @POTUS @realDonaldTrump was talking to me. Hopefully, after getting re-elected @narendramodi @PMOIndia would work with @WhiteHouse @jaredkushner to do proper justice to all,” he posted after the interaction, along with a video. Given the obvious gravitas of the message, the video soon gained traction on social media. Will Trump’s message be conveyed to the right people? After all, Mishra is said to have excellent connections in Delhi too.

Meeting The Patriarch

Azim Premji (left) with Rohit Bal

What is it about family ties that tug at our hearts throughout our waking hours? This week, when the Capital-based Rohit Bal was invited by the organisers of AIMA (the national federation of India’s management associations) to read a citation on one of the awardees, he was not expecting to come face-to-face with the image of his late father. But that is exactly what happened when the designer met Azim Premji, billionaire-philanthropist and chairman of Wipro. “I was instantly drawn to him, as he looks a lot like my Dad,” said Bal, about his late father Pandit Prakash Bal, scion of one of Lahore’s leading clans and described as a bon vivant with a heart of gold, who was also stylish to the core.

The late Pandit Prakash Bal

“My meeting with Mr Premji was brief, but he is an angel amongst humans,” Bal said about the man who has pledged to give away half of his staggering fortune to charity. As for the remarkable resemblance of Premji to his father, Bal is not the only one who noticed it. At least three other members of the Bal clan remarked on the uncanny similarity when the designer posted this photograph on social media.

Out At Sea

Maheka Mirpuri

One cannot help, but admire the zeal of fashion designer Maheka Mirpuri. A few weeks ago, when we met with her, she had spoken of her plans to launch her latest line, a cruise collection called ‘The Panoramic Window’, on a boat docked off the Mumbai Harbour. Since then, not a day passes by without some reference to azure oceans, ports of call, sailing and gangplanks, along with sumptuous photographs of herself in nautical gear, embodying ‘boating sophistication’. “It’s an amalgamation of ensembles that can be worn whilst exploring a new port of call or hopping between islands,” she said, adding, “From sailor pants to wide-legged trousers, billowy dresses to Kaftans and oversized jackets, throw over capes berets...with silhouettes that channel an unapologetically relaxed vibe.”
So, this evening, if you are befuddled by the sight of a gaggle of stylish society ladies (the type who are on the verge of embarking on an imminent Mediterranean cruise and need appropriate gear) attempting to negotiate a gangplank to board a boat, anchored off the Sea Link, in their billowy dresses and high heels, you know what it’s all about. As for us, home bound and generally unadventurous, we’re counting on Mirpuri’s exultation of ‘Sea’s the Day’ to see us through the evening.