Gandu | Indie Film

//Viewers Discretion Advised//

TEDx returns to Bombay | Event Details

TED is an annual event where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. “TED” stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. And in fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline across all mediums. Attendees have called it “the ultimate brain spa” and “a four-day journey into the future.” The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Gooall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck, Bono, Nandan Nelikani, Shekhar Kapur, Srivatsa Krishna, Harsha Bhogale, C.K.Prahalad, and Shashi Tharoor.

“Youth@Young Leaders of Tomorrow” which no surprise, will celebrate young people and feature a lot of old people talking about what young people ought to do, or as the organisers put it “create a platform for current day leaders from diverse fields to engage with the next generation to collaborate and promote an exchange of ideas”. The speaker list includes such middle-aged folk as chef Rahul Akerkar, media maven Suhel Seth, UTV head Ronnie Screwvala, Times Now editor Arnab Goswami and US Consul General Paul Folmsbee with just one or two token under 30s, like writer Fatima Bhutto, who along with WPP head Martin Sorrell, will speak via pre-recorded video clips. And like the first TEDx in our city, there will be an application process for the audience, who have to fill in this form and describe their career goals in under 100 words if they want to nab one of 200 spots.

BOMBAY ELECTRONIC HOLI PARTY | MASI Invites You

Bombay's first Glowing Colours (neon uv glow paint) and After Dark Holi Party with killer electronic & techno/house music!

MASI's PRIVATE BEACH HOUSE PARTY

RSVP on facebook to get into the guest list
Contact us:
via
BB - pin:228e9759
via
email -
shiva.projekt@gmail.com

Cost - To Be Announced

****In association with SHIVA PROJEKT****

$ $ Lead Sponsorship by MASI - Media Awakening & Special Interests $ $

www.abhinitk.blogspot.com

~ Official anthem will be out out soon - produced by Moodyman aka Yohann ~

M.I.A | Maya

GAY + DESI = GAYSI | Indie Website

Gaysi Family was started to provide a voice and a safe space to desis who identify as LGBT. What began as a simple idea of sharing stories about what it meant to be gay and desi (gaysi!) has evolved into a space with multiple authors and multiple sections and traffic from around the world.

We, here at Gaysi Family, provide a forum for gaysis with something to say, whether it’s personal opinions, coming out stories, poems, erotic fiction, book reviews, movie reviews, event notices or anything at all that is related to being gaysi.

In addition, we also interview published authors, activists that work towards our cause and media personalities.

Our latest initiative, ‘Writer’s Bloc’, hopes to translate queer literature from various regional languages to English and from English to various regional languages.

We’re always looking for new writers and contributions. So get in touch with us (use the contact form) and have your voice heard!

More can be heard, read, and followed on - http://gaysifamily.com/

MUMBAI METRO | PROTEST MARCH

UNDERGROUND METRO MARCH

SUNDAY, 19^TH SEPTEMBER, 2010

LET US BE VERY CLEAR - "WE WANT THE METRO"

But what we only ask is - it needs to be planned. It cannot be one in an ad hoc manner, which will instead of improving the infrastructure, make it difficult for people to commute in the future.

WE NEED EVERYONES SUPPORT FOR OUR CITY.

WE WILL HAVE A PROTEST MARCH FROM KAIFI AAZMI PARK 10TH ROAD TO NANAVATI HOSPITAL ON 19TH SEPTEMBER AT 10 AM, TO CREATE MORE AWARENESS AMONG THE CITIZENS OF MUMBAI ABOUT THE MERITS AND DEMERITS OF MUMBAI METRO PHASE 2. WE MEET OUTSIDE KAIFI AAZMI PARK ON 10^TH ROAD.

ITS OUR CITY AND WE SHALL CONTRIBUTE - PLEASE PASS ON THIS MESSAGE TO ALL ON YOUR CONTACT LIST AND FRIENDS. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.

EMAIL: METRORAILUNDERGROUND@GMAIL.COM

Associations backing underground metro: will keep increasing as we get confirmations.

