Archive for the ‘Individuals’ Category

24
Jul

Loyalty is a meter of Mehta

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals, Music

IT IS not, at first sight, a marriage made in heaven. The conductor is a Parsee Indian, brought up in Bombay, trained in Vienna and living in Los Angeles.

The orchestra is a band of refugees who maintain a pocket of the ultimate in Western culture in the middle of in a war zone. And yet Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra have a relationship that is stronger than many a marriage. He first performed with the orchestra in 1961, when another conductor cancelled at short notice. He was appointed its music adviser in 1969, music director in 1977, and in 1981 Mehta accepted the title of music director for life.

It is a unique position in a business where contracts rarely run for more than five years.

In the world of classical music, successful conductors are the prima donnas of the orchestral world, able to name their price and their terms.

And Mehta is a leading light of this elite cohort: he is “honorary conductor” of a host of mighty orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera. He conducted the first Three Tenors concerts with Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo on the eve of the 1990 World Cup of soccer. He even has a character from the The Muppet Show, Zubin Beckmesser, named after him.

The boy from Bombay began his starry career on a high and went up from there. He cut his conducting teeth on the Liverpool Philharmonic, progressed to the Montreal Symphony and then the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the astonishingly young age of 24, and succeeded Leonard Bernstein 15 years later at the New York Philharmonic’s helm, where he was to stay until 1991. His talent and youthful charm was a refreshing change from the dour and god-like authority of conducting legends the likes of Furtwangler, Beecham and Karajan. He called orchestral musicians by their first names, he cracked jokes and made mistakes, and he reinvigorated orchestras and audiences with his turbo-charged performances.

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16
Jul

225th Birth Anniversary of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals

Parsis from all over the city gathered to celebrate the 225th birth anniversary of the first baronet

His initials are JJ. At 22, Jehangir Jejeebhoy is not just another law student. He has an ancestral connection with the Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, the Sir JJ flyover, the Sir JJ School of Arts, and Mahim Causeway. Yes, he is the great, great, great, great, great grandson of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, the first baronet.

On his forefather’s 225th birth anniversary, Jehangir was in awe. “It is not only a privilege, but I regard it as a duty to continue the philanthropy,” he says. He sounds focused and talks about how he aims to help senior citizens in Mumbai soon.

Anniversary prayers echoed at the HP Wadia Atash Behram, Dhobi Talao, on Tuesday as Zoroastrian high priests from Navsari, Surat, and Udwada gathered for the jashan ceremony. Jehangir’s father, Rustomjee, who handles the JJ trust and the JJ institute, spoke of how he could have been engaged in other lucrative professions but chose not to. “Social entrepreneurship is a trend that is picking up and I want to pass on the legacy to the generations to come,” he said. He goes on to quote his forefather, saying, “If you are not poor enough to receive charity, you are good enough to give it.”

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8
Jul

Ardeshir Cowasjee on Sam Bahadur

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals

SAM Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was his full name by which he was rarely called, as he was known familiarly and affectionately by his men and officers and friends as Sam Bahadur.

Manekshaw was no ordinary run-of-the-mill man. Born in Amritsar in 1914, he died in Wellington, Ootacamund, in the Nilgiri Hills of South India at the age of 94. Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw, MC, was the second Indian soldier to be so honoured, with justification, with the highest rank that can be bestowed upon a soldier, the other being Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa, the first Indian to command the Indian army, friend and contemporary of our Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the first Pakistani to command the Pakistan army. (However, unlike Ayub, both Cariappa and Manekshaw were honoured for their military skills and prowess.)

Sam Bahadur became India’s chief of army staff in 1969 and, as we in Pakistan must accept with heavy hearts, the highlight of his outstanding career was his resounding victory over the armed forces of Pakistan in 1971, when we lost East Pakistan to Bangladesh.

