Malavika’s Mumbaistan: The Millennial Ball

The ongoing Forbes Under 30 Summit in Boston seems to have cemented its place as the networking hotbed for global (and wealthy) Millennials. The four-day event will see over 7,000 young entrepreneurs, visionaries and disruptors gather under one roof and feature more than 200 world-class speakers including investors, celebrities, musicians, sports stars, cultural icons, world-renowned chefs, business leaders, and serves as the definitive place to network, collaborate, and exchange ideas of the future. This year’s marquee speakers include former US Secretary of State John Kerry; pop star Cardi B and Steve Case, co-founder of America Online, amongst others, and boasts a well turned out Indian contingent of GenNext leaders including Keshav Reddy (son of Pinky and Sanjay Reddy of the GVK conglomerate), Delhi-based Shiv Punj (heir to the Punj Llyod Empire) and Iman Allana, entrepreneur-daughter of Irfan and Lubna Allana of UAE-based Allanasons. Move over Le Bal des débutantes, the Under 30 Summit appears to be the place to be for well-heeled Millennials now.

Tree Thoughts

The circle of healing.

We have been following reports of the massacring of trees in Aarey Milk Colony with mounting dismay: 2,702 living entities so vital to the environment and city, to be hacked, to make way for a car shed for the upcoming Metro! With worldwide concern about environmental damage and its cost on human life, and after the massive floods witnessed in the city, could such an idea even have been entertained? Were we missing something? Some silver lining in the dark clouds? Yesterday, activists and citizens had called for a silent protest in Aarey. Among those present had been our friend, environmentalist and life-coach Faredoon Bhujwala, whose long, white beard seems to have grown whiter and longer with each passing day of his impassioned campaign to rescue the city’s trees, making him resemble an ancient oak himself. “There was an early morning healing meditation for the mass killing of trees followed by a Satyagraha to spread awareness on the disastrous ecological effect it will have on our city,” he said. “Adivasis, whose homes were destroyed and displaced, buffalo stable owners joined in and spoke about their plight.” For months, Bhujwala had been running from pillar to post to seek a stop to the felling with little relief or thought for himself. Yet, photographs he posted of yesterday’s protest featured him along with fellow savants, peacefully meditating in a circle, his face wreathed in a beatific smile. Perhaps, that was the silver lining we had been searching for? That in the madness and mayhem of our times, there were still a few people who cared deeply for causes bigger than themselves and who protested with mindfulness and peace?
Of course, the fact that it had been Gandhi Jayanti had only been a coincidence.

PC, PC and PC

Purnendu Chatterjee

Tickled by our report yesterday about how the initials PC meant different things in polite conversations in Delhi and Mumbai (in the former, they stood for erstwhile finance minister P Chidambaram, whereas in the showbiz obsessed latter, they stood for Priyanka Chopra, a reader popped us a question: “What does PC stand for in Kolkata?”

Could it be the city’s famous jewellery store PC Chandra, said to be the go-to place for the city’s cognoscenti during weddings and festivals? Or could PC refer to the iconic Bengali magician PC Sorcar, we had responded.

“Good try, but not correct,” said the clever reader. “Actually, in Kolkata, when people talk about PC, they most likely are referring to the businessman Purnendu Chatterjee, (son-in-law of Bengal’s late governor Viren Shah), whose company’s massive investments in the state are known to have upset more than a few apple-carts,” he said.

Perhaps, readers can now hazard a guess about what PC would stand for in Chennai?

Mansplaining at its best?

Dayanita Singh

This is for those who do not understand what ‘mansplaining’ means. An off-shoot of the #MeToo movement, mansplaining describes the outrage felt by women, who have for too long been patronised, put down or treated condescendingly by men. A prime example of this occurred recently, when the internationally celebrated art photographer Dayanita Singh, one of the country’s leading names in her field, found herself the subject of this odious practice. “Are you a Leica user?” began the post, left on her Instagram by a photographer of much-lesser renown, who fancied himself as an expert on the subject. “Ever used their film cameras? That’s Leica. Not the current crop of made outside Germany, where the technology is from elsewhere. If you do not understand this, well, you have to be a practicing photographer to do so,” he‘d said to the photographer who has published 12 books and been the recipient of many awards including the Prince Claus award in 2008. Now, saying this to Singh was akin to asking Tiger Woods if he’d ever handled a golf club, and readers of the post were naturally aghast at his gumption. But, it was Singh’s masterly response which had won the day.”“I am not a practicing photographer, just a housewife, whose hobby is photography. What do I know of cameras and that too Leica,” was her sweet and savage put-down to the offensive gent.

Game Set and Match to Singh or a fist-pump from Woods.

First Published: Oct 04, 2018 00:30 IST