(1) Juhu Citizens Welfare Group
(2) AGNI - Action for Good Governance and Networking in India
(3) Bandra Bandstand Residents Trust
(4) Bandra West Residents Association
(5) Gulmohar Residents Association
(6) Guzdar Scheme Residents Trust
(7) JVPD Co op Housing Asso Ltd
(8) Khar-Bandra-Santacruz Foundation
(9) Pali Hill Residents Association

(10) Juhu Scheme Residents Association(JSRA)
(11) Forum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai (IQOLMS)
(12) Mumbai Environment Social Network (MESN)

Bant Singh | Word, Sound & Power

Badang Bang by Words Sound and Power

Bant Singh is a revolutionary singer in Punjab, India, whose 2 years old daughter was raped by upper caste men. When he sought justice, they cut of his limbs. But he can still sing, and in this video letter he expresses no self-pity. Film by SANJAY KAK

★ Word, Sound & Power ★

An attempt to showcase the legendary dalit icon Bant Singh and his songs of rebellion, inter-caste violence and equality. Bant Singh from Jabbar Village in Punjab is a legendary singer and activist of Kisan Mukti Morcha.

The Word, Sound & Power is a brave collaboration covering wide uncharted areas of music and socially harking issues - the mash-up of Electronic Beats and Sounds of Chris McGuinness and the erudite gangsta flow of Delhi Sultanate attempt to spread the message to urban masses via popular forms such as dancehall, dubstep, ragga and poetry.

The project also features a short film shot in Jabbar Village - filmed on location, by photographer Lakshman Anand. The film critically examines the need for the voices of dissent in todays capitalized urban society.

Also a deeper look into Bant Singhs background, his lyrical inspirations, 20 years of the unsung dalit struggle in Punjab, followed by the mash up of genres between Chris, Delhi Sultanate and Bant Singh. A bold attempt to fuse socially relevant issues and lyricism across two different languages.

The venture is directed by Samrat B a.k.a Audio Pervert. He contributes his electronic flavor with a remix as well.
The project is a joint collaboration between the above artists & The Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhawan New Delhi.

The launch of the film and music is scheduled mid September 2010.

★ Spread the message .. bring on the rebellion, stand up for the message via songs, via the folk & urban counter culture mix ★

Source -http://wordsoundandpower.org/

'You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger' | Woody Allen's Indian Muse

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is a 2010 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It features Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Freida Pinto, and Naomi Watts.

Indian model turned actress Freida Pinto debuts into Hollywood with Woody's new release. She is the acclaimed & award winning actress from Slumdog Millionaire. Pinto was born in Mumbai to a Mangalorean Catholic family.

While Woody maintains his classic style of sly cascade of dialogs and glimpses into scenes we can't wait to see how he sketches the beautiful Freida Pinto!

Steve McCurry | Retrospective

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is the sole UK venue for a retrospective of the work of American photo-journalist Steve McCurry, the man who is responsible for some of the world’s most famous photographs.

Compelling, unforgettable and moving, McCurry's images are unique: un-stylized and unopposed snapshots of people that reveal the universality of human emotion.

Below MASI presents selected work of McCurry's images which he shot circa late 80's in India.

All images Copyright Steve McCurry

Saina Nehwal | India's First Women Badminton Champ

Saina Nehwal ranked No. 6 in 2009 but now after the Indonesian Open she has a new ranking today in 2010 - No. 3 in the world. Here is a video from CNBC, shot back in August 2009 where she talks about her coach & why winning is more important than performance in any sport.

In addition, she discusses her biggest goal in life - becoming the world number one in badminton.

Cabernet Sauvignon | By Priya Singh

Now that the darkness of winter doesn’t seem very far away, I have started drinking my red wines again. Usually over the summer, the choice seems to fall on clean whites and sparkling roses. But really.....nothing compares to a dense and complicated red next to the fireplace along with some finger food.

If you have a couple of friends over and want to prepare something a little bit more elaborate, then- cut a thick slice of dark lithuanian bread (available from any Russian grocery store), roast a leg of lamb, toss some arugula and then sit back and enjoy with a Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the perfect wine for the oncoming cold and chilly evenings...sip after sip warms the gut, kindles the taste buds and the evening is converted into a warm and romantic memory.

Cabernet Sauvignon along with Chardonnay and Merlot is one of the most widely-planted of the world's grape varietals. The principal grape in many wines from the Bordeaux region in France, particularly those from the Medoc, it is grown in most of the world's wine growing regions. Many of the finest red wines in the world are predominantly made from this grape.

Most Cabernet Sauvignon based wine is blended with varying quantities of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot or Malbec. Blending grape varietals lends a wine added structure, aromas and flavors along with muscularity and individuality. All this depends on the type of wine that is desired by the wine maker or the vineyard owner.

California Cabernet compared to French Bordeaux is mostly bigger, dark- with more blue and violet highlights. Alcohol levels are higher and flavors are inclined to be more fruit forward; jammy preserves, cassis, stewed plums, roasted meat, cherry and toasty oak. New world wines are also much more approachable and welcoming in their youth.