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7
Jul

Sam Manekshaw: Obituary in The Economist

   Posted by: Mehernaaz Sam Wadia   in Individuals

His most famous remark was not, strictly speaking, true. On the eve of the war with Pakistan in December 1971 that led to the creation of Bangladesh, India’s prime minister, Indira Gandhi, asked her army chief, Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, if he was ready for the fight. He replied with the gallantry, flirtatiousness and sheer cheek for which he was famous: “I am always ready, sweetie.” (He said he could not bring himself to call Mrs Gandhi “Madame”, because it reminded him of a bawdy-house.)

Yet General Manekshaw himself recounted a cabinet meeting in Mrs Gandhi’s office in April 1971. To forestall secession, the Pakistani government had already cracked down in what was then East Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of refugees had crossed the border into India. Mrs Gandhi wanted the army to invade Pakistan. General Manekshaw resisted. The monsoon, he pointed out, would soon start in East Pakistan, turning rivers into oceans. His armoured division and two infantry divisions were deployed elsewhere. To shift them would need the entire railway network, so the grain harvest could not be transported and would rot, bringing famine. And of his armoured division’s 189 tanks, only 11 were fit to fight.

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3
Jul

Kaoos Rustom Sethna: To Be with Nature

   Posted by: Mehernaaz Sam Wadia   in Individuals

K R Sethna who gave up a thriving career as a horse-race jockey in Poona and came to the Western Ghats just to be with Nature.

Everyone is talking about the disappearance of sparrows from our neighbourhood. Well, the sparrows are gone because people who love and care for them are gone or pushed into oblivion. Birds are very dignified creatures and, needless to say, very sensitive. They know that the likes of Salim Ali, Shivaram Karanth and Poornachandra Tejaswi have made an exit and that the remaining few naturalists are themselves ‘endangered’.

But we were fortunate to discover one such veteran nature-lover living quietly and unobtrusively in a remote corner of the Western Ghats. Meet K R Sethna (Kaoos Rustum Sethna) of Yelekudige estate which lies on the Aldur- Mudigere road. A Parsi octogenarian living near Aldur! What’s amiss? What drove him away from the glamour and glitter of Bombay and Poona? (Remember that Mumbai and Pune were not born yet.)

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2
Jul

Here’s my pistol, now come on shoot me

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals

As a young major in 1947, Eustace D’Souza first read about Major Sam Manekshaw when reading about the Burma campaign in World War II. Manekshaw was shot in the stomach when he and his company were holding the Sittang bridge. For that act of valour, he was given the Military Cross on the field of battle; his commanding British officer did not expect the flamboyant Parsi officer to survive. But survive Sam did, leading the Indian Army to an incredible military victory in the 1971 war.

Commissioned in the Indian Army in 1943, Major General D’Souza (retd), now 87, has fought four wars and had several interactions with Field Marshal Manekshaw. He spoke about the man who was an outstanding leader of men. A first person account of a great soldier who passed into the ages shortly after midnight June 27:

Till yesterday Sam Manekshaw was the oldest living field marshal in the world.

I first met Sam Manekshaw when I was facing the Chinese in Nathu La, commanding a brigade. It was in 1964-1965. The Chinese were across a little strip and my brigade held them when they first moved up with 2,000 troops, we held fast, we didn’t panic like in ‘62.

Sam came to visit us as he was very pleased, and then he came again to request me to stay on as brigade commander. I told him, ‘Sir I have a family too, I have been away from my family for four years — three in high altitude.’ He recommended me to the National Defence College and I went there.

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2
Jul

Barack Obama Praises Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in About, Individuals, News

While the Indian Government screwed up and bungled in handling the funeral of Field Marshal Manekshaw, Barack Obama, the Presidential candidate in the U.S. issued a statement acknowledging the legendary war hero’s passing away.

the Democratic Presidential candidate on Monday released a statement condoling Manekshaw’s death, describing him as “a legendary soldier, a patriot, and an inspiration to his fellow citizens.”

“Field Marshal Manekshaw provided an example of personal bravery, self-sacrifice, and steadfast devotion to duty that began before India’s independence, and will deservedly be remembered far into the future,” Obama said, offering “deep condolences to the people of India.”

It’s exactly such reasons why I think he should be elected president of the US.

