<img title="Arvind Singh Mewar with Maharaja Gaj Singh and (right) with Vasundhara Raje " src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/Arvind-Singh-Mewar.jpg" alt="Arvind Singh Mewar with Maharaja Gaj Singh and (right) with Vasundhara Raje " /> Arvind Singh Mewar with Maharaja Gaj Singh and (right) with Vasundhara Raje&nbsp;
<img style="float: left;" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2015/dec/Malavika-op.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="57" />This year&rsquo;s Annual General Meeting of the Indian Heritage Hotels&rsquo; Association (IHHA) held this weekend in Udaipur saw a lot of heavyweight guests gather.
Leading amongst these were the President of IHHA, Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur, the dapper and very stylish Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar and Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, who also hails from the ruling Scindia clan of Gwalior.
Each of the above has an active interest in tourism, Gaj Singh Bapji to his friends, has given over his palace to be run by a well known five-star, Arvind Singh or Sriji as he likes to be known as, runs a slew of palace hotels, museums and NGOs which have put Udaipur on the world map, and of course Raje of Rajasthan, runs her state exchequer mostly on tourism earnings.
What also unites them is that each one of them is grounded, savvy, works more than a 9 to 5 day and is unapologetically ambitious. And with something like tourism on their radar, they might still wrest it from the grubby hands of babu-dom yet.
Cutting across party lines So is football going to be the new level playing field for new political alliances? This weekend saw former Aviation Minister and NCP leader, the suave Praful Patel, who is also the current President of the All India Football Federation, inaugurate Andheri&rsquo;s new football stadium.
<img title="Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray with Praful Patel" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/Uddhav-Aaditya-Thackeray.jpg" alt="Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray with Praful Patel" /> Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray with Praful Patel
What attracted attention was that he did so along with Sena&rsquo;s Uddhav Thackeray and his son, Aaditya Thackeray. Later, Patel took to social media to reveal that the occasion was the &ldquo;First international match in Mumbai after 61 years.&rdquo; And that &ldquo;AIFF will look to host more international friendlies in India in future.&rdquo;
But will it lead to new alliances politically? After all, the NCP and the Sena have long sparred in the Assembly. Or, is this just another instance of the famed Praful charm? Watch this space.
Christmas Eve with St Teresa A hack&rsquo;s life is a charmed one crammed with peerless memories, and we count amongst these a Christmas Eve we spent with St Teresa of Calcutta at Mother House in the early nineties. Anyone who has experienced winter in Kolkata will tell you of its bleak evening light and the long shadows cast by its poorly lit streets, and our memory is enshrined in that light.
<img title="Mother Teresa who was canonised yesterday. Pic/AFP" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/Mother-Teresa.jpg" alt="Mother Teresa who was canonised yesterday. Pic/AFP" /> Mother Teresa who was canonised yesterday. Pic/AFP
Our friends, Sunita and Naresh Kumar, who were part of the Mother&rsquo;s inner circle had taken us along for this special benediction. Even in the presence of one of the world&rsquo;s most famous women stooped in the middle of a congregation of nuns lined up through the entire stairwell of the house and all through its many floors and corridors, the scene looked heartbreakingly bleak.
Old nuns, young nuns, helpers, inmates, well wishers and volunteers singing their hearts out in prayers and hymns for miracles and salvation as the church bells rang, in a city that looked broken and in need. It was a moment of sublime innocence and grace, which we would always cherish.
And yes, there are many people, very learned ones too who have a lot to say about Mother Teresa and her so called &lsquo;cottage industry of poverty&rsquo; and we have no answer for them. A journalist&rsquo;s life is only one of being present and of experiencing. And, of course, of bearing witness to it all.
Fast and flying This weekend saw Bangkok&rsquo;s chef Gaggan fly into Mumbai for yet another pop up dinner, this time organised jointly by food critic Rashmi Uday Singh and wine importer Sanjay Menon (who sponsored the wine), and hosted at the Chambers at the Taj Lands End.
<img title="Gaggan Anand and Ambika Hinduja" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/Gaggan-Anand.jpg" alt="Gaggan Anand and Ambika Hinduja" /> Gaggan Anand and Ambika Hinduja
&ldquo;The menu was a surprise as Gaggan was sampling his new dishes over the twenty something courses,&rdquo; says a guest. &ldquo;My favourites were the &lsquo;golfball&rsquo;, which was made out of Monaco biscuits and curry leaf ice-cream and the banana vindaloo,&rdquo; says a diner. And who were the selected guinea pig guests at Gaggan&rsquo;s repast?
&ldquo;There were five tables but not many recognisable guests or A-listers this time around. I spotted Arjun and Meher Rampal, Ambika Hinduja and Raman Macker, and also Gayatri Oberoi,&rdquo; she says. And after the meal, Gaggan wasted no time in Mumbai and caught a flight to Japan the same night. Fast food Gaggan Style.
Vive la difference The Oolong tea-favouring SoBo hostess friend had returned after her annual two months of European travel. Mysterious hints had been dropped about &lsquo;Bobby&rsquo;s boat&rsquo; and the &lsquo;London Art soiree,&rsquo; but the only tangible evidence of what she&rsquo;d really been up to, were a pair of alarmingly puffed lips and a forehead as smooth as a Kingfisher Calendar Girl&rsquo;s bottom.
&ldquo;There are two kinds of people in Mumbai,&rdquo; she declared grandly, setting aside the newest issue of a business publication. We asked her to elaborate. &ldquo;There are PLUs, you know those from &lsquo;the hills,&rsquo; (she meant Cumballa, Pali, etc) who throw and attend parties,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;And there are people who &lsquo;Pardy.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Huh, we said. &ldquo;Think about it said the OTSHF, &ldquo;All those people who carry those monogrammed accessories, they &lsquo;Pardy&rsquo; all the time,&rdquo; she said shuddering. &ldquo;And then they post selfies with other women from there who look like they go to the same hair colourist.&rdquo; We were beginning to see what she was getting at.
Speaking of hair colourists, we said what happened to yours from Bandra? Is she available for a consultation this week. &ldquo;Oh her!! Don&rsquo;t you know she&rsquo;s on a sabath-tickle?&rdquo; said the OTSHF &ldquo;to attend classes at the Alliance Franchise.&rdquo; Er, that&rsquo;s Fran&ccedil;aise we said, genuinely curious if later that evening our friend would attend a &lsquo;party&rsquo; or was going &lsquo;to Pardy&rsquo; herself.

This year&rsquo;s Annual General Meeting of the Indian Heritage Hotels&rsquo; Association (IHHA) held this weekend in Udaipur saw a lot of heavyweight guests gather

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