Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Captain's New Innings....

The pic is with the very charming and very handsome Sri Lankan cricket captain, Kumar Sangakkara ,his wife ( would you believe she has recently delivered twins?) and my daughter Arundhati. We ran into them in the lobby of the Hilton in Colombo, where we had gorged on one of the best chinese meals ever (at the stylish 'WOK' ) . Look out for my Sri Lankan diary. It is a little overdue. But I intend writing it over the weekend. There's just so much on my overladen plate right now.... I am reeling.
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I don't know how Amitabh Bachchan does it - and does it so well, at that! Met him last night at the Bastille Day celebrations hosted by Francois Pujolas, the French Consul General. Amitabh had just delivered a great speech. His fans were mobbing him even as he gamely signed autographs and posed for pictures. He travels around the world at a manic pace, is never ever late by even 5 minutes, makes thoughtful speeches without teleprompters, disarms hosts with his presence and panache, and does all this while demonstrating an enviable level of professionalism that is worth emulating in every field. His wife Jaya shared a domestic secret - "Our cue to leave is for me to get up and walk briskly towards the exit once the formalities are over - that's when he looks worried and says to those crowding him, "Oh... I'd better rush.... or else my wife will get really, really angry!" Ha ha! I like, I like ! Must steal!
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This appeared in 'The Week'....


Shaadi ka Mahina….. Mahi Ve!!


Dhoni did it! And did it in true super celeb style – quickly and stealthily. India’s star sportsman tied the knot with his 21- year- old love interest late last Sunday night, somewhere in the distant hills of Dehradun. Perfect! Only a few khaas mehman attended the traditional ceremony away from the prying eyes of the watching world. Since we are a long way off from the modus operandi followed by international paparazzi ( not because we are coy or morally upright – we merely don’t have the big bucks for it!), we had to make do with sketchy reports.It will take us years to catch up with asli celeb watching which involves hiring choppers and hovering over wedding venues taking grab shots of the nuptials that are later sold for a bomb! We don’t have motorcycle stalkers from the media either ( they drove Princess Diana to her death, remember?), or you can be sure some adventurous types would have reached the foothills of the Himalayas and ruined Mahi’s maha moment. A three layer security cordon made sure the wedding remained out of bounds and tantalizingly private. Just the way it should be, but rarely remains, when it involves mega celebrities. News filtering through indicated the two families had matched the kundalis of the two love birds before finalizing the auspicious date for the shaadi. Great! They had celestial approval, as well.Loverboy Mahi turned out to be quite a chhupa rustom, and I am sure he has left a lot of broken hearted female fans in tears, now that he is shaadi shuda. As for young Sakshi, she is perhaps one of the most envied girls on planet earth at this point.
Kuch kuch hota hai when sports’ icons get hitched. Even though comparisons are odious, how can we forget the recent Sania –Shoaib tamasha that turned into such an ugly jamboree? Perhaps Dhoni had just that disaster in mind when he decided to take to the hills and just do it! From all accounts, it was a smart move taken by a smart man . Mahi cleverly pre-empted controversies by presenting a fait accompli to the world.Not for nothing is he known as Captain Cool.