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30
Jun

Kanga Laments Lack of Music Culture in Karachi

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals, Music

Mrs Kanga: musician with a message

As the World Music Day was marked around the globe on June 21, it was rather disappointing to note that a vibrant city such as Karachi failed to organise a decent event for its local audience to remind them about the impact of music on one’s everyday life and spiritual health. While some organisers hold the law and order situation in the city responsible for being unable to promote musical events – that are now attended by a handful of audience only – local musicians feel the changing trends in education (where music lessons are no more considered an important part of the curriculum) are equally responsible.

Mrs K. Kanga, one of the few well-known pianists in Karachi, when interviewed by The News said she feels the ratio of youngsters attending musical performances, when compared to the adult audience, has decreased over the years because of their lack of interest in music. “The schools are responsible for discouraging this trend,” she complains. “The increasing pressure of studies at home and at school makes it difficult for students to spend time on extra-curricular activities that are equally important for a child’s development.”

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30
Jun

The last of the Punjabi Parsis

   Posted by: Mehernaaz Sam Wadia   in Individuals, News

By Ajay Bharadwaj

With the passing away of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw on Friday, none of the Parsis who had made Amritsar their home are alive today

CHANDIGARH: Amritsar has been in deep mourning after the only tender link it had with the Parsi community was severed with the passing away of Field Marshal Sam HFJ Manekshaw.

It was more than a century ago that a handful of Parsis found a home in the heart of the Sikh religious capital. Since then, the relation between Amritsar and Parsis, though tenuous, had persisted even as the Parsis weathered all storms that the border city faced, be it during the Partition or the trouble-torn days of militancy.

But the demise of Sam Bahadur has left the holy city forlorn, for it has no Parsi link left to feel proud of. Last year, Tehmi Bogga Bhandari — the only recognised Parsi living in Amritsar — had passed away She was 102. The family of another Parsi, Keccki Kawasji, moved out of the holy city four years ago due to medical reasons, while Mini Bogga, who still lives in Amritsar, has lost her place in the Parsi community by marrying a Canadian.

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27
Jun

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Passes Away

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals, News

Iconic former Army Chief Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who died in the wee hours on Friday, was given the final salute in a state funeral and laid to rest with full military honours. ( Watch )

As a 17-gun salute boomed, the body of Manekshaw (94) was buried in a Parsi graveyard adjacent to the place where his wife lay buried after the last rites was performed as per Zoroastrian customs. His wife Silloo died seven years back.

The celebrated master strategist and the architect of India’s victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh was given a state funeral in an acknowledgement of his services to the country in his military career spanning four decades.

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26
Jun

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in Coma

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Current Affairs, Individuals

The Indian Army’s first and only surviving Field Marshal, Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw is fighting for his life at the Army Hospital (Research & Referral) in Wellington in Tamil Nadu.

CNN-IBN Defence Correspondent reports, “Sam has moved in to coma following complications with lung ailment. He is in the ICU of the Army’s Wellington hospital and a lung specialist has been flown in from Delhi to supervise the treatment. His daughters are with him.”

Ninety-four year old Manekshaw has been plagued by old age-related ailments for the past few years.

It was under his command that Indian forces routed the Pakistan Army in a 13-day blitzkrieg during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. After the war, which saw more than 90,000 Pakistani troops surrendering on December 16, 1971 in Dhaka, Manekshaw was conferred the honorary rank of Field Marshal.

Fondly known as Sam Bahadur, Manekshaw retired as India’s eighth army chief on January 15, 1973, after four decades of military service.

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25
Jun

Ronnie Screwvala: Bollywood to Hollywood

   Posted by: Shirin Kumaana-Wadia   in Film, Individuals

Screwvala lives with his second wife, Zarina, and his lookalike labrador, Sprite, in an upscale apartment block in Mumbai. They are currently having another apartment renovated that will look out over the Arabian Sea. It has mogul written all over it. Zarina is easily a match for Screwvala. She is a successful television executive and helped co-found UTV. They met at work but she winces when I suggest it was an “office romance”. “I guess,” she says. Nor is she happy to have her picture taken with Ronnie. “We’d never do a Hello!” she says. She will talk about Sprite. “I had him trained but it didn’t seem to work: it seemed like I was wasting all this money. But suddenly he seems to listen,” says Zarina. I assume we are still talking about the dog.