If you like trying something very different from the usual stuff in your wine shop, I recommend the Cab from Ceja Vineyards. With bright fruit, berries, leather, anise and some dark chocolate on the nose, it shows a toasty earthiness with a concentration of dark fruit, blackberry, plum and cherries on the palate. This wine can be enjoyed alone or with chicken, darker fish or meat dishes. And it goes beautifully with anything chocolate!

And if you crave a wine that is bolder, bigger, true to the spirit of California than go no further than the Cabernets from Phelan Vineyards. This is a boutique winery located in the Mt. George area in Napa Valley dedicated to producing premium Cabernet Sauvignon. The Phelan wines are characterized by their elegant texture and huge aromas of smoky wooden barrels with hints of coffee, earth and dark berries. And this one demands a juicy steak or roasted lamb with lots of sauce and gravy!

Please drink responsibly. Au Revoir...

By Priya Singh

For more adventures in the world of food and wine, go to Nourishment for the Senses

M.K. Gandhi | मोहनदास करमचंद गांधी

Today marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of M.K.Gandhi.

In India, Gandhi Jayanti is a national holiday celebrated to mark the occasion of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the "Father of the Nation". It is celebrated on October 2, every year.

The United Nations General Assembly announced on 15 June 2007 that it adopted a resolution which declared that October 2 will be celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence.

On this day, in India, liquor is not sold or consumed in his honor.

Article from GandhiServe.org

Gandhi never liked to be photographed. The famous American photographer Margaret Bourke-White wrote in her autobiography: “Having thought of Mahatma Gandhi as a symbol of simplicity; I was a bit surprised to find that I had to go through several secretaries to get permission to photograph him.” Bourke White arrived two hours earlier than arranged. But instead of being taken to meet Gandhi, she was told that she would first have to learn to spin. Hours later, when it was deemed she could spin well enough, she was allowed to begin taking photographs. But she was told that Gandhi insisted on natural light - the camera flash would interrupt his reading. Bourke-White: “I found the inside of the hut to be even darker than I had anticipated... but when my eyes became accustomed... there sat Mahatma, crossed legged, a spidery figure with a bald head and spectacles. Could this be the man who was leading his people to freedom... who had kindled the imagination of the world?” Bourke-White pleaded with Gandhi and he finally agreed to allow her three flashbulbs.

The first flash failed in the heat and humidity. On the second, she forgot to pull the plate. Finally the third bulb worked. She had her picture. Despite the impossible conditions Bourke-White created some of the most haunting images of Gandhi.

Reluctantly Gandhi allowed amateur and professional photographers to photograph him – and became one of the most photographed personalities of our time! Over 5000 known photographs of Mahatma Gandhi were taken by about 350 photographers. It can be anticipated that another 2000-3000 photographs were taken by people who passed his way. However, the two major collections are the ones by Gandhi’s great nephew and personal assistant Kanu Gandhi and Gandhi’s eminent biographer Vithalbhai Jhaveri.

After Gandhi’s death in 1948, his youngest son Devdas began to collect photographs and films in order to document his father’s life and work as detailed as possible. When Devdas became the chief editor of Hindusthan Times he handed over his collection to Vithalbhai Jhaveri who also had begun to collect visuals on Gandhi from sources all over the world in the mid-1940’s. Vithalbhai Jhaveri (1916-1985), former member of the Indian National Movement, did much to promote Gandhian philosophy and preserve the memory of the unique nonviolent struggle for Indian independence. His deep research lead to the accumulation of the most comprehensive photographic collection of the life of Gandhi (4000) and India’s independence movement (5000), over 9000 photographs in total. Some of them were used in D.G. Tendulkar’s 8 volume biography Mahatma as well as for Jhaveri’s various exhibitions and his 5 hour documentary film Mahatma, but the majority of images have never been exposed to the public. After Jhaveri’s death in 1985 his collection received a preservation treatment and was turned into a scientific archive.

A similar befell had Kanu Gandhi’s collection which is with over 1300 photographs the second largest photo collection on Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi’s great nephew lived with his family on Gandhi’s ashrams in Ahmedabad and in central India, near Wardha. In 1936 Kanu Gandhi (1917-1986) was given his first camera and a roll of film and thus began his document of the last 11 years of Gandhi’s life. Gandhi agreed to be photographed by him on three conditions: Kanu was not to use a flash, the ashram would not finance it and Gandhi would never pose. He was thus able to capture Mahatma Gandhi in all his moods and moments. This is a collection of rare intimacy presenting Gandhi in the company of his family and other ashram members, and shows the private Gandhi in contrast to the public Mahatma.

