Kavita Khanna was the epitome of grace under pressure when we dropped in to condole with her on the sad passing of her husband Vinod Khanna on Saturday evening
Vinod Khanna; (R) Kavita Khanna
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Epicentre of sadness
Kavita Khanna was the epitome of grace under pressure when we dropped in to condole with her on the sad passing of her husband Vinod Khanna on Saturday evening. Her large eyes full of warmth and fortitude, despite her pale and exhausted demeanour, the erstwhile barrister and LSE alumni expressed her gratitude for the unprecedented outpouring of love that had followed the star's demise.
"The thing about Vinod was that he played everything down, his fame, success and adulation. The people he knew and had met, he never let anyone know of these things," said his sisters-in-law, Czaie Shah and Gauri Pohoomal, who along with their mother, noted industrialist Sharayu Daftary hailing from the Walchand Hirachand clan, were never too far from their grieving sister. "Kavita did not leave Vinod's hospital room for an entire month," they said. "Not even for meals. Till the end, she was sure she'd bring him home. She'd even created an entire hospital at home for Vinod, for when he returned," they said sadly.
And it occurred to us when we left, that the room filled with a sense of quiet dignity and palpable sadness as Khanna's loved ones, his wife, children, brothers, sisters, cousins and friends, came to terms with their loss, was the epicentre of the widespread sense of sadness felt across the land on the passing of the much-loved star.
Gauri Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Shaina NC
Traffic island discs
"There are many islands in Mumbai that need to be beautified. This island was given to 'I love Mumbai' and I requested Gauri to conceptualise it," said politician and designer Shaina NC, about the unveiling of an art sculpture by artist Paresh Maity in association with Gallery Art Musings, which took place this morning at a traffic island opposite the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, in the presence of the governor of Maharashtra.
We had been the first to report about the project in its initial stages, and recall Shaina telling us about other projects to mark the anniversary of the state's formation. "Yes, the 'I love Mumbai' foundation along with Samina Khorakhiwalla has also launched mobile libraries in slums across the city today."
Hasan Minhaj and Vir Das
Tickling America
At a time when, thanks to the occupant in the White House, American funny men are being celebrated across the world for their wit and humour, two Indian-origin stand-up comedians, the American born and based Hasan Minhaj and Mumbai-based Vir Das have managed to capture the public imagination of America, known to be the Mecca of the trade.
Minhaj, of course, had the spotlight directed on him when he was chosen to address the White House Correspondent's Ball over the weekend, a grand tradition of Washington, and emerged with flying colours. Not so headline-hogging but equally appreciated was Das, whose cheeky self-deprecating lines on his stint on The Conan O' Brien show recently appeared to have the audience eating out of his hands. Variously taking swipes at Trump, his own minority status amongst other things, Das' gag that drew the most laughs was "Hey, I'm not here to insult Mexicans; after all, I am only a comedian, not your President."
The interior of Hemant Oberoi's restaurant (inset) Ashiesh Shah
New eatery in town
"It's a paean to an earlier age," said award-winning architect and designer Ashiesh Shah about his latest project, the interior of Chef Hemant Oberoi's eponymous restaurant in BKC, which opened quietly without much fanfare over the weekend.
"Old-world white table clothes, hand-painted screens of tropical rainforests as wallpaper and a 25-foot-high dining area clad in rich mahogany," he said. And the cuisine? "Can you believe I've still not eaten the food there?" wailed the architect du jour, who appears to be at the centre of most of the city's high-profile design projects (like Ranbir Kapoor's home and Jacqueline Fernandes' new restaurant.)
The sculpture that has been created in memory of late Manobina Roy
Requiem for Ma
When our friend Joy Bimal Roy, son of legendary filmmaker, the late Bimal Roy had invited us to 'Requiem for Ma', the unveiling of a sculpture on the Bandstand promenade dedicated to his mother, the late Manobina Roy, we had no idea that it would turn out to be such an exceptionally sublime occasion.
With Padmashri singer Dr Soma Ghosh and a great granddaughter of the late Bimal Roy singing exquisitely to the accompaniment of music, framed against Bandstand's famous rocks horizon and the setting sun, the gathering consisting of friends and admirers of the Bimal Roy family, harked back to a richer and more graceful era.
Manobina Roy with Jaya Bachchan
And there was a reason for this. The late Bimal Roy had given audiences masterpieces such as 'Do Bigha Zameen' and 'Devdas'. His wife Manobina had not only been high-born and refined, but had also been a talented photographer in her own right. After the untimely death of her brilliant husband, she had courageously shouldered her responsibilities as a mother but also of her late husband's production house. Even during his lifetime, she is said to have stood like an oak tree, nurturing the talented group of technicians and assistants and their families who worked for the banner.
Amongst them had been the likes of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar and our own late father. No surprises then that the evening in honour of the graceful lady, organised by her family, left the audience visibly moved. And that the public installation by sculptor Tanmay Banerjee, 'Requiem', captured this emotion fittingly.
Farrokh Chothia and Ranjit Barot
Chaddi buddies
It's something we've always known about this city we call home - turn over the smallest pebble and there will be a fascinating story, if not more, under it. And so it was with this picture posted by leading photographer Farrokh Chothia on social media featuring two of the city's leading talents, musician Ranjit Barot and himself. 'Brother from another mother', was the accompanying text, alluding to the fact that both had been neighbours of the same Mumbai building at Nepean Sea Road.
"Indeed we were," said Barot, when we spoke to him yesterday. "Farrokh and I both developed our passion for jazz together," he said. And then he added, "That's not all, orthopedic surgeon Dr Farhad Taraporvala, choreographer and dancer Shiamak Davar and model and photographer Rachel Reuben lived here too. In fact, Davar, Taraporvala and myself still live here." Did its taps carry a special kind of water, we remarked, alluding to the extraordinary amount of talent that had emerged from this quotidian apartment block. "Haha! Yes, it was quite fortuitous that all of us lived at the same place," he said. See what we mean about the city and its fascinating stories under each pebble.
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