WELL GROOMED: Bagri at the exhibition of Kumbh Mela photographs

Every important Indian business dynasty in Britain requires a friendly pr face. In the case of the Bagris, this responsibility is falling increasingly on Alka, Lord Bagri’s daughter-in-law. On anything to do with the Bagri Foundation, which promotes arts, culture and heavyweight lectures, Lord Bagri and his heir, Apurv, say: “Ask Alka.” After organising the exhibition of Kumbh Mela photographs at the Brunei Gallery in the School of Oriental and African Studies, she is being groomed for higher things. In between looking after her young family, she commutes thrice a week from London to Corpus Christ College, Oxford. “I am doing a PhD on Indian miniature paintings,” she says. Given the ramifications of September 11, it is likely that Bagri will choose religion for the next series of Bagri Foundation lectures. As for Lord Bagri, at 70, the low profile chairman of the London Metal Exchange appears to be mellowing. “In order to do good you must have resources,” reflects the good Lord, whose personal wealth, estimated at £63million, places him at number 29 in Britain’s Asian Rich List. “But once you have the resources, you must not forget the good.”

—Amit Roy

ONE WITH ALL: The multilingual poster

Help in Times of Hate

In the first of its series of initiatives against racial attacks and abuse, the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (nacab) has launched a UK-wide poster campaign to encourage people to report racist incidents. Sir Graham Hart, chair of nacab, says: “This affects every single one of us living in this country. The cab Service must be a force for good in these times.” The poster uses 11 languages to encourage people to report racism and visit their local cab and see how it can help. The posters will be distributed throughout their local communities but individuals who want their own for display can contact darren.babidge@nacab.org.uk.

—Poonam Joshi

Style Icon

The man responsible for holding a tattered nation together, Hamid Karzai is in the news not for his political strategies or foreign policies but for his dressing style! Karzai has won accolades for being the most chic man in the world. At his latest show in Milan, Gucci boss Tom Ford showered praise on the interim leader of Afghanistan’s preference for sober, single-breasted suits combined with T-shirts, “soft, long trousers”, and his astrakhan fur hat, claim media reports. Pathan and tribal chic are in, thanks to Karzai. Unlike Versace and Armani, Ford is not known for his celebrity associations. Instead, he is renowned for a neat and minimalist approach. But coming back to Karzai, why should only movie stars and popstars be trendsetters? Politicians, too, can play an important role.

—Ishara Bhasi

On a Signing Spree

MAKING HISTORY: Johar signs the book

Bollywood filmmaker of the moment, Karan Johar was doing the rounds of cinemas in the UK this week to publicise the launch of the exclusive behind-the-scenes book of Khabhi Khushi Khabhie Gham (K3G). Boasting a stellar cast comprising three generations of cinematic icons, K3G stormed the UK and US box-office charts, forging a place in the annals of Indian cinematic history. For Johar, the man at the helm, the book is a necessary testament to the singular feat of the film in uniting Bollywood movie legends, superstars and rising supernovas on the same canvas. “I felt that this kind of a star cast warranted a book because it was the coming together of three generations of superstars, that this may never happen again in a feature film, and that the moments behind the scenes must be archived for posterity,” says Johar. A glossy coffeetable primer, the book catalogues the lavish scale of the production and captures unseen off-camera moments between the cast and the director.

—PJ

Mistress of Masters

REAL REPRODUCTION: Cullen’s (left) portrait of Sen

In 1953, Trinity College, Cambridge, initially turned down a 19-year-old Calcutta boy who had applied for a place. He was let in at the last minute when a vacancy suddenly occurred after a successful candidate had to drop out. Now, nearly 40 years on, Trinity is about to bestow a kind of immortality on 68-year-old Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize winner and the 36th master of the college, by unveiling his formal portrait. The 4 ft by 3 ft picture will hang in the Great Hall of Trinity alongside those of previous masters and the dominating painting of King Henry VIII, who founded Trinity in 1546. The painter is a 48-year-old London artist, Annabel Cullen. She was chosen by a panel, which included Sen and his wife, Emma Rothschild, herself a Fellow next door at King’s. The couple liked Cullen’s painting of Baroness (Tessa) Blackstone, currently minister for the arts, at the National Portrait Gallery. It helped that Cullen had also painted a few Cambridge dons, including the Masters of Christ’s and Selwyn Colleges. “I hadn’t done an Indian before,” Cullen admits. Painting him wasn’t easy, she says. Although he sat in two extended sessions in Cambridge last summer, he seldom remained still. “He was so busy, working with a coauthor on a book, taking telephone calls, dictating letters, meeting visitors,” she explains. Sen, who likes the result, had requested: “Don’t make me look too serious.” The artist was charmed by her subject and has captured what she feels is a relaxed man of intellect, casually dressed in an open-necked purple shirt and corduroy trousers. Looking at his “gentle beautiful hands”, says Cullen, it was clear “he has never done any washing up”.

—AR

PLAYING SAFE: Des Mein ... is based on the stereotype of NRI life

In what is proving to be an increasingly familiar plot in Bollywood and its soap equivalent, the nri life once again comes under the spotlight with the launch of Star TV’s new drama, Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand. Set in the UK, the plot centres on the conflict between generations as father and daughter clash over matters of matrimony. Produced and directed by Aruna Irani, the series has a storyline which will curry favour with the first generation of UK settlers. Strangely, however, the core cast does not comprise a single British Asian. The makers have seemingly sought to compensate by extensively using local shopping malls for outdoor locations. The series would be incomplete without the obligatory scenes outside London’s recognisable tourist attractions. Be it authentic to the experiences of the nri’s or ridden with cliches, one can guarantee that with its necessary schmaltz, a story of forbidden love across continents, and a lavish wedding set, Des Mein ... will make for watchable tv, both for parents hankering for the good old days when children settled for arranged marriages and for young girls of marriageable age who have other ideas. Meanwhile, the rest of us can amuse ourselves by identifying the malls testifying to the made-in-England hallmark.

—PJ