While all these festivities were being played out at a luxury spa in Dehra Dun, another kind of drama and hungama was taking place in Mumbai. Just ten days after the tragic suicide of Viveka Babajee, the 37- year- old model who hanged herself, her grief stricken family engaged the services of Dale Bhagwagar, an on- the -ball publicist ( same chap who used to issue press releases by the micro second when he was handling Shilpa Shetty’s public relations), to propagate the news of Viveka’s actual relationship with Gautam Vora,the boy friend who is being interrogated by the cops. According to the family, these two were contemplating marriage and had also matched kundalis .Obviously, something went horribly wrong at some point. So wrong that the Vora boy refused to acknowledge he had enjoyed anything but a very, very casual friendship with the dead model.Well, the intimate photographs released by her family tell an entirely different story. So much for kundali- matching. The point is , some marriages happen. Some don’t. But our society invariably gets excessively excited about the subject. When I wrote about the sad Viveka episode on my blog, the reactions were intense and personal. A lot of men sympathized with Vora’s situation, and went so far as to compare men with good wine ( they get better with age), and women with milk ( which curdles with age ). What followed was a pretty heated ‘comments war’, either supporting or damning the guy who to all appearances ditched a trusting girlfriend just before the saat pheras could be taken. Perhaps no outsider can ever gauge what goes on in the heads and hearts of couples in committed relationships. But even a hard boiled sceptic would agree when it gets to the matching kundalis stage, it’s got to be pretty serious. In Viveka’s strange case, it seemed to have gone beyond kundali talk – her mother, Dayawanti, insists Vora had asked his girlfriend to consult a fertility expert about her ability to bear children. If true, this is such a shocker! And to think we are talking about a supposedly hip and cool 21st century couple, not semi-literates from small town India who were being pressurised by elders to get the girl ‘certified’ (“ okay! All clear…. the bride’s womb is good to go” ).
Two high profile couples. Two entirely different scripts for their respective ‘Luv Storys’.
Mubarak ho, Dhoni and Sakshi.Here’s to a brand new innings, captain.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish you were a spin bowler.
Nobody knows whats next
- googly
- doosra
- flipper
Under Arm?
- le maar
chakkaa(sixer)
:-))rofl

a hindu seeker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
vandy said...

yeah,,,,dhoni really gave surprise to all
no buzz nothing but he's happily married nw

goodluck said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
goodluck said...

A positive and interesting blog. One cannot resist Bachchan. He has this Jekyll and Hyde personality like most of us, if not all of us. He is mean when he chooses but his charisma overrides everything.

Dhoni is cool and sensibly married.

And talking of woman's fertility is regressive. When one truly loves, one will marry the girl whether she is fertile or not. Viveka escaped such a family and such a spineless man.

Men are like wine? Milk may curdle, but it nourishes.

Arundhati looks sweet and cute.

Nandini Rao said...

well....education or lack of it was never a 'cause and effect' clause, but nevertheless is used as an excuse for all the misfortune that befalls us.
..and so mindless practices and rituals will follow, irrespective of where one comes from.,
women themselves should be more assertive if change is to be seen.

Harish said...

Biwi ho toh aisi. :) i like hubbies who behave themselves, listen to their wives and still dont come across as their pet pooch. I have heard that Jaya is the hunterwali in the Big J house. The Big B is just a clever camouflage.

I know amitabh and another girl from marine lines called Shobhaa De travels the world in manic pace and give fataaka impromptu speeches :) :)

**********************************
Dhoni da sixer.. it was real kamaal that he managed to be hush hush and have a perfect PR plan for his shaadi. Remember how Bahu and Baby bachchan screwed it up by having it midst all media nautanki.

And dhoni, i feel he is getting sexier by the day. Remember the days when he struggled and spoke butler english... now he plays and sounds like he is rani ke desh ka waasi.

*******************************


Ohh! womb testing still exists. that brings me to the point... how ignorant many men are about sex and reproduction...

the perfect way to trouble a woman is biology. Wish these ladke waale folks got the sperm of their bachhas tested... there is a possibility... that much of it will be immobile.

And not only fertility, it is also all that drama that surrounds the hymen.

even educated men think that hymen is the ultimate certificate of virginity.

in that logic though
if men had a hymen, then virginity would have been a myth

half of my male friends think that
clitoris is the name of some planet... but then... well right... it must be in reality for them. LOL

Piyush Unnithan said...
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Alpana Verma said...

You look so gorgeous in the pic!
Kumar Sangakkara look different.
-Congratulations to both captains....['Mr.& Mrs Kumar Sangakkara and Mr.& Mrs Dhoni.]

