Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Twitter Heroes

As is known, Twitter’s big boss Jack Dorsey is touring India on his maiden visit. And, the new-age CEO and co-founder of the world’s second most popular social networking

As is known, Twitter’s big boss Jack Dorsey is touring India on his maiden visit. And, the new-age CEO and co-founder of the world’s second most popular social networking platform, who comes across as something of a reconstructed hippy, is said to be having the time of his life. “The trip began with a quick visit to meet the Dalai Lama, who Jack finds inspirational. “After a stop in Jaipur, he reached Delhi, where he was given a traditional aarti welcome at the Twitter India office and was thrilled to eat dinner at Bukhara with his colleagues, where he loved the famous table-sized naan,” informs our source. Post the meal and a town hall with members of Delhi’s IIT, the Apple Watch-wearing entrepreneur, who is said to walk five miles a day to work, is said to have called upon Rahul Gandhi, and they managed to discuss Jack’s tattoos amongst other more serious issues like, well, the imminent general elections, where the micro-blogging site will play a huge role. But the visit wouldn’t have been complete without meeting India’s own Twitter hero Shashi Tharoor, who has over two million followers over Dorsey and has seen his ups and downs as a consequence of his use of the social media platform. “[He was] Charming. Very soft-spoken. Looks at you intently. He said Dalai Lama pulled his nose ring and tugged his beard. He is off to Vipasana in Burma. Of course, I also discussed Twitter with him and my experience with it,” said Tharoor, when we enquired about the meeting.

Jack Dorsey (left) with Shashi Tharoor. (HT Photo)

Kasbekar Holds Fort

Atul Kasbekar

“Just thought, there’s already an enduring legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji in place that’s decaying, makes sense to enhance the incredible engineering marvel hill forts that he built and nurtured, than to create something new altogether. Besides, we have the main rail head and the International airport already honouring him in the city. And for a fraction of the cost instead of effectively a vanity project?” said celebrated photographer Atul Kasbekar, about his recent long rant, on what he calls the ‘statue spree’ that appears to have overtaken the powers that be. “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of Maratha Empire in western India in 1664, was well known for his forts. He was in possession of around 370 at the time of his death,” he’d posted, about his opposition to spending a stratospheric amount of money to honour the memory of the great warrior, by building a massive statue in his memory. “Many, like Panhala Fort and Rajgad existed before him, but others like Sindhudurg and Pratapgad were built by him from scratch. These forts are rotting in states of assorted disrepair. The access to them is tough and when you get there, it’s not what it could have been. What is the need to build a statue for some ₹4,000 crore, when according to a close architect friend it would only take approximately ₹30-40 crore a piece to greatly enhance the existing heritage sites!” he’d said in his impassioned argument. “Let’s do the math: If you restore even 30 of the key forts, that’s ₹900 to ₹1200 crore. In total! Does this make sense to anyone else besides me?”
And we were happy to note that restoring these world class heritage sites rather than expending so much time and energy, and tax payer money on another gargantuan statue, was met with much positive response. Any one up there listening?

WTSWTM
WTS
“If 10 people gang up against one, who is the strongest or mightiest.”
- Mega star Rajinikanth, in reference to the Opposition ‘ganging up against the ruling party’

WTM
“The answer to that is of course, if 10 people gang up against one, the strongest and mightiest is Rajinikanth.”

Challis Saal Baad

Then and Now: Zeenat Aman and Shobhaa De

“Yes, I got them to pose for it at Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) Adelaide,” said author co-founder of JLF and historian William Dalrymple, in response to us enquiring if he had been responsible for getting Zeenat Aman and Shobhaa De to recreate the iconic image they had posed for 40 years ago, for celebrity photographer Jitendra Arya, recently in Australia. “Forty years on...Zeenat Aman and Shobhaa De, Bombay, 1978, vs Adelaide JLF, 2018,” Dalrymple had posted on social media, about the portrait. “I’ve never had such a response to anything I’ve posted on Instagram, ever,” said the celebrated author, known for his occasional fondness for sharing photos of his pet goat and roosters on the site. The click had been iconic. Though residents of Mumbai and erstwhile modelling colleagues and on different sides of the Bollywood news cycle later, life had taken Aman and De on different journeys and their paths had rarely crossed in Mumbai. It had taken a visit to the festival to bring them together, in the memorable pose. “It was taken at the JLF closing party. We then launched into a rendition of Dum Maro Dum and Hare Krishna Hare Rama,” said a delighted Dalrymple.
Nice!