Malavika’s Mumbaistan: The Old School Tie

It counts mega famous names like Kumar Mangalam Birla, Shashi Tharoor and Rishi Kapoor as its alumni, and to be sure, one of Mumbai’s premier school for boys, Campion, nestled between the Oval Maidan and Cooperage ground, is known for turning out suave and well-rounded gentleman “from good homes”, as author Salman Rushdie noted in The Moor’s Last Sigh.

It counts mega famous names like Kumar Mangalam Birla, Shashi Tharoor and Rishi Kapoor as its alumni, and to be sure, one of Mumbai’s premier school for boys, Campion, nestled between the Oval Maidan and Cooperage ground, is known for turning out suave and well-rounded gentleman “from good homes”, as author Salman Rushdie noted in The Moor’s Last Sigh. Last week, two of them, industrialist and former Chairman of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, and real estate tycoon Niranjan Hiranandani, happened to meet, and made for a pretty picture on the occasion of the launch of a book, hosted by the latter, in the presence of the minister for road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari. “We were not at Campion at the same time,” said Hiranadandni, about their shared alma mater. “Mr Tata is around 12 years my senior, and so, by the time he was leaving school, I might have just joined.” Nevertheless, their shared bonds have endured. “When I saw him enter, I naturally rushed to greet and assist him,” he said of the occasion. “That’s when the pictures were clicked.” And, were there any words exchanged, especially about their alma mater? “No, he spoke about Gadkari and his admiration for the work he is doing,” said Hiranandani. Incidentally, word comes in that though the Jesuit institution might have lost some of its lead in attracting the city’s best and brightest, thanks to the launch of many shinier, more high-profile schools, as far as Campion goes, the old-school tie still endures. In its 75th Platinum Jubilee year, its old boys network hosted the first Hodiwalla Cup, an inter-house, multi-sport, sports day which saw Campionites, aged 16 to 60, participate in a fight to the finish to win the prestigious alumni trophy this weekend. “The day saw over 200 alumni participate, in cricket, football, basketball, volleyball, tug-of-war, and a relay,” said the president of the Old Boy’s Association, Hemanth Meka Rao, adding, “We always know those boys that were a year or two above or below. But, at the Hodiwalla Cup, we had people who were 60 participating with kids who were 16, and making new friendships!”

Niranjan Hiranandani (second from left) with Ratan Tata (second from right) and Nitin Gadkari (extreme right) at the event. (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

London Award for Dhaka

Rina Dhaka (extreme left) receiving her award.

One of the Capital’s leading designers, Rina Dhaka, was the recipient of an excellence award at London’s Parliament for her contribution to her profession. The award, presented by Lord Navnit Dholakia in the presence of Lord Raj Loomba, writer Farookh Dhondy, and others such as Geoff Wain and HE sheik Al Zarooni, was at the culmination of a three-day event on the theme of Inspiring Indian women, with cancer survivors as models wearing traditional Indian textiles. “At the British Parliament making my way to collect my award. My jaw dropping at the spectacular architecture,” said Dhaka about the heady day.

Tweet Talk

‘A Patel who was not theirs becomes theirs.

A Patel who was theirs becomes not theirs.

Strange ‘Patel’ogical conditions !!!’

-Industrialist Harsh Goenka’s cryptic and prescient tweet on current affairs a few weeks ago

A Morality Tale?

Vijay Mallya

The irony that Vijay Mallya might well be ensconced in a high-security cell at Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail, from where he would bring in the New Year, when not so long ago his New Year’s parties at the Kingfisher Villa in Goa were the place for the country’s most celebrated individuals to gather, could not be lost on any one, least of all on the beleaguered (and bejewelled) beer baron and erstwhile King of Good Times. Who could imagine that the wheels of fortune would turn so decisively against the flamboyant businessman, known for his luxury yachts, private jets and prize-winning cars and horses? In a nutshell, Mallya’s life is a parable for our times. When Mallya’s travails began, many in the media had called him a soft target, given that his borrowings from banking institutions had far less zeroes in them compared to others. But, Mallya’s case caught the public’s and the media’s imagination because he’d made himself the poster boy for conspicuous consumption, and therefore, a lightning rod for censure. This, and his reluctance to heed the advice of many of his well-wishers, and settle salaries of his Kingfisher Airline staff, were factors said to have ultimately contributed to his downfall. “Whether he settled his staff salaries out of a sense of moral responsibility, or as a PR strategy, was not the issue,” said one of them. “The fact is that, with a sizeable population of salaried people in the country, the Schaudfraude this one omission, juxtaposed with his flamboyance, earned him was a tsunami of unpopularity and made it easier for all to indict him.” Of course, yesterday’s UK court order approving his extradition can be contested by the fugitive liquor baron in the next 14 days. But, with his birthday (December 18), and Christmas Eve, falling within that time-period, Mallya may well be behind bars repeating Confucius’s words: “The wheel of fortune turns round incessantly, and who can say to himself, I shall today be uppermost…”