Whatever happened to Ramolla Bacchan, wife of Ajitabh and sister-in-law of the great Amitabh? Just when I thought she had dipped into oblivion, back she comes with a big bang – well, to be quite honest, she came back with a big jump.
Clad very elegantly, she jumped on the stage of Desipop dude Taz at Eastern Eye’s party for Britain’s Richest Asians last week, with their show-biz editor Asjad Nazir in tow. They danced and whirled on stage, completely oblivious to the droves of rich Asians swarming all over the place.
I remember she ran a public relations business years ago. It was launched with much fanfare, commissioned a number of C-grade TV ads on unlisted ethnic channels, and promptly folded up two years later, without so much of a whimper.
The high-point in Ramolla’s social calendar must have been a fusion music concert she had organised in 1995 with the world famous violinist Subrahmanyam. She had pulled a major coup by ensuring Sonia Gandhi attended the concert in aid of India’s Doon School, that academic bastion of the rich and famous.
Why on earth did she raise funds for a school as rich as Doon, when millions of poor Indian children did not even have primary education? I thought this was a classic case of dharampatnis showing Indian loyalty to their dharampatis, and decided to call her and ‘check her out’. Pat came her reply, “I am not giving any interviews these days.” Oh well!
Missing - Hindu Youth
Where have all the Hindu youth gone? They have joined the Hindu Youth UK, of course. This by the way, is an umbrella body that claims to unite youth from Hindu organisations across Britain.
This buoyant bunch of youngsters had organised a hugely successful Hindu Youth Festival last year with Pujya Rameshbhai Oza as the centrepiece. They continue to meet regularly at the offices of the Brent Hindu Council in Wembley, already planning their next round of events.
"We are inviting all Hindu youth to become connected at our next festival at Alexandra Palace," says Nima Suchak, who is one of the developers of the stage show. "It will feature a variety of zones, each presenting themes from astrology, music, fashion, to careers. There is to be a great show on stage with lots of dance, music, fashion and many other things to entertain and educate our youth. The event is fuelled with lots of fun!"
Good luck Nima - this is exactly what the doctor ordered for our community. And if any of you youngsters want to get connected, just pick up the phone and call her on 07956 993024.
The dancer in distress
“Is he singing or screaming?” asked a frustrated dandiya dancer at the charity garbha organised in aid of Vrindavan Food for Life at Wembley last week. “Who?” I screamed back. The twirling dancer pointed at Nikesh, the singer on stage. “He sings perfectly well, so stop screaming, will you?” I retorted and went on to enjoy the comfortably melodious night.
“We are trying to raise funds for Food for Life, a project set up by the Founder of the Hare Krishna movement, Swami Prabhupada,” quipped Priti Tankaria, one of the organisers of the Garbha nite. “The charity gives free meals to poor children, orphans, widows and senior citizens in India who would otherwise go hungry.”
Jambavati Dasi the London coordinator for the project says that she feels very inspired by the number of lives they save every day. “We also provide mobile clinics with free consultation and medicines and tube wells for clean drinking water. Thousands of little children would have died from diarrhea if we had not provided medical aid.”
When the dandiya dancer returned to complain again, I just fled in fear. Nikesh, in the meantime, sang with rapt devotion. Everyone other than the nagging dancer seemed to have had a great time.
If any of you feel you can support this worthwhile cause, please call Priti Tankaria on 07799 403 597. Many lives may depend on you.