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9
Jun

Villoo Patell Bags Top French Award

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals

Villoo Morawala Patell, founder-chairperson of India’s leading life sciences firm Avesthagen Ltd, was on April 23 honoured with a top civilian award by the French government for her entrepreneurship and significant contribution in the scientific field.

The Officier de L’Ordre National du Merite (Officer of the National Order of Merit) award was presented to Patell by French Ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont at a felicitation ceremony here. The award founded by then French President Charles de Gaulle in 1963, is an Order of Chivalry. It was conferred on Patell by President Nicholas Sarkozy in recognition of her achievments in life schiences and business. According to the citation, the award acknowledges Patell as a prominent figure in the scientific field and a
great entrepreneur, who founded Avesthagen in India in 1988. “This award also is a tribute to your cooperation with French scientists, your fruitful partnership with major French industrial firms and your affection to our country,” the citation said in honour of Patell.

The 52-year-old Patell did her doctorate from University Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, in France after her post-graduation from Bombay University and graduation from Osmania University in Hyderabad.

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26
May

A Tribute to Pandit Firoz Dastur

   Posted by: Shirin Kumaana-Wadia   in Individuals, Music

As a tribute to Pandit Firoz Dastur, artistes Shrikant Deshpande, Girish Sanzgiri and Srinivas Joshi are organising a concert

Having passed away on May 9, Pandit Firoz Dastur, the doyen of the Kirana Gharana and a disciple of Sawai Gandharv, leaves behind a legacy that is hard to equal. Having commanded a singing career of six decades, Dastur’s music touched many souls and moved several hearts.

As gratitude for his teaching and a celebration of his luminosity, Shrikant Deshpande, one of Dastur’s disciples along with disciple Girish Sanzgiri and Srinivas Joshi, son of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, will be organising a tribute to Pandit Firoz Dastur on Saturday, May 17 at Pudumjee Hall, Maratha Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture, Tilak Road between 6pm and 8pm. Organised by Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, which also organises the Sawai Gandharv Sangeet Mahotsav, the event being open to the public, will see 15-minute performances by each of the artistes followed by an eulogy to Dastur.

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25
May

An interview with Jimmy Engineer

   Posted by: Mehernaaz Sam Wadia   in Art, Individuals, Interview

JIMMY ENGINEER’S quiet, unassuming manner belies the mammoth social work he has undertaken and the wealth of thought-provoking artwork he has painstakingly created.

The Pakistani artist and humanitarian is in Dubai for an exhibition of sixty-five limited edition prints of his paintings, which will be showcased at Avari Hotel, Dubai, from May 22 to 24.

He was born on August 13, 1954 in Pakistan to a Parsi family and turned to professional art in 1976. He paints on a variety of themes including architecture, landscapes, philosophy; what won him acclaim nationally as well as internationally was his paintings on the 1947 partition that led to the creation of Pakistan.

Jimmy is a peaceful crusader for the oppressed, disabled, impoverished and unfortunate sections of society and has adopted a novel way of creating awareness about causes close to his heart - walking. His walks have taken him over the length and breadth of Pakistan in pursuit of diverse objectives in the context of promotion of human rights and human dignity and enhancement of the quality of life.

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25
May

Pioneer woman-journalist Roshan Peiris departs

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals

Roshan’s typewriter ticks no more

Hers was a familiar ‘byline’ to many generations of readers. Veteran journalist Roshan Peiris, a stalwart of The Observer and in later years of The Sunday Times who passed away on Tuesday had many scoops and ‘exclusives’ with leading political figures and celebrities to her credit.

Fondly remembered by her friends and colleagues on the newspaper for her indefatigable enthusiasm and dedication to her work, she was one of the old school who always met her deadlines. A warm and vibrant personality, Roshan was a ‘senior’ at The Sunday Times to whom many turned for her wide experience and wise counsel.

