Prakash updates me from Mumbai

First book published on the internet in 1994

Dear Jacob,

It was great to hear from you.

I have tried to keep in touch with all my batchmates of 1969. Not 1959 (JM: But thanks Prakash, as I have always enjoyed your updates). Many of them don´t even bother to reply or even acknowledge an email / letter because they all seem to be too busy with their lives and many don´t have such great fond memories of school as I do (JM: or all of us 59ers - we had a great batch - both the A and B Sections).

My sporadic news has declined as I have undergone some surgery, and this has kept me housebound for over a month.

Last weekend I happened to bump into Pierce Brosnan (JM: For those who do not know, Pierce, who is now about 52 years old, was born in Ireland and is one of the great character actors. He has acted in over 50 movies starting in 1979 and has produced 6, and the next will be "The Topkapi Affair") who was in Mumbai at the Taj shopping arcade, strolling casually, when I noticed him at 9 am. I got an autograph saying "Love Life" from him. This was published in the Asian Age, where the newspaper got his autograph analysed.

Then a fortnight back, the Norwegian Consulate held an event to promote salmon from Norway (JM: I love lightly salted salmon for breakfast, while the very traditional Finnish salmon soup in cream with rieska - a light chapti type bread - is simply superb). I was invited to meet with chefs from several hotels and restaurants and discussed Indian preparations for salmon, as I had won the MEN CAN COOK CONTEST with my signature dish "Chicken with dill sauce". (JM: Dill sauce with anything is GREAT.)

Several art auctions are being held in Mumbai, including "Concern India and Harvest 2005", after the success of the Osian auction, that raked in nearly Rs. 5 crores (Rs. 50 million). The famous Satish Gujral, Delhi based artist and sculptor (former Prime Minister's brother) had his show at the Jehangir Art Gallery and Sharukh Khan, the leading Indian Bollywood star, picked up his most expensive painting.

December was a month full of weddings and parties with all the NRI's (non resident Indians) (JM: Except Jacob from the frozen Arctic) in town avoiding the bitter cold of Europe, England and USA.

Natasha Advani got married to Kabir Hingorani (ex-Cathedraite) who is based in New York and is in the garment business.

Mohamed and Sartaj Noorani's daughter Aida (JM: I remember Aida as a baby and then as a little girl - she was such a delightful looking and well behaved tot, taking after her mother, Surtaj, who is a 62er and the daughter of a true Nawab. Surtaj's brother, Zaffar Hai, was a year senior to me in St. Stephen's College, Delhi. Surtaj's husband, Mohamed has been a close close friend for over 40 years, ever since we met in Germany in 1964.) got married on 2nd Feb at the Taj in a beautiful ceremony followed by a memorable dinner.

An article recently published in the Newsweek mentioned the increasing availability of synthetically made diamonds from a Russian company. This has given food for a lot of serious thought.

With the Internet family growing, the number of book lovers and readers has dwindled, resulting in bookshops having sales at over 50% discount on their regular prices. (JM: Books are books and Internet is Internet - I think both have their place in this world and neither can replace the other - although I was probably one of the first to publish a book by my wife, Annikki, in toto, on the internet.)

Nowadays, how many youngsters have the time for Coins, Postcards, Stamps? (JM: That all depends on how this is cultivated. Grandparents have a great job cultivating love of beautiful things in their grandchildren as parents have little time for that. And that is what Annikki and I have been trying to do.)

The only tangible items left is ART and Property. Art and paintings sales are not regulated in India, prompting helpers of
artists & con artists to produce fakes, many of them circulating with collectors and galleries. So its really high time a Regulatory Body was set up in the interest of promtoing ART and keep both the interests of the artists and collectors in mind. (JM: I agree with Prakash here, except that the Mona Liisa profile by Annikki obliterates the original by a mile. Also if the knowledge of art is not cultivated in youngsters, they will fall prey to pseudo and fake art!!)

Sadly, the older and established Galleries have not moved with the times and the recently started galleries with younger management have adopted modern sales gimmicks to promote and sell art, which is working, as there is the demand and the turnout at the Sales bears witness to the large crowds attending.

More news later after my return from my trip.

Do keep in touch.

Cheers

Prakash Thadani (69er Cathedralite - Adopted 59er)