A friend's social media post on what would have been the late Sunil Dutt's 88th birthday alerted us to the astonishing fact that even after more than a decade of his passing away
Sanjay with Sunil and Nargis Dutt. Pic/Priya Dutt
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A heart felt remembrance
A friend's social media post on what would have been the late Sunil Dutt's 88th birthday alerted us to the astonishing fact that even after more than a decade of his passing away, there isn't a single road, junction or any other memorial in his honour anywhere in Mumbai.
The havan at Priya Dutt’s house. Pic/Priya Dutt
Astonishing because in this era of runaway hyperbole and extreme PR, it is almost unimaginable that someone who had such a special connect with the Mumbaikar –especially the Bandra-ite, should haven't had half a dozen by now. "My father had expressly requested that there should be no monument in his memory; he always felt that such things were unimportant and in any case led to needless controversies. So when people approach us, we always said no," said his daughter Priya Dutt, the former MP, when we spoke yesterday. The remembrance as per their parent's wishes had been low key and heartfelt.
"We have always liked doing something special for our parents' birthdays, mom's is on the June 1 and dad's on June 6. This year too, we had a havan at my home for both of them," said Dutt who had taken on her father's political legacy after his death in 2005. "This time it was even more special because both my sons Siddharth and Sumair performed the pooja for their grand parents," she said, adding, "It was just a very small family affair. Just me, Owen and the boys, my sister Namrata with husband Bunty (Kumar Gaurav), some of the old office folk who have been around since my parents' times, along with a few close family friends. And after the pooja, we remembered them fondly over chit chat and tea." Beats a monument or the naming of a junction any day, we say.
Anil Agarwal with Rishi Kapoor
Not travelling light
Rishi Kapoor, who like many other Mumbaikars, has decided to trade in the Mumbai monsoons for sunnier London, has literally been eating his way through Europe. The Black Label guzzling food lover, who was in Vienna last week to attend the Vaswani wedding celebrations, dropped in for a meal at the Dinesh Nair (of the Leela group) owned Jamavar London on Mount Street, and took to social media to announce his verdict, "Jamavar. Brilliant Indian restaurant. You cracked it Dinesh/Madhu Nair. And I don't please easy. Great menu!" And post the gluttony, the following week he was hosted by London-based industrialist Anil Agarwal, chairman of the Vedanta group at his sprawling London mansion, at a party to celebrate the UK launch of his memoirs.
Prithviraj Chavan
Left leaning and elitist
And for those who accuse the media of being left leaning and elitist, here's some more grist for their mill. At the recently conducted Red Ink Awards, not only were some of the country's leading talking heads and writing hands, along with former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, legal luminaries Justice Hemant Gokhale and Abhay Thipsay, and corporate honchos like Gayatri Yadav, said to have been 'visibly roused' by the 20-minute performance by the 12-piece chamber Symphony Orchestra of India, led by celebrated Russian conductor Evgeny Bushkov (said to be a great favourite of Vladmir Putin), but they gave them a standing ovation. And when you hear that all this allegedly included a medley of old Bollywood hits like Pal Pal Har Pal and Hai Apna Dil, you know what constitutes the nightmares of your average media bashing, pseudo secularist hating bhaktard.
Subroto Roy
Happy birthday Saharashri
Subroto Roy turned 69 over the weekend, and we are informed that his doting family hosted celebrations at their large family residence in Lucknow on Friday night, to bring in the birthday. The founder chairman of Sahara, who is out on interim relief was said to be in good spirits, surrounded by his near and dear ones who even put together a dance performance in his honour. Dressed in a pinstripe suit with a pink shirt, the family patriarch cut his galaxy shaped cake inscribed with the words 'Happy birthday Saharashri' at the stroke of midnight. "It was a special moment for the family as he got to celebrate with his loved ones after so long," informs a source. But unfortunately for the industrialist the celebrations are only momentary, as the courts have instructed that group assets including one of his crown jewels - Amby Valley City - will soon go under the auctioneer's hammer.
Cecilia Oldne, Narendra Kumar and Andrea Brown Cheung
The monsoons arrive at the vineyard
The monsoons have arrived at the Sula Vineyards, good and proper, according to Cecilia Oldne, its VP marketing and global brand ambassador. "It's pouring out here! Lots of thunder and lightning - simply beautiful. It was very hot around 2pm — then by 5pm all broke loose" she said yesterday. "The temperature has dropped from 35 degree C to 25!" Of course the rains mean many things to many people, but they play a vital role in the life of a vineyard. Last year said Oldne, the monsoons had arrived on June 14, but had only reached 41 mm by June 16. "This year it's already crossed 50 mm!"
Oldne's interest is not theoretical. The vineyard is aiming to become the world's most sustainable wine producer in the world with a state of the art rainwater harvesting system in place. "We collected 70 million litres last year and hoping to harvest another 7 million litres this year," she said. Cheers!
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