She worked for most of the 1990s at The Sunday Times until failing health saw her regretfully move away from her beloved typewriter. We say a sad ‘goodbye’ to a grand lady of journalism whom we were privileged to know. Published here is a tribute to Roshan by a friend and fellow Lake House colleague of yore Rajitha Weerakoon and one of Roshan’s articles from The Sunday Times archives, about one of the many VVIPs she knew intimately during her professional career.

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11
May

About Freddie Mercury Being a Parsi

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals, Music

By Vir Sanghvi in The Mint.

I know a lot of people are going to treat this as blasphemy so I better just come out and say this. I saw a DVD of a concert by Queen with Paul Rodgers on vocals and you know what? I didn’t really miss Freddie a whole lot. Of course, it wasn’t the same without the Mercury factor. The camp element was missing. So was the over-the-top nature of the classic Queen concert. As an Indian, I always felt a certain horrified fascination at watching a Parsi boy prance around on stage looking like a gay weightlifter in a Cusrow Baug gymnasium.

But apart from that, the concert was fine. Rodgers is one of rock’s great vocalists and while he can’t go quite as high as Freddie, he makes Queen sound like a rock band, rather than an opera queen’s little dalliance with rough trade.

It’s a funny thing about Queen, but I always felt that there were at least two bands struggling to get out from under Freddie’s leotard. My first exposure to the group came with the early hits, Seven Seas of Rhye and then, the song that broke them in the UK: Killer Queen. But, while both were full of Freddie-style whimsy (“She keeps the Moët et Chandon in a pretty cabinet/ let them eat cake, she says/ just like Marie Antoinette”), there were also harder-edged songs. Now I’m Here began like Arnold Layne, turned into full-fledged rock and even ended with a snatch of Chuck Berry’s Little Queenie.

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Time is a precious commodity for Zubin Karkaria, chief executive officer and managing director, India & South Asia, Kuoni Travel Group. Steering the Rs-1,800-crore travel company, the largest in the country, has its own advantages. He is a sought-after travel professional. There is no doubt about that. But the biggest disadvantage is that he can barely find time for himself or his family. Karkaria, however, is not complaining. “As you grow in your professional life, you have to be prepared for it,” he says.

Peers describe him as a go-getter. “He is very alert and conscious and constantly tries to raise the bar for himself and his team,” says an industry executive. This go-getter also loves taking up challenges. At the same time, he never hesitates to turn to God when the going gets tough. “I am a Parsi priest. So I know the importance of God in my life. I turn to him all the time,” says the father of two.

This spiritual side, in fact, helps Karkaria maintain a fine balance between his family and professional roles. It is something that has held him in good stead throughout even as he embarked on a career in travel and tourism some 19 years ago. “I graduated from HR College in Mumbai and began working with a friend, who had a travel company. My love for the travel business started then.”

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5
May

Tata, the headiest brew in the world

   Posted by: Mehernaaz Sam Wadia   in India, Individuals, Industry

An Indian Giant

Tea, cars, steel, IT… Tata, the headiest brew in the world

India’s extraordinary conglomerate has found unique solutions to many of its problems. But it’s still unclear what will happen when the boss retires

The favourite boast of executives of the Tata Group is that it accompanies the average Indian throughout the day. They wake to the alarm of its Titan clocks, drink its tea or coffee for breakfast, wear clothes bought from its Westside shopping centres, take a Tata car or bus to work on a computer set up by Tata Consultancy Services, lunch in a Tata hotel, arrange their evening appointments on a Tata mobile phone and use Tata power to light their homes.

These days, the influence of the Indian conglomerate is spreading beyond its home country. Back in 2000, it made the first major acquisition by an Indian group when it acquired the Tetley tea company; last year, that was trumped when it bought steelmaker Corus for £6.2bn, while in March it was confirmed as the purchaser of British icons Jaguar and Land-Rover from Ford. Next month, it will make its first foray into UK financial services when New Star launches an Indian investment fund that will be managed by Tata Asset Management.