Apart from several smaller collections these two major collections form part of GandhiServe Foundation’s photo archive, which is the best of its kind in terms of quality and quantity. The archive is gradually getting digitised and a large section of the pictures can be viewed in GandhiServe’s Online Image Archive.

A selection of the best 1000 images of Mahatma Gandhi has been made available in the GandhiServe Photo Store where prints from 4” x 6” to 20” x 30” can be ordered in b/w or duotone as well as photo products.

Now read this... Gandhi was a simple man but until a German company Montblanc decided to have him as their brand ambassador for a limited edition pen. The price? $24,763.




A man displays the Montblanc limited-edition commemorative fountain pen in honor of Mohandas Gandhi, portrait seen in backdrop. German luxury penmaker Montblanc launched the $24,763 pen just in time for the 140th anniversary of the birth of the Mahatma, the man who shunned foreign-made products, leaving some Indians puzzled and others angry.




The cheaper line of 3,000 roller ball and fountain pens retails for $3,205 to $3,642.

Now the sad story...

Even that is stratospherically out of reach for the vast majority of Indians, many of whom have been left out of India's economic boom. Over 450 million Indians struggle by on less than $1.25 a day.

Source: USA Today

Reinvention via Recession | Young Professionals in India

By Sonia Sarkar

How a spunky bunch of Indian professionals have used the recession as a springboard to better things.


The global meltdown has taken its share of victims in the past ten months. But for some, it has been an opportunity to rediscover themselves by responding to their inner calling. Here’s a story of four young people who felt the heat of recession, but saw it as a ‘golden moment’ to reboot their career plans. Of course, it takes courage to take the plunge and start afresh. But it does have its rewards. Switching has been a booster shot of enthusiasm for these young professionals. And guess what? They just have one thing to say, “Thank God! It was recession.”




SUMIT RAY 24
DELHI
Sumit Ray had just done his fifth month in his first job at a private English news channel in Delhi when he received his termination letter in January this year. At the time, he was working as an assistant output editor, and he knew that recession was in the air and the channel’s operations were being downsized. But still, nothing could have prepared him for the blow. “I was shocked to read the letter,” says the 24-year-old, “I never expected my first job to end so abruptly.”

Seven months have passed since. Sumit’s thinking has changed. “Now I thank God that it happened. Had it not been a crisis, I wouldn’t have found my true calling,” he says, with job satisfaction writ large on his face. The Delhi youngster now works as a research analyst and writer for a historical tourism website called goplaces.in. And soon, his tryst with history will also be part of a book that he’s working on.

A post-graduate in English literature from Delhi University, Sumit has always been fascinated by the architecture of the Medieval and Mughal period and characters of that era. “When I completed my post-graduation in English, journalism seemed to be the hedonistic option,” he says, “It is only when I lost the job that I realised that my heart actually lay elsewhere. So, I didn’t even try hunting for any jobs in media houses. Instead, I joined this tourism website. And I have rediscovered my love for history and the passion for writing.”

As part of the first phase of the project, he has been visiting Delhi’s historical monuments, such as the Old Fort, Red Fort, Hauz Khas, Qutab Minar and Humayun’s Tomb. “I love visiting historical places, but I never liked reading about them in books as most of them project history in a very mundane way,” he continues. “Visits to historical places have been ‘easy to forget’ experiences. But my work aims to fill this gap.”

The content that he is developing for the website will be a narrative piece—a mix of facts and fiction from the crinkly pages of history. The book will be a collage of ‘not so famous’ stories from the lives of famous historical characters, speckled with incidents that took place at these very sites over the ages.

Sumit’s pay, at Rs 15,000 per month, is not that much more than his previous job’s, but he’s not complaining. In fact, he says, he is “happy” and “excited” to invest his hours in a job that he is passionate about.

Family support is a big bonus. “I do understand that there is a fair amount of risk involved in this project,” he concludes, “as the website or the book may not do well in the market. Although both my parents had been in government jobs for years, they encourage me to do something unconventional. This gives me the motivation to move ahead.”

