Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Congratulations and Celebrations

Within hospitality circles, it came to be known as the clash of the titans, when the Tata-owned Taj Group went mano a mano with its rival, the ITC Hotels, which, as everyone knows, is backed by the deep pockets of the tobacco-funded ITC conglomerate. The bone of contention happened to be the site of the iconic Taj Mansingh in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, whose contract had come up for renewal. Would the Taj be able to retain this prime jewel in its crown given the vantage point it had enjoyed in the Capital for decades? Or would it have to concede defeat and allow an old rival to reap the benefits of the stellar location? After a long bidding war, last week, the Taj group came out on top and was awarded an extension to manage the property for the next 33 years. But, insiders say that it was also a personal triumph for the Taj’s new head honcho Puneet Chhatwal, who’d taken over the reins last year and inherited the challenge. “Everyone’s eyes were on his every move, wanting to see if he had the mettle to stay the course in this all-important big test,” said an insider, adding, “And so naturally, the board is thrilled with the outcome and attribute, much of the victory to the new man in charge.” This is not his only laurel. Chhatwal, who is said to have turned the group’s fortunes around, making it profitable for the first time in many years, has also been on a signing spree with upcoming hotels planned in London, Dubai and Kathmandu. But, earlier this week, he took time off to celebrate the victory in style by flying down to Delhi, where a party was hosted amidst much celebration and the cutting of a cake.

True Lies
Is there a cloud hovering over the country’s banking elite currently? Not only have recent weeks witnessed much volatility, with some of the community’s top leaders making headlines with their comings and goings (mostly goings), but the sharp decline in the share price of a high-profile private sector bank has given much cause for concern. “The trouble began when regulators began going through some of the institution’s history of transactions with a fine toothed comb,” says a banking insider, adding, “There was much that aroused their interest, but the last straw was when they chanced upon the acquisition of a residential property, which had belonged to a leading industrialist in a prime neighbourhood of Lutyens’ Delhi that is said to have been pledged to the bank, but subsequently had ended up as part of its head honcho’s private acquisitions,” said a banking source, adding, “That’s when they took quick action and demanded a change in leadership.” What’s more, this is not the only dodgy matter which is said to have aroused concern; the fact that the share prices of two other top business groups had declined drastically over the recent days, almost in tandem with that of the bank, is said to have confirmed what regulators believed. “They were linked to the bank through a web of transactions and their similar share price trajectory is therefore no coincidence,” said the source. As we were saying, is there a cloud hovering over the country’s banking elite currently?

Tweet Talk
I have $126 left over from a US trip. Keeping it as investment to buy a house.
-Tweeted by comedian Sorabh Pant, commenting on the record depreciation of the Indian Rupee

Meeting Their Idol

MS Dhoni with the Salujas.

It was a dream come true for the two cricket-crazy sons of actress Tara Sharma and ad-man Roopak Saluja, when they got to meet their real-life hero MS Dhoni, this week. “Our kids are cricket-obsessed so they were over the moon,” said an exuberant Sharma. “Roopak’s company was shooting a commercial with the legendary cricketer, directed by Dibakar Banerjee, so we popped onto the set at Film City,” she says, adding, “The kids had planned to ask all sorts of questions, but I think they got a bit tongue-tied when face-to-face with one of their sporting idols, so he sweetly asked them what they want to be etc,” she said. The video of the encounter, which Sharma had posted online, shows Dhoni bending low to be on eye level with the boys and attempting to engage with them and draw them out, with little success. “We also spoke about our parenting experiences,” says Sharma, who helms a parenting webzine and will be seen after a long hiatus in two new films: Rajat Kapoor’s Kadakh and Anusha Bose’s, Shame. “I find sports stars so inspirational for young kids and parents, and a metaphor for following dreams in any field, so I made a little video of it as I thought it would be nice for our viewers,” she signed off.
One thing for sure, the boy’s didn’t get their shyness from their mom.

First Published: Oct 05, 2018 01:18 IST