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You scratch his back

Updated on: 09 June,2015 06:01 AM IST  | 
Malavika Sangghvi |

“Star Movies sent me a special-edition Wolverine claw, to celebrate the song “Mutant Macha” that Farhan Akhtar, Skrat and I did together for their X-Men movie premiere,” said rocker-activist and film music composer Vishal Dadlani, about this lethal picture of him looking particularly ferocious recently

You scratch his back

“Star Movies sent me a special-edition Wolverine claw, to celebrate the song “Mutant Macha” that Farhan Akhtar, Skrat and I did together for their X-Men movie premiere,” said rocker-activist and film music composer Vishal Dadlani, about this lethal picture of him looking particularly ferocious recently.


‘You scratch my back,’ he posted with it, alluding to what was definitely not a teddy bear tickle. Dadlani, who is a very vocal political commentator on social networks, along with being an ardent supporter of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, has been on the receiving end of much troll malignancy.


Vishal Dadlani
Vishal Dadlani


Perhaps this is the picture and message that should front his page on the micro-blogging site, we wondered. “Actually, it’s all been pretty friendly, of late. But even at its worst, the trolls have always been pretty much irrelevant to my life. They’re just little people tossing pebbles from behind a screen of anonymity. Wouldn’t dull my shiny new blades on them,” said the feisty and outspoken rockstar.

Rebirth, the Biyani way
Those who were present, cannot stop talking about the event. When billionaire and founder CEO of the Future Group, Kishore Biyani, gathered the entire force of his vast businesses, he requested them to write their thoughts about how they saw the company on slips of paper, and then symbolically and dramatically destroyed all the slips in a poetic gesture of destruction before rebirth.

Kishore Biyani Sunil Mittal
Kishore Biyani and Sunil Mittal

“It was something that elicited much thought and emotion,” said a source. “Mythological and poetic at the same time, a great way to announce the resurgence of his company. The kind of thing that Devdutt Pattanaik (who worked with Biyani) would have envisaged.”

And after that, the rebirth: this week, corporate leaders have been requested to save the date later in the month when the Future Group announces a “number of new initiatives, partnerships, brands and product launches.” Incidentally, the event, to be held at the Hyatt, is designed around the theme ‘Reborn’ and will see Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Dr Ram Charan and Sunil Bharti Mittal on stage too.

Celebrating Sarkar
This week, friends and family of Kolkata-based media tycoon and all-round savant, Aveek Sarkar, are organising a big birthday celebration for the legendary publisher’s big seven O! Sarkar, who is celebrated as much for his quirks as he is for his successes, and who has an eclectic group of friends from around the world, is something of an urban legend.

Aveek Sarkar
Aveek Sarkar

“There will be many witty speeches, much fond recounting of each other’s favourite ‘Aveek’ stories, and, of course, spectacular food and wine,” said a source, adding, “And then, we will all settle down for some serious gossip, exactly what Aveek Babu would like.”

A candle for Malti
It was with a heavy heart that we heard about the passing of Malti ‘Malu’ Divecha on Saturday afternoon. Readers might recall that we had written about her on Wednesday, only a few days before she died.

Malti Divecha (centre) with young friends
Malti Divecha (centre) with young friends

We had known she was gravely ill, but we had been careful to use the word ‘recovering’ while describing the ailing grande dame, who had once spoken 7 languages, travelled the world, and been celebrated as one of Sobo’s most gracious hostesses. We had hoped that the glamorous lady, now lying in bed, would see the tribute and her glamorous portrait; after all, life is to be celebrated and often memories are all we have.

So you can imagine how touched we were when her son Arjun Divecha, who in a moving tribute described his mother as ‘A force to be reckoned with’, said, “She was very pleased with the piece in mid day had it by her bedside and showed it to all who came to visit. Thank you for making her proud in her last few days.” We all have to go some day. But to know that our lives were celebrated is the best way.

Jamini Roy and Mark Zuckerberg
This week will witness the opening of a stunning collection of Jamini Roy’s at the prestigious Museo delle Culture, Lugano, Switzerland.

The invitation to the Jamini Roy show at Lugano
The invitation to the Jamini Roy show at Lugano

The show, which is from June 12 to August 23, is from the private collection of Dr Nirmalya Kumar, professor of marketing at the London Business School and a member of the Group Executive Council Tata Sons, who is said to be the custodian of one of the largest known private collection of paintings by Roy, who is regarded as the father of Indian modern art.

Dr Nirmalya Kumar Mark Zuckerberg. Pic/Getty Images
Dr Nirmalya Kumar and Mark Zuckerberg. Pic/Getty Images

What’s more, Kumar, an erudite authority on the artist, said the exhibition is the outcome of a Facebook friendship. One day, the academic, now living in India, received a friend request on the popular social networking site. As his rule was not to accept friend requests from strangers, he did some due diligence and discovered that it happened to be from Europe’s leading curators, Caterina Corni, who was interested in his Roy collection after reading about it in an Art journal.

“She came, she saw, and said this collection belongs in a museum and queried if I would allow her to find a museum, so that it could be seen by the larger audience it deserves,” he said about this serendipitous series of occurrences that has resulted in about 70 canvasses by the modern master are being moved from Dr Kumar’s apartment in London to Lugano for this span of the show.

“My greatest hope is that this show will introduce non-Indians to modern Indian Art and Jamini Roy, and contribute to the understanding that the history of civilisation runs in parallel across many different places,” said Kumar. Our take: Take a bow, Mark Zuckerberg!

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