Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Lag jaa gale
Lyricist Gulzar and film and theatre director Vijaya Mehta can't contain their happiness on bumping into each other at a book launch held in Nariman Point on Tuesday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Lisa Ray in a Kunbi weave saree

Kunbi goes to Rashtrapati Bhavan
"Ram Nath Kovind is the second Indian President to own a Kunbi after former President Pratibha Patil," Wendell Rodricks tells this diarist over the phone from Goa's Colvale, referencing a heritage weave native to the state.

President Kovind; and (below) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sporting the Kunbi weave

The President and First Lady Savita Kovind attended the annual convocation of Goa University on July 7, and were presented a blue Kunbi stole with stripes and an ivory saree with a red border, both in cotton. It was while Rodricks was holidaying in Croatia that his store got a call from a state government official requesting for a Kunbi stole and saree.

"I believe that when political leaders visit Goa, they should be presented with authentic Goan weaves, not a shawl that's made in Gujarat, for instance. I'm happy that the Goan government chose Kunbi, a weave steeped in our culture," he says. The Kunbi is a woven, cotton chequered saree in red and white.

Wendell Rodricks

On his part, Rodricks tweaked its genetics using minimalism, eco-friendly dyes, and revised the colour palette and pattern. We hear that it's already a favourite with textile champions Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jaya Jaitly.

Manjrekar takes a dig at his kids
The award for the most sarcastic dad of the week goes to Sanjay Manjrekar. The ex-cricketer had taken his son and daughter out for a meal. But the youngsters, it seems, were far more interested in their cell phones. Manjrekar thus clicked this pic and put it up on Twitter with the tongue-in-cheek caption, "It was wonderful to have the company of my kids for dinner last night." Well played, indeed.

Keeping up with the brickbats
It's not even been 48 hours since a business suit-clad Kylie Jenner appeared on the cover page of the August edition of Forbes magazine, and the world has gone into a tizzy. The reason being the words that appeared next to the photograph - the Forbes editors have called Jenner the "youngest ever self-made billionaire". She has surpassed Mark Zuckerberg in terms of age - he became a billionaire at 23, while she is only 21. So, while technically, she is the youngest entrepreneur with all the moolah, it is the self-made tag that many are finding unpalatable. Jenner, after all, comes from the Kardashian family, a known name in the glamour world. And among all the brickbats floating on social media, we found this desi takedown by East India Comedy particularly hilarious.

Church sounds from New York
Celebrated New-York based musician Joshua Anand Slater will conduct the St Thomas Cathedral's Tercentenary Thanksgiving Service in October. The former Cathedralite has been the assistant director of music at New York's Trinity Church Wall Street. He has been invited by St Thomas and ably supported by Cathedral and John Connon School principal, Meera Isaacs.

Asia Pacific's got talent
Aspiring musicians, listen up. Project Aloft Star is a new artist-discovery competition that is looking for the next big things to emerge from the Asia Pacific region. So if you think you make the cut, send in two songs hoping that the judges, who include Salim Merchant (in pic), are impressed with what they hear. But remember, you can only submit the entries from July 26 to July 31.

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