That spending spree, together with less high profile acquisitions like chemicals company Brunner Mond, US business General Chemical Industrial Products and the truck-making business of South Korea’s Daewoo, means that India now represents just a quarter of the group’s interests, a smaller proportion than the UK; and it means that Tata can count itself among the world leaders in industries as various as tea, steel, consultancy services and soda ash, the key ingredient in washing soda.

Much of the credit for the transformation goes to the reclusive Ratan Tata, who has chaired the group since 1991. While he does not even get a walk-on part in Keepers of the Flame, the film that reverently charts the group’s 140-year history, when the history of his chairmanship is finally written, he will be credited as being at least as influential as group pioneers such as founder Jamsetji Tata or JRD Tata, Ratan’s predecessor who led the group for a marathon 51 years.

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5
May

Ratan Tata: The 2008 TIME 100

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals, Industry

By Simon Robinson

Since Ratan Tata first suggested building a car that could sell for 100,000 Indian rupees ($2,500) four years ago, rival automakers have sniggered. “If you think about the direction that safety and environmental standards are going in India, you can’t sell a car for that kind of price,” said Osamu Suzuki, head of the eponymous Japanese car company that is the Indian-market leader. But in January, Tata unveiled his baby car, a cute rear-engined bubble called Nano. The Nano will meet all of India’s automotive standards and sell for 100,000 rupees.

“A promise,” said Tata, “is a promise.”

If the idea behind the Nano is to put a car within affordable reach of millions more Indians, Tata’s other big auto play is focused on the few. In March, Tata Motors, an arm of the Tata Group—a sprawling conglomerate based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) that spans tea, steel, software, business services and hotels—bought the prestigious British automakers Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for $2.3 billion.

Analysts often cite Tata Group as the paragon of a company from a developing nation that is reshaping the globe. To ensure that the group stays at the forefront of that change, Tata, 70, a bachelor with no children, who told the Financial Times last year that he would like to retire after the successful launch of the Nano, will have to choose someone as savvy and visionary as he has been to lead the 140-year-old firm. That could prove even more difficult than creating a $2,500 car.

Original article here

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28
Apr

Jennifer Kotwal: Actress

   Posted by: Shirin Kumaana-Wadia   in Film, Individuals

Looking trendy-as-ever, Jennifer Kotwal of Just Mohabbat fame gets chatty while on a visit to the city

From several Hindi television serials like Just Mohabbat, acting in a brief role in Subhash Ghai’s Yadeein to working as a model for the past six years, Jennifer Kotwal retains her appeal and her piquant style.

She was spotted in the city on Thursday for the launch of a beauty cream. Kotwal, a Parsi actress from Mumbai, has even worked extensively in the Kannada film industry. A perfect blend of splendor with intellect, on asking about Jennifer’s experience as an actor and a model and the distinction between the two diverse professions she is into, she says, “For me, both the careers are of same importance. I try my best to perform well in both the fields. Whatever I do, I do it with confidence. But there is surely a considerable difference in the two patterns - acting and modelling.” Both of these are her hobbies and she works at upholding them.
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21
Apr

Jinnah and Ruttie — a wedding to remember

   Posted by: Mehernaaz Sam Wadia   in Individuals

Exactly 90 years ago today, the Quaid-i-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, married Ruttenbai Dinshaw Petit, a charming Parsi girl; Mr Jinnah was 42, while Ruttie, as she was known more commonly, was 18.

Despite her father’s strong opposition, Ruttie married her beloved ‘J’ — as she called the Quaid — and converted to Islam in 1918.

Unfortunately, the marriage was not a happy one, given that within 10 years the couple separated.

The final blow came when Ruttie died after protracted illness. According to Hector Bolitho, author of Jinnah — Creator of Pakistan, her funeral was one of the rare moments that Mr Jinnah abandoned his defences: he bowed his head and sobbed. The couple had one daughter, called Dina, who now lives in India.

Original article here.

