This weekend saw Suzanne Pillai, Parveen Dusanj Bedi, Madhu and Bhagyashree, join former bureaucrat, lawyer and women's rights activist Abha Singh, anchor Faye D'Souza and actress Aahana Kumra at a seminar on women's safety
This weekend saw Suzanne Pillai, Parveen Dusanj Bedi, Madhu and Bhagyashree, join former bureaucrat, lawyer and women's rights activist Abha Singh, anchor Faye D'Souza and actress Aahana Kumra at a seminar on women's safety. "The recently released statistics 'Crime in India – 2016' published by the National Crime Records Bureau, formed the centrepiece of the discussion," said Singh about the need for the discussion. "According to these figures, Mumbai is fast losing its status as a safe city for women."
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Faye D'Souza, Aahana Kumra, Abha Singh and Bhagyashree at the seminar. Pic/Shadab Khan
The seminar began with a 15-minute document prepared by the students of a media course in which girls and women responded to the question "Do you feel safe in Mumbai". "A majority of the respondents replied in the negative," informed Singh, who launched her book on women's rights, Stree Dasha Aur Disha, co-authored with journalist Naseem Ansari, on the occasion.
"The law is accessed by the urban population that knows English. We wrote the book in Hindi and in simple language to reach a wider audience. It is an attempt to translate all relevant laws, which women in rural India can use to fight against injustice and empower themselves. Different chapters of the book are devoted to enlightening women on their legal rights. The book documents individual cases of victims of 'triple talaq' and other social evils affecting women. It also contains legal guidance on topics such as filing a police FIR, domestic violence complaint and protection from sexual harassment at the workplace," said Singh. But all of it is not theoretical. "We have also included sections that throw light on current cases that have rocked India, like the Sunanda Pushkar and Sheena Bora murders," she said.
Spreading love and cheer
Ace fashion designer Manish Arora, in collaboration with St+art India Foundation, put some zing in the pristine white Jindal Mansion, a city landmark, with an art installation titled 'All We Need is Love' last Thursday evening. To unveil the creative endeavour, a panel discussion featuring art patron Sangita Jindal, Manish Arora, designer Arjun Bahl and Abhay Sardesai, editor of Art India Magazine, took place, where the inspiration behind the installation and the collaboration between St+art India Foundation, the JSW Group and Arora was discussed.
The installation 'All we need is love' at Jindal Mansion
Created with close to 2,400 pieces of cloth, either hand-embroidered or printed, it took 6 months of ideating, 35 artisans and 3 months to complete the final installation. "It aims to evoke emotions of love and encourage passers-by to stop and think of all the beauty in the world. After the year that we have seen, messages of peace and love encourage people to be hopeful for times to come. It's all about colour, joy and celebration with added glow-in-the-dark elements," said a spokesperson.
Sangita Jindal, Manish Arora and Arjun Bahl
The evening began with guests releasing red and pink balloons into the sky with a lot of cheer while sipping flutes of pink champagne. The likes of Anaita and Homi Adajania, Gaurav Bhatia, Gauri Devidayal, Vikram Raizada, Ashiesh Shah, Toshin Shetty, Azmina and Tasneem Zakaria Mehta were seen on the occasion. "I am happy that Manish has used the canvas of our iconic Jindal Mansion to spread love and joy this festive season," said a delighted Jindal.
Art, music and food
Many of Mumbai's beautiful people hotfooted it down to Pune this weekend, to attend the navjote ceremony of Zayan Poonawalla, son of artist Michelle and businessman Yohan Poonawalla, at the grand Poonawalla mansion in Koregaon Park. The likes of Gaurav Bhatia, Maheka Mirpuri, Lyla Marker and Jackie Shroff were spotted at the glamorous do.
Yohan Poonawalla with Maheka Mirpuri, Lyla Marker and others;
With a trio of female musicians, a feast of Parsi delicacies, and many of the hostess's artistic creations on display, guests were overheard the next day expressing fulsome praise for the warmth and hospitality of the evening. Incidentally, Michelle has recently illustrated ' The Adventures of Harvey Mouse' written by her nine-year-old daughter Tania.
Zayan Poonawalla
Wedding wows
As the city gears up for its wedding season, the grapevine is abuzz with talk of the marriage between two of the city's oldest business clans, which will be celebrated with much pomp and ceremony between Mumbai and a destination site.
What has attracted notice apart from the fact that both young people are well-heeled, ideally suited and attractive, is that in a departure from common practice, the weeklong celebrations are being hosted by one side alone. "Normally, it is a 50:50 share between the boy's side and the girl's in all events, but this time it appears that the girl's side is taking care of the entire expense," says an insider. "Even though the boy's side is equally well-heeled and renowned."
Will this set a new precedent given that the families involved are influential in the business communities of Mumbai? "Most definitely yes," says the source. "This will be cited as an example for many future occasions too."
JLF in Mumbai
Last week saw a delicious sliver of the Jaipur Literature festival unspool in Mumbai, when the three personalities behind one of the world's biggest literary events, Namita Gokhale, William Dalrymple and Sanjoy K Roy, descended in Mumbai and held fort at The Royal Opera House. The evening, which saw a gathering of some of the city's most avid culture vultures in the audience, included a reading from White Mughals by its author Dalrymple, along with music by vocalist Vidya Shah and her troupe.
Namita Gokhale, Sanjoy K Roy and William Dalrymple
Dalrymple, who sat cross-legged and completely at ease like a modern-day nawab on a takht, read from the love story on the 18th-century British resident to the Hyderabadi court, James Achilles Kirkpatrick, and the noblewoman Khair-un-Nissa, while Shah evoked the lilting music from the courts of the age, with musical renditions of the poetry of Mah Laqa Chanda. Afterwards, Shobhaa and Dilip De, Dolly Thakore, Punam Chadha Joseph, Padmini Mirchandani, Ranjit Ahuja and Amitabh Nanda congregated in the courtyard, where Gokhale, Dalrymple and Roy were seen chatting about the upcoming literature event in Jaipur which attracts many from Mumbai.
Dolly Thakore
Shobhaa and Dilip De
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