KANIKA SETHI 29
DELHI
Eight years ago, when she watched the Jennifer Lopez starrer, The Wedding Planner, Kanika Sethi got a glimpse of her dream job. She wanted to be Mary Fiore, the film’s protagonist, planning such grand weddings in real life. Fiore is a hard-working, beautiful, single woman who makes quite a career for herself as a wedding planner. “It was thrilling to see her handle such wealthy clients so professionally. I dreamt of a similar life,” says Kanika, who spent around 20 years in Muscat before moving to Delhi around two-and-a-half years ago. She had an early brush with the profession, having assisted a family friend cum wedding planner in Muscat on a couple of projects. Moreover, she also had a month’s internship with a local wedding planner in Minneapolis, US, under her belt—while at college, studying the all-so-job-assuring discipline of marketing.

After her graduation, though, Kanika couldn’t escape the logic of a conventional career, despite her inner motivation for something more dramatic. ldquo;After receiving the Bachelor’s degree, a conventional marketing job at Sheraton Hotel in Muscat was the best option that I could have thought of at that time,” she says.






Three years later, when her family moved to Delhi, she took up a corporate sales executive’s job with Wizcraft, an event management firm. “I enjoyed my work thoroughly, but somewhere deep inside, I felt that this is not what I plan to do in my life for long.”

Once the recession began to bite, her company lost a couple of clients, and she had to take a 15 per cent cut in pay. “I realised that this is the right time to take the plunge,” says Kanika, who quit Wizcraft in April this year to be a wedding planner. It wasn’t just a whim. There was a start-up strategy in place. “A wedding has an emotional string attached to it,” says Kanika, “There will be barely anyone postponing his or her marriage plans till the global economy recovers. In fact, this is the time when people would need a wedding planner—who would be able to offer the best deal at a restricted budget.”

Well aware of the risks, Kanika focused on keeping it simple. “I haven’t taken an office on rent and haven’t hired any staff as yet. I want to see how things turn out before I incur any huge expenses,” says the 29-year-old.

In the past four months, she has executed two engagement ceremonies. One of them was the engagement of well-known fashion designer JJ Valaya’s niece Ankita Ahluwalia. “They wanted an unusual ‘get-up’ for the event. So, I gave a European touch to the banquet hall with white and silver makeover ornamented by crystals and candles. Since the concept of a wedding planner is still in its infancy in India, people are ready to experiment with ideas.” Her service fee: 15 per cent of the wedding budget.

“I am extremely focused about my target clients, so I am confident that getting decent offers will not be a problem,” says she. And now that India’s grand wedding season is about to begin, Kanika has bagged five grand weddings already. She’s doing what she loves and has a shrunken pay cheque at her ex-job to thank for it.

SALIM RIYAZ KHAN 36
MEERUT
After playing with words and pictures for over 14 years as a copywriter in assorted advertising agencies, how much more lateral can you go? In April this year, Salim Riyaz Khan let his creative mind take a leap—one that dazed friends and shocked family members, especially his mother. He chucked up his job at Tangerine, an ad agency in Delhi, which was fetching him a monthly take-home of about Rs 50,000, and resurfaced 200 km from Shimla in Sangla Valley, Himachal Pradesh, to set up a coffee shop.

“Kya tum ab coffee bechoge (Will you sell coffee now)?” Salim recalls his mother asking when he broke the news to her. She lives in Meerut and is dependent on his earnings. So is his 21-year-old brother, who is studying law in a private college in the same city. His father died four years ago.

“She was worried about my idea of starting a business on my own at a remote location, as there isn’t really any profit guaranteed for some time, or at all.” He invested all his savings of Rs 4 lakh to set up his dream coffee shop.

Salim’s former colleague, Iona Sinha, a director at the same agency, has also quit her job and joined hands with him in his new venture. “It is great to have her on board,” says Salim.

It was the recession that prompted the venture. “The advertising company started feeling the reverberations of the global meltdown, and the inflow of projects was badly affected. Although my own job was not at stake, I sensed a salary freeze and imminent job cuts. In fact, the leanness in work gave me the time to think, and I decided not to spend a single day more in this ad-mad world. The cafe was the only option that I could think of, as it was sparked off by my love for the Himalayas and my fondness for good coffee,” says the 36-year-old owner of Café 42, which is set to throw doors open anytime now.

The name, of course, is taken from Douglas Adams’ cult novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, in which super-intelligent, extra-terrestrial beings create a gigantic super computer to work out the ‘ultimate answer’ to the ultimate question about life, universe and everything. After millions of years, the computer announces that it’s ready with the answer, and it turns out to be ‘42’. In the meantime, everyone has forgotten the ultimate question.