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Vadodara, April 18 One of the three men was a Barodian; almost 80 years after it was first published, his son will release a new edition of the book today

Just in their twenties and living off a shoestring budget, three young Parsis, one from Baroda, ventured on the first ever trip around the world on bicycles on October 15, 1923. The trio covered 44,000 miles in three years and three months across 27 countries and four continents. On their return, Adi Hakim from Vadodara, Jal Bapasola from Mumbai and Rustom Bhumgara from Pune, who later became a freedom fighter, wrote a book of their memoirs from the epic journey, of which but a few copies still exist. The original book includes a foreword by Jawarharlal Nehru and comments from leaders around the world like Benito Mussolini and Calvin Coolidge.”

Now, after five years of labour and commitment, Hakim’s son Daryous will release a new edition of the book in Vadodara on Saturday, almost 80 years after it was first published.

Says Daryous, who is fondly called Dara: “The original line-up of cyclists was six, but only three completed the tour, with three others returning to India for various reasons. In their book, the trio believed they wanted to take India to the world, even as they were caught up in the fervour of the freedom movement.” He says the three were left with not much money and did odd jobs while travelling, for meeting their expenses for food, clothing and shelter. They decided on the trip after meeting at the Mumbai Weightlifting Club, he says.

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18
Apr

Around the World in 53 months

   Posted by: Shirin Kumaana-Wadia   in Heritage, History, India, Individuals

Recently we reported about the launching of the book that chronicles the bicycle trip around the world by Parsi cyclists. Below is an article by Ervad Marzban Hathiram, a good friend of the Parsi Khabar, which appeared in the TOI in 2002.

Around the World in 53 months

by Ervad Marzban Hathiram


TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2002 11:14:10 PM ]


MUMBAI: The three men knelt before Pope Pius XI, thanking God for their luck so far and seeking the pontiff ’s blessings for their onward journey. The date was October 15, 1924. Dressed in khakis, Gustad Hathiram, Keki Pochkhanawala and Adi Hakim were in the midst of an adventure that had commenced exactly a year ago when six young men set out from the dusty streets of Gowalia Tank in Mumbai on an unbelievable expedition—one which involved circumnavigating the globe on bicycle.

After weaving an intricate web of lies to avoid their parents’ ire, holding secret conclaves and making brave attempts to gather money, these three, along with their friends Jal Bapasola, Rustam Bhumgara and Nariman Kapadia had set off with a few clothes, a second-hand compass and crude copies of the map of the world. They chose a route that ensured that they would pass through terribly inhospitable terrains, for their objective was to show the world that, although the British ruled them, Indians were capable of much.

From Mumbai the cyclists headed to Delhi, passing through central India. After meeting the Viceroy, Lord Reading, they cycled through the Punjab and on to Baluchistan, crossing the Duki pass at 11,000 ft. They ploughed through three feet of snow and battled temperatures of minus 13 degrees C before finally reaching Varechhah—the last outpost of colonial India on January 20, 1924. From there, the youngsters sent their first postcards to their parents, revealing the details of their journey (which they had somehow managed to keep secret).

Crossing into their ancient motherland, Iran, the young Parsis reached Tehran, where they met Reza Shah Pahlavi. There, Nariman chose to return back to India and his fiance, while the rest proceeded to Baghdad. Despite dire warnings, they set a new record—crossing the Mesopotamian desert from Baghdad to Aleppo in 23 days. During these 956 kilometers they struggled through shifting sands, temperatures that crossed 55 degrees C and sand-fly-fever- induced delirium, and it was only thanks to a group of Bedouins that they escaped certain death.

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18
Apr

With Cyclists Around The World: Book Review

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in History, Individuals, Sports

With Cyclists Around The World (Roli, Rs 350)

by Adi B. Hakim, Rustom B. Bhumgara and Jal P. Bapasola

It is the fascinating memoir of three young Parsi men of a group of six from the Bombay Weightlifting Club, who set a precedence in globe-trotting by going around the world in bicycles. Starting in October 1923, they journeyed for over four years, going from the Middle East to south Europe, across the British Isles to America, then covering Japan and China to come “rolling home” through Bengal, Madras and Ceylon. While the authors revel in the “gay amusements” of Paris, they have nothing but scorn for the filthy Italian peasants with dirty neckties, and are repulsed by the Japanese meal of live mice dipped in honey. However, they find the biggest surprise of the trip right in their own country, in Calcutta, when only a handful of people turn up to welcome the cyclists, who had become quite famous elsewhere in the world by then. To read the book is to travel not only all over the globe but also to another time preserved in the memory of the adventurers.