Pooja Rathore said...

Kumar sangakara is one of my favourites. There is something about your smile Maa de ( as if your in bliss it shows, among all the four of you , you look the best - its your smile which wins - you look attractive- after all capricorn is the sign of reverse aging).
i remember reading from your book ( selective memories )in that you have stated that jaya is shrewd and smarter than Big B nothing has changed!
As for models who think their boyfriends are more important than their life i suggest they read your book "surviving Men " where you have stated "by all means take your life if thats what works for you- but not on account of a man".Imagine how many precious lives will be saved by reading your Book i.e in the first place if they are wise enough to invest in a wise ,practical,intresting Book.

t O m S o N said...

(“ okay! All clear…. the bride’s womb is good to go” ).

LOLZ!!!!!

Latha said...

Amitabh sure is a thorough professional. There can't be 2 opinions about that. He is amazingly a great writer too (If you don't respond to his blog i.e.,). I'm sure if he had been a professional writer, he'd've 'chutti kar diya hoga' all the other writers & become a cool no 1 in that too. Man ! that one has got brains ! Even his enemies will admit that.
BigB had said loooooong back that when they attend functions, when Jaya says 'Polama', they take leave of the hosts. We all know that. 'Polama' in Tamil means, 'Let's go'.
Regarding Dhoni's marriage, I think he did the perfect thing. After all it is a pledge of sharing everything between 2 lives. Why should the paparazzi have to bother so much about that ? Hats off to Dhoni for marrying his childhood heartthrob. I wish them all happiness, 'Dilse'. I think another alien who has done this is Prannoy Roy. True lovers in these 'use & throw' times !
'Kundali milan' only means that no tragedy will occur 'if' they marry. It does not mean that they 'will' marry. No, by no means. A girl's kundali may match with lakhs of boys. Does it mean that she'll marry all of them ? Why blame the kundali for everything? Scores of people believe in it.
I wouldn't blame the 'Vora' boy for ditching the model. Who knows, she could've ditched him for a shipping tycoon, after having 2 children by him by taking away the children from him, leaving him in the lurch for people to call him a loser. Maybe the Vora boy was warned by his elders about such calamities.

Latha said...

People would do well not to type all capitals as it is considered as shouting in 'Netiquette'.
@Krunal...It's not in America alone. Even here husbands are used & thrown & fleeced by some, by misusing all the 'laws of domestic violence' & 'dowry laws'. The real culprits go scot free 'cause they are criminals & people are afraid of them. Even Indians don't want to marry anymore. I mean, they are apprehensive...not very keen.
Though Shobhaa De married twice, only one of her six children are married to my knowledge.
Fertility test is no big deal. Any person has a right to have children. It is surprising that Shobhaa, the mother of 6 should condemn it. It would only be wise for the boy & the girl to talk things over in matters of money, taking care of (whose) parents, children etc before going for the knot.
In the south, there is this megastar who won awards more than you can count, who also acted in a few Hindi films who married a 'miss India'. Refusing to have children, ('cause he'd have affairs with his co stars if she is not around) she followed him on all shoots, aborting all the pregnancies. His rival 'superstar's' camp started calling him impotent. To prove that he is fertile, one fine day, he announced that the baby in a Hindi actresses womb was his. There was pressure from all quarters including from Jaya Bachchan on him to leave this girl, but he stood his stand. His wife promptly divorced him unable to bear the humiliation. A movie was made on their story called 'Puthu puthu arthangal' by the ace director K Balachander who made the career of many including the said megastar. He married the Hindi actress after having 2 children. Now they are separate with both the grown ups preferring to live with the father & his new (actress) wife.
So you see, there are Tom Cruises & Nicole Kidmans here as well. All in the game !

goodluck said...

Does it mean that a man will first test the fertility of the woman and then will fall in love? How ridiculous? Or fall out of love after the test?
What about men's fertility? Are they all fertile? If a man is infertile, should a woman search for a fertile man? If women leave men for monetary reasons, there are scores of men who leave their women for younger women.

