Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

Recent Posts

  • Fashion and the World Economy

    A passion for fashion

    A few years ago I was asked to show a young lady from Harvard Business School the sights of my city. This girl who looked more like a Fashion Major rather than a Business Executive was formerly employed in a luxury fashion house and her haute couture look belied her hard headed nose for money. Since fashion was her passion, I tailored my tour around her interests and took her to Mangaldas Market my all time favourite tourist destination in Mumbai. Even though it was grey, rainy and miserable, the lady was gracious and willing to step into the puddles we came across and happily went through the entire gamut of low end and high end fashion stores in Mumbai.

    I was quite amazed by her interest in Mumbai’s Haute Couture because I thought it had little resonance in a sophisticated western market. But she was not only interested in the amalgamation of traditional skills ( shadow work and zardozi) with modern fabrics and cuts but also interested in a new angle to couture – tapping the skills of the unorganised sector and getting them on board with high fashion. 

    Beware the world’s interest in India

    My pet theory which I shared with her seems to be coming truer by the day.
    When the world shows an interest in Indian fashion, it is the sign of a great recession. I had noted this trend earlier and I find it even more pronounced now. Karl Lagerfeld’s India inspired fashion show  in December 2011 is a case in point. From fashion this passion for all that’s Indian has spread to Yoga , meditation, food, medication and even occasionally a  holiday destination.
    Now that’s really scary because we all know that in their heart of hearts no one really likes things Indian least of all Indians themselves who blindly go for anything “foreign”. 

    History always repeats itself

    And what is scary is that the world situation is quite similar to what it was before the Great War. 
    • There is an economic recession
    • There is a perceived persecuted ethnic minority
    • There is marked social and economic inequity
    • There is uncontrolled inflation
    • There is policy paralysis almost everywhere
    • There is political discontent the world over
    And last but not least, there is an interest in all things INDIAN.

    So while all governments ( our included) have announced measures for economic reform, I have my doubts about the economy picking up. 

  • Telemedicine zindabad ! A catching trend?

    Doctor in the House

    I am lucky to be blessed by good health and even more lucky to have access to good medical care . Being the daughter of a doctor and the mother of a doctor,  a relative by marriage to several other doctors and a friend to other doctors not covered by the gamut of  my “family” doctors I can get advice for any ailment that strikes my body from head to toe. 

    My father having spent most of his life practicing as a general physician despite his specialisation in dermatology has always been my first point of reference and in the recent past Anna Shetty has developed as the new generation doctor along with her new generation therapy . Both these are just a phone call away so whenever I feel uneasy, I just dial a number and whine away and get an instant diagnosis on the spot. No appointments, no waiting in lines, no second opinions . How simple is that?

    Very recently Hubby dear was unwell and was treated long distance by my dad. This time it was a rash which needed to be diagnosed: I took a photo of the offending redness, emailed it to my dad who at the crack of dawn came back with a diagnosis and line of treatment.

    A likely scenario?

    I hope one day this form of medical consultation will be taken a step further where a software enables  you to hook up to a computer and carry out a complete physical check up measuring your pulse, palpating whatever needs to be palpated , percussing whatever needs to be percussed and auscultating whatever needs to be heard thereby enabling the doctor at the other end to figure out what is wrong with you. This will save not only a lot of time and cause timely treatment but will cut down on angst and anxiety waiting for an appointment and interminable waits at hospitals and clinics.

    But on the other hand, it will also cut down on spread of infections and several interesting interactions. I can never forget those long waits at the pediatrician’s clinic with two restless kids waiting for a vaccination or a quick visit for a seasonal cold, hoping to keep other more serious infections at bay, listening to some other kid whine and sniffle, overhearing an overbearing parent shouting on the phone and finally being asked a dumb question : Are these really your children? No, I was tempted to say – I am a professional taker of strange babies to pediatricians.

    Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining and would be more than happy to have  my real ailments treated in real time by a real doctor at the end of my virtual world. Perhaps the doctors too would be spared the agony of needless conversation and stupid observations by patients ever ready to give their own take on their own symptoms and disease.


  • Saturday Lunch at Cafe Zoe

    Today’s lunch at Cafe Zoe reminded me of those lazy Sunday lunches at the club ever so long ago. Now don’t get me wrong – Cafe Zoe hardly resembles the club least of all the children’s section to which we were relegated most of our lives thanks to the children being below 18 years. At that time I remember being pretty resentful of the fact that we had to eat in a far corner of the club even though the food was the same as was served elsewhere. But we had a Sunday tradition and one that stood us in good stead – the weekly lunch where all we did was really talk. Over a simple Chinese meal or perhaps Fish and Chips, we would sometimes discover the most amazing things. For instance I once almost choked over a noodle when my 8 year old very seriously gave me a scientific explanation of why I didn’t have a son. She told me that she found out through a Roald Dahl book ( and you thought they were for kids uh??) how to ensure you had a son………. I also remember the time when we had the girls gob smacked with Hubby Dear’s tale of Aja the Spy. With a few inputs from me collaborating events in their grandfather’s life, the children really believed that their grandpa was secretly on the payroll of RAW.


    Gradually our Sunday lunches died out as do many family traditions – largely because of school commitments and finally because the birds flew the coop. With Saturday soon becoming a day for catching up on odd jobs, we developed a different routine – bank work, art gallery hopping and then a quiet lunch at one or the other club. However, today I decided that I’ve had enough of clubs and tentatively suggested a change of scene –  tentative because very often my dining suggestions turn up dud. This is because Hubby Dear is a creature of habit and is totally unwilling to experiment. But since I had been to Cafe Zoe earlier, I thought I’d be able to swing it this time……………

    So after our usual errands ( skipping the art gallery ) we made our way to Lower Parel. The heart of the city which is changing by the minute is a warren of small roads with cars going both ways through a street meant for just one, and a hodge podge of broken down mills now converted into office space and fancy eating joints. Cafe Zoe is one of those.

    Despite being the newest kid on the block ( Mathurdas Compound has three eateries) it has attained notoriety by recently being visited by Inspector Dhoble the Bogie Man of  the Nocturnal Bipeds of Mumbai.(party animalis) As late as last week his nightly visit made hundreds of people run out of the cafe in fear while Dhoble just said that he was doing his job…..checking to see if the number of people was in keeping with the statutory requirement.

    This afternoon there was a menacing cop van with a piddly cop waving his outdated AK47 ( or whatever) which we found was the security accompanying the diplomats who were dining inside the cafe. So we went in and were told that since we didn’t have a reservation, we’d have to sit upstairs which we did. Though there were enough waiters running around, the service here is laid back to the point of being indifferent but the ambience and buzz more than made up for this. Our DIY greek salad was good, the bread basket ok, the Beef Steak overdone and chewy . At one time I almost had a Peter Seller’s moment while cutting the steak and imagined it flying off to the next table; luckily it held. The Creme Brulee  which came highly recommended was runny and ok. but luckily Hubby Dear enjoyed his tomato based fettucine .  I could see what really won his taste buds were the double fried crisp fries with a yummy Cajun Mayo sauce to dip into.

    Over all I’d say the dining experience was ok. The ambiance was  great and the place lively with a happy and happening buzz. But considering how tense I get recommending a place and wondering whether or not it will live up to expectations, I’d rather go to the club. As Hubby dear says Good or bad it is consistent and you don’t get much of a surprise.

    A meal for the two of us with absolutely no alcohol or soda ( just a bottle of  bottled water) a veg salad, a veg main dish, a non veg main dish, a serving of fries and a dessert set us back all of Rs. 1800. Would you say this is worth it? Check out for yourself.

    As for me, I am waiting for Anna Shetty to return next month so that we can go to this place ourselves to check it out once more and give Cafe Zoe the final verdict.

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