Original Review here.

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9
Apr

An Accidental Millionaire: Tata

   Posted by: Shirin Kumaana-Wadia   in Individuals, Industry

The words used most often to describe Ratan Tata are shy and loner. The 71-year-old chairperson of the Tata Group shuns the media spotlight.

Quiet and unassuming, the Indian business baron drives himself to work in an unremarkable Tata sedan. His beachfront bachelor pad is found in the hippest tip of south Mumbai, but Ratan has only CDs, books and his dogs for company. He does not drink or smoke. His vices revolve around speed: driving fast cars, flying jets and at weekends racing his speed boat across Mumbai’s harbour.

Yet last week Ratan Tata found himself making headlines — and characteristically ducked any interviews. The reason for the attention was that the Tata Group found itself cast as reverse colonialists: an Indian company taking over two of the most distinctive British marques in car-making — Jaguar and Land Rover — for a little more than £1-billion.

A symbol of the shift in power from West to East, Tata is now the ultimate boss of 16 000 British workers, who were until this deal employees of United States giant Ford.

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9
Apr

Remembering Navroz Mody

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Individuals

New Jersey in the 80’s was undergoing a wave of attacks on Indians. These attacks were perpetrated by a group of locals who saw the new “immigrants” as unwanted nuisances in their neighborhoods. They called themselves Dotbusters and stalked the neighborhoods of Jersey City, at that time one of the more dangerous cities of the US.

With this background I would like to point you all to a fantastic piece written by a good friend of Parsi Khabar. Filmiholic is a famous critic of Indian movies and blogs about them on her blog www.filmiholic.com

Her recent post however has nothing to do with films…

…I wanted to post this story here, in the hope that more people will learn about Navroze Mody’s life, and to counterbalance all that’s been written about his violent death…

As Filmiholic put forth in an email to us

….it’s about a young Parsi man who was killed in NJ 20 years ago and to whom I had an unusual connection…..

Continue reading the entire article here. If you like what you read, please let Filmiholic know.

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6
Apr

Bhicoo Manekshaw:Recipe of youth

   Posted by: arzan sam wadia   in Food and Drink, Individuals

Bhicoo Manekshaw, elegant with her short, elegantly set silver hair, finger nails neatly manicured is 85 years and proud to be so. One of the best-known names in the world of gastronomical delights, she arrives before 11 every morning at her son-in-lawrestaurant Basil and Thyme at the Santushti complex. She oversees the menu for the day and makes the soups, sauces and desserts for the day.

“It’s food `85.cooking that keeps me going,” she says. She has one of the largest collections of cook books and loves to read them as much as she enjoys cooking gourmet meals. “I don’t fiddle around with classics, be it roast beef or fish meuniere but otherwise experiment happily with my cooking.”

Coming from a traditional Parsi background, Bhicoo recalls that it was the excellent Parsi and continental food served at her parents’ home that enthused her about cooking. The cook was a Goan who had specialised in both cuisines. In school, Bhicoo was not interested in neither science nor French. She could not imagine how these subjects would help her in life. She opted for domestic science because it would help her to become a good housewife and she excelled in continental cuisine.

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1
Apr

Cyrus Todiwala: Master Chef in conversation

   Posted by: Mehernaaz Sam Wadia   in Food and Drink, Individuals

To understand the implications of these changes, I sit down to discuss the situation over a very hot lamb vindaloo with Cyrus Todiwala, late one afternoon at Cafe Spice Namaste, his Indian restaurant in east London.

I chose to meet Todiwala for several reasons. At 51, he is slightly older than his London contemporaries and widely respected, not just by the capital’s other chefs but also by the large hospitality companies, whose chefs attend his masterclass events, which are also run for the public.

He has given a great deal back to the UK, his home of 17 years, principally via training organisations such as Springboard UK and Investors in People, for which he was awarded an MBE in 2000.

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