The contrast cannot be more stark. While Milind Deora is a hardcore politician like his late father, Murli Deora, his brother Mukul is a cool businessman who shuns publicity like the plague.
Milind was until recently in the Congress and, in a surprise move, he switched over to the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. His problem was that for 10 years he was politically marginalised since the Congress was out of office. His fear was that another five years of hibernation would have put paid to his political career. Hence he jumped on to Shinde's bandwagon and was promptly rewarded with a seat in the Rajya Sabha.
Mukul, on the other hand, keeps a low profile and focuses on his finance and other business. His wife Nitasha is a charming person; well informed and very articulate. The other day the made-for-each-other couple came to the delightful party held on Valentine's Day on the rooftop of the FPJ House, which is increasingly becoming a go-to place for the who's who of Mumbai. Beautiful sunsets, the Arabian sea and the cool breeze all add to the charm of parties held here.
Mumbai Mural Marvel
Students of JJ School of Art paint Gateway of India on wall under the Mumbai Beautification Project at P D'mello Road | Vijay Gohil FPJ
A Local Neta Is Rewarded For His Patience
Chandrakant Handore had thought that his political career had ended the day his own party MLAs ditched him and defeated him in the legislative council elections. But he never made much noise about it. He took his defeat with a large dollop of stoicism. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul noticed that and made up their mind to get him elected to the Rajya Sabha.
A few days ago, he received a call from the AICC office in Delhi giving him the good news. He just couldnt believe his ears that he was going to become an MP! A wellgrounded Dalit leader living in the slums of Lokhande Marge in Chembur, Handore started his career as a corporator, then went on to become a mayor, MLA and cabinet minister. He never let success get to his head. He remained rooted among his voters. Most of the time he would discuss only developmental issues with passion. The coming six years he can be expected to do a lot of development with the help of his MP fund.
Breaking Down Stereotypes
Reels are the in thing these days. Just about anyone is making them and trying to make them viral. Middle-aged men and women are shaking their legs and showing off their moves to the world. YouTube has caught the fancy of thousands of women who are showing off their culinary skills. You come across hundreds of videos telling you how to make poha, batata wadas, sabudana wadas, Dal bhati churma, cholar dal, etc. This is a good thing because you find a sardarni from Ludhiana trying her hand at steaming idlis while a Maharashtrian woman is making chhole bhature and a Tamilian is feeding dahi bhalla to her husband.
Young things are teaching bhangra steps to a non-Punju audience, while a girl from Bengaluru is enrolling people from Cuttack and Kashmir in her Bharatnatyam online class. This is nothing short of a revolution sweeping Mumbai and other parts of the country, which will result in breaking down stereotypes.
Tailpiece
The Second Home Cafe on Marve Road, Malad (West) has a nice way of boosting business. It says the more food you eat, the more hungry you get!
(Compiled by S Balakrishnan)
