Mumbai meri jaan

Valentine’s Day is still more than a week away but B-Town’s firmly in kiss and make up mode. Deepika-Kat, Priyanka-Kareena, Saif-Shahid — each public appearance throws up interesting tidbits on the ice thawing around reported rifts.

And as this is Awards season, (nearly over now for B-Town, though Hollywood awaits its crowning  glory, the Oscars) public
appearances are many.

Otherwise, as we all know, the stars tend to make themselves available only when they have ‘something to talk about’, read: their new movie releases/brand endorsements.

If B-Town’s in kiss and make-up mode, society’s been (air) kissing each other over the years at public dos. At a recent fashion show all that apparent goodwill was firmly on display, especially since the designer was a veteran based in Delhi, and visiting the city.

There were Delhi faces from the fashion world, not just at this event, but earlier in the week, at another high profile event. And the difference in outlooks of both cities is clear by the way high society from both prefers to schmooze.

Delhi is about power, so the pretty people regard politicos and consulates as celebrities, vie to be around them. Starved of
actual glamour, fashion designers of even minor order are also regarded as ‘celebrities’ in the capital, it seems.

Mumbai, more inclusive, prefers the glamour quotient, so a party/celebration/wedding gains clout if it boasts star power in attendance.

“Why would you want to sit next to a politician if you could sit next to Amitabh Bachchan?” wondered a Mumbai society regular recently, expressing genuine puzzlement whilst talking of the Delhi frat’s seating preferences at a do.

Mumbai is also a city where one witnesses generosity from unexpected quarters. A fashion model friend, down from the Big Apple related this incident to me — She was visiting a friend and got a cabbie to take her there. Only once she found the building and met the friend she forgot she had kept the cabbie waiting in her search for directions.

Much later, she came down to hail a cab and to her utter horror met the same driver she had kept waiting for over two hours.

Amazingly, he was not rude. “If it were New York or London, I would’ve been in trouble,” she related. “But here — he laughed at my disconcertment.” “How much did you pay him,” I asked, “He probably kept the meter running.”

“He didn’t, as a matter of fact,” she replied. “I was willing to pay anything. It happens only in Mumbai. He asked for Rs 150.” And that’s really Mumbai for you — city with a sense of humour. And heart.

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Meanwhile ‘Belgian supermum’ Kim Clijsters winning the Aussie Open is heartening and inspirational for working moms everywhere. Would you agree, Mumbai?