He's regarded as one of the most dynamic personalities of Indian hospitality, a man who single-handedly created a conglomerate from a single entity and put India's hotel industry on the world map
Ajit Kerkar who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award
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He's regarded as one of the most dynamic personalities of Indian hospitality, a man who single-handedly created a conglomerate from a single entity and put India's hotel industry on the world map. And this week, the charismatic Ajit Kerkar, erstwhile MD and Chairman of the Taj Group of hotels, will be receiving what many believe is a long overdue and richly deserved Lifetime Achievement award, conferred by the Hotel Investment Conference South Asia (HICSA), which is currently taking place in Mumbai.
"The HICSA Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the hospitality industry," says an insider. And to be sure, Kerkar's contribution has been stellar. From overseeing massive expansions in the group, even as his hotels retained the warmth and charm that they were known for, was just one of his successes.
There are many ways to judge greatness in leaders. One of them is how they are with their own staff. Do they manage to retain the people they grew with, or is there a constant revolving door of disgruntled managers, secretaries, office boys? Kerkar was legendary for his warmth and human qualities, and his colleagues and staff doted on him, which is one of the things that made the group so successful. Staff is after all, your handshake with the customer, and it makes for excellent business if they are motivated.
It is a measure of this warmth that when we called to speak to Kerkar yesterday, the call was answered by his secretary Vanaja, who'd been with him for almost 30 years! Or that another of his brilliant colleagues, the restaurateur Camellia Panjabi, will be hosting a party in honour of ABK, inviting his colleagues during his dazzling innings. The venue? A charming gymkhana, not a stone's throw away from the five-star.
The genius of Souza
Who isn't familiar with the genius that was F N Souza? The brilliant artist, one of the founders of the Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay, is an enduring legend. Now word comes in, that the equally brilliant gallerist Julian Hartnoll (or 'fine art monger' as he likes to refer to himself), will throw light on the legend at the Pundole Art gallery this weekend.
FN Souza and Julian Hartnoll
"From the late 1980s to the present day, Mr. Hartnoll has sold many of the most important works of art painted by FN Souza through his gallery in London. Perhaps of greater importance was not the business relationship, but the friendship shared by the two gentlemen. Hartnoll's talk, peppered with several personal anecdotes and stories delivered in his quietly eccentric manner, will recount a time when dealing in Indian art was more about the love of the art itself" says the lovely Mallika Advani, auctioneer for the gallery.
"Any admirer of the works of FN Souza should take this opportunity to hear in good humour, the personal experiences of the artist towards the end of his career, and to view 18 diverse works from the personal collection of Mr. Julian Hartnoll." This talk follows Hartnoll's wonderful talk in Delhi last week titled 'Memories of Souza'.
Of mothers and sons
News comes in that Rudhra Kapur, the talented scion of the Burlington's brand at a five-star, which has been hugely popular with Europeans since the Fifties, has recently shot his latest catalogue.
Simi and Zeek Chandoke
Overseen personally by him, the artistic Kapur is known to bring any easy style to these ventures, using striking real life people to showcase his creations. And this year, one of the duos he's had model for him, is the mother-son combo of TV anchor Simi Chandoke and her handsome long-tressed 18-year-old son Zeek.
"There are two lines, one is the spa resort line and the other a formal line," says Simi about the shoot. "Some of the pictures were taken at Rudhra's apartment at Cumballa Hill which is full of the beautiful objects his mother had collected." Interestingly, Simi says it was one of those rare shoots which could feature both mother and son. "I guess because we're both so into fitness," she says. Zeek who she says is instrumental in getting her to the gym daily, is currently preparing for his undergrad studies in America. Nice!
Connecting the dots
Designer Krsna Mehta sees the hidden shapes and patterns within things, and knows how to connect the dots. Five years ago, when the online space was an amorphous entity Mehta had fearlessly hitched his wagon to its star, and decided to exclusively retail his design label India Circus here. On the occasion of his online store completing five years, it has announced its first brick and mortar store at Kala Ghoda.
"This will be a space to showcase creative ideas, get customised designs and also make the shopping experience even more exclusive," said Mehta, adding, "It will allow multi-touch points and a more personal customer connect."
See what we mean about connecting the dots?
Ash in the air
We've missed a couple of Ash Chandler gigs recently, which is a pity, because if there's anything we love, it's live music, and if there's anything we love more - it's stand up routines, and Chandler performs both with elan.
Ash Chandler with his band
This weekend, Chandler and his band are slated to play at a Parel five-star and we are hoping to be there. His repertoire includes a Jazz swing arrangement of Roadhouse Blues and Avici's Wake me Up; a reggae version of Justin Beiber's Love Yourself; a cha cha cha version of Guns and Roses, Sweet Child of mine, and a Bossanova version of Sweet Home Alabama.
"We're also doing redux Jazz versions of old Hindi songs from Pyaasa and others," he said when we spoke yesterday. Now if he'd throw in some of his drop dead impersonations of yesteryear stars (Brando, Dilip Kumar, etc) it would be a ten!
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