Akshay Dikshit said...

i find shobha de the sexiest women to discuss sex the sexiest way...no issue over any tissue

kakaka said...

@krunal, well the problem here is that he was not required to undergo any test and she was. May be because she is old, but then given the unhealthy lifestyles these people have i think he should have been asked to undergo the test as well.
In fact in these stupid arranged marriage, along with kundali and green card, they also need to take some blood tests and stuff...

Latha said...

@goodluck..'If women leave men for monetary reasons, there are scores of men who leave their women for younger women.'
One wrong does not justify another. Both are equally wrong.

It is better to leave the girl before marriage rather than 'discover' her fertility & leave after tying the knot.
Moreover why force a man to stay with you if he is half hearted. Wouldn't it be better to go for somebody else who wouldn't care about the fertility aspect of the woman ?
@Krutika....'In fact in these stupid arranged marriage, along with kundali and green card, they also need to take some blood tests and stuff...' hahaha.
Yes, I do not know about the North. But down south, 'Green card' is the next thing after kundali match.

a hindu seeker said...

@krutika and goodluck
well, i know a lot of women (deeply fallen in love + arranged ones) who secretly calls their boyfriend's office assistant to confirm if he is making as much money as he claims. but that would be considered women's rights. but if men want to check up the fertility of the woman, in the women's world that would be considered sexism, chauvinism, pigism, jerkism, beastism. I believe that both of them should do as many test as possible. blood test to check HIV, Thelesemia are mandatory.


@latha
i dont know if you are a woman or not (latha sounds like a woman to me) but you have some solid arguments.thanks for the support.



i am giving a link about 'CONFESSION OF A WOMAN LIKE VIVEKA' below here. The title of the story is 'A MIDDLE AGED PRINCESS GROWS UP.'
you might like to read.

http://krunalshimpi.blogspot.com/2010/02/middle-aged-princess-grows-up.html

goodluck said...

I consider infertility as a great blessing. We will have lesser population, lesser scramble for seats and jobs. Infertile people indirectly contribute to the well being of a society. Infertile can include eternal bachelors and eternal spinsters like Vajpayee, Kalam etc. They will not start amassing corrupt wealth for their progeny. Women also earn money and they are no longer dependent.

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a hindu seeker said...

@krutika

u know, i here this all the time 'but women suffer more', ' women are more this and more that','women sacrifice more', 'women are more opressed'

why dont you
read this

Anonymous said...

Is that reference to "Luv Storys" in the last line a subtle white flag extended to Sonam after her twitter apology? Good.

Expecting a post soon busting that myth of the wine-milk theory, after all you are a super hot 65+ bombshell who is uncurdling as I type.

goodluck said...

Looking good at 60+ is an exception and we feel like appreciating. But how that look is being achieved? Exercise, diet and genes. But what about white streaks hidden by rigorous dyeing once in 15 days? Where is the freshness of youth? Where is the desirability? How many will choose a presentable 60+ over a fresh 20s or even 30s woman as a partner? And there is the additional tension of looking good at every do. That is for milk uncurdled.

The wine. The young woman who marries an old celebrity will soon find out how his ageing bones creak and how much medication he is taking? She may opt for his rakish young driver or even his young office manager. While that old fool makes svuave public appearances with panache. Take away his money and celebrity status and he transforms himself into a doddering old man thinking about saving every penny for his health care. Thats where the reality of WINE lies.
Appearances are deceptive and deluding.

Unknown said...

@krunal Manish is not 42 she's 39 nd Samrat is 33.Why the hell did u say that Manisha wanted to marry a millionaire but as her career went kaput she married samrat!!!! Manisha dated Nana Patekar nd many unknowns when she was the numero uno in bollywood....Krunal if u hate somebody tats ok...but this type of badmouthing is soo cheap

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