“As I got more and more disillusioned with my work,” says Salim, “I was looking for a lot of answers. The idea to set up the coffee shop came as the ultimate solution to all those questions, hence it had to be Cafe 42.”

But this is not only about a sole coffee shop in the hills. Salim is already thinking big. “I hope to set up a chain of Café 42s in other offbeat and spectacular inner-Himalayan locations,” he says. Hitchhikers, doubtless, would be only too glad.

ABHISHEK CHAKRABORTY 27
DHANBAD
It was meant to be his big move upwards. Already earning about half a lakh monthly at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as a business consultant, Abhishek Chakraborty took the bait dangled by Ernst & Young, another consultancy, that was offering him a 30 per cent hike in his take home salary.

“But I never got a date from them to join duty,” says Abhishek. He had already put in his papers and served his three-month notice period at TCS in July last year, ready to hop aboard his new company Ernst & Young in October. But things did not quite fall in place as planned. And Abhishek turned out to be one of the early victims of the global recession, left jobless as he was.

“I could not join TCS back again as they had also started laying off staff by then. But instead of going to pieces, I smelt an opportunity here. I forced myself to get out of the comfort zone, and sat down and revisited my goals,” says Abhishek, who decided to make the most of the crisis phase by launching his own knowledge consultancy firm, Nurture Globe.

But it was not an easy path to take. His father, who is a transporter in the mining town of Dhanbad in Jharkhand, was firmly against his idea of starting out on his own. “My parents thought it was a wild dream to chase. But I turned a deaf ear to them, and I deliberately didn’t scout for jobs. It took me three months to plan out my business and I was fortunate enough to get the support of four former colleagues from TCS who found the concept interesting,” he says, flaunting a business card with ‘Managing director and CEO’ against his name.

One of his company’s projects is to design e-learning material on vedic mathematics. Another is a joint project with BPOs to develop e-course material in foreign languages, including Chinese, French and Japanese.

Besides the newly acquired status of an entrepreneur, Abhishek is also enjoying the money his company has earned in its seven months since inception. “The company was set up with the paltry sum of capital worth Rs 2 lakh, but we are earning average revenue of Rs 70 lakh every month. We will use this money to expand our client base,” says Nurture Globe’s CEO, more than pleased with the way things have turned out for him.


source: OpenMag

Gayatri Devi (1919-2009)

With the passing away of Maharani Gayatri Devi, a unique chapter in India’s history and culture closes. For long after Independence, her beauty and grace embodied the finest aspects of India to the world. On the one hand, she symbolised the old-world regality of maharajas and maharanis. On the other, she was a genuine internationalist, totally cosmopolitan in outlook. Not many know that Gayatri Devi was a superb conversationalist. She travelled widely, and at one point had visited almost every country in the world.

We were extremely fortunate to get the chance to do a book on her. Right through the process of the book, she gave us full access to photographs and manuscripts that delved into her life and family’s past. Indeed, our company, Roli, is extremely lucky to get a signed photograph of hers, which is now part of our heirloom.
On many an occasion, we would invite her to launch a book that we thought was appropriate for her. For a person of such eminence, it was pleasantly surprising how easily she would comply. This, from someone known to be steadfast about her privacy.

She knew she was very beautiful. She loved to be photographed. Along with the obvious beauty, came an unmatched flourish and polish. It was there in the way she spoke and conducted herself. In a tradition-bound set-up, she took part in religious ceremonies, played tennis with male partners, went swimming and horse riding, and did not miss a single season of polo. She also took it upon herself to bring the women of Rajasthan out of purdah. Vogue voted her as one of the ten most beautiful women in the world.

However, for all her world-renowned beauty, people forget the things she did in her life. Here was a woman, who ran for Parliament in 1962 and won a landslide victory in an election. She ran against Indira Gandhi in 1967 and 1971. It irked Indira Gandhi so much she abolished privy purses and royal privileges in 1971.
Later, Gayatri Devi was accused of tax evasion and breaking laws. She even served five months in Tihar during the Emergency. She retired from politics after that, but described her experiences in her autobiography, A Princess Remembers.
In later life, she turned a great patron of the arts. Take a look at Jaipur today, and you will find how local Rajasthani art has taken off. A good hand behind it was Gayatri Devi’s. She also established two well-known schools there—Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls School and Sawai Man Singh Vidhyalaya. She was in every sense, a true ambassador of India to the world.


Pramod Kapoor of Roli Books published the Family Pride Series: Gayatri Devi