Hello, Profits. Good-bye, Skycell. That's
exactly what Diwaker Singh, 39, the feisty CEO of the Chennai-based
cellular operator, just finished saying. As Skycell Communications rung up its first-ever
profits of Rs 1.04 crore in 1997-98, the man credited with its turnaround decided to opt
out. Where's he going? To Bucharest. To do what? Well, he'll be the head honcho of a
funding consortium-backed, among others, by J.P. Morgan-which is eyeing old telecom
service operators in Europe. Says Diwaker who, incidentally, started off in life as a
political journalist: ''I managed to fulfil all the mandates I had when I took up the job.
Then, this challenging opportunity came along.'' And, look at him, he simply can't resist
Hungarian goulash either...
Since she is like that, they are becoming
like that only. Even as Channel [V]'s Sophiya Haq and Meghna Reddy, 24,
toy with the idea of launching their own line of teenybopper glad rags, the latter decided
to clean up her clutter, and donated it all away to charity. Now, Meghna has managed to
get the official backing of Channel [V]-which is planning an anti-plastics environmental
crusade of its own-to persuade others to follow suit. ''I'm a Vastu believer. Ever since I
cleaned up my home, I feel much lighter. I'll try and convince other people to get rid of
the clutter in their lives, and put it to some good use,'' explains the VJ, who has,
often, lent a helping hand to the Foundation For The Physically Handicapped. And we call
this, charitably, attitude?...
The Ghoshs, we say, are great hosts. While Bhaskar
Ghosh, 60, the former bureaucrat, hosts his own tele-show with élan, wife Chitra,
53, an adperson-turned-gourmet-cook, can help you host an authentic Bengali dinner. Visit
Chitra's Kitchen, her takeaway-cum-catering service at the Ghoshs' home in Defence Colony
in Delhi-and you could get a range of Bengali dishes from the humble Shukto (a
bitter-to-taste starter) to the exotic Chingri Malaikari (jumbo prawns cooked in coconut
milk). ''I've always loved calling people over and feeding them. So, when my family
suggested that I put my skills to some use, I got hooked,'' explains Chitra. With the
2-month-old service picking up a discerning clientele, she now plans to host parties with
true-blue Bengali ambience-for a price. Must be all those slices of fish...
First, he worked for a propah
multinational. Now, he's gonna try to work for a swadeshi transnational. First, he got 'em
to smoke it; not chew it. Now, he's gonna try to make 'em chew it; not smoke it.
Obviously, Raj Sujan, 53, who resigned as the head of the Rs 649.26-crore
VST Industries 2 years ago, and has just resurfaced as the CEO of the Rs 350-crore
Dharampal Premchand Ltd (DPL), has come full (smoke) circle. Isn't chewing-tobacco the fag
end? Retorts the neo-non-smoker: ''DPL's core competence lies in flavouring; the way we
can flavour anything from tobacco to spices to supari. We plan to get into these areas,
which have tremendous export potential.'' For the big Baba, that's the flavour to
savour...
He's back in service. Dapper as ever, Rajan
Jetley, 48, the former CEO of Air-India, has, after a lucrative exile in
Singapore for the last eight years, returned home with his lovely wife, Rita. From a
Mediterranean-style farmhouse on the outskirts of Delhi, he will work with the $20-billion
Carlsson Group-which owns, among others, the Radisson Hotels brand-in expanding its
fledgling operations in this country. ''I've always been in the hotels business-ITC
Hotels, ITDC Hotels-and even at Air-India, I was in the services business,'' laughs Rajan,
who says that, despite developing a taste for Chinese food, he enjoys eating out at
TGIF's. Obviously, since he is a shareholder in that restaurant chain. No jetlag for the
Jetleys, eh?
Hello, Profits. Good-bye, Skycell. That's
exactly what Diwaker Singh, 39, the feisty CEO of the Chennai-based
cellular operator, just finished saying. As Skycell Communications rung up its first-ever
profits of Rs 1.04 crore in 1997-98, the man credited with its turnaround decided to opt
out. Where's he going? To Bucharest. To do what? Well, he'll be the head honcho of a
funding consortium-backed, among others, by J.P. Morgan-which is eyeing old telecom
service operators in Europe. Says Diwaker who, incidentally, started off in life as a
political journalist: ''I managed to fulfil all the mandates I had when I took up the job.
Then, this challenging opportunity came along.'' And, look at him, he simply can't resist
Hungarian goulash either... 
Since she is like that, they are becoming
like that only. Even as Channel [V]'s Sophiya Haq and Meghna Reddy, 24,
toy with the idea of launching their own line of teenybopper glad rags, the latter decided
to clean up her clutter, and donated it all away to charity. Now, Meghna has managed to
get the official backing of Channel [V]-which is planning an anti-plastics environmental
crusade of its own-to persuade others to follow suit. ''I'm a Vastu believer. Ever since I
cleaned up my home, I feel much lighter. I'll try and convince other people to get rid of
the clutter in their lives, and put it to some good use,'' explains the VJ, who has,
often, lent a helping hand to the Foundation For The Physically Handicapped. And we call
this, charitably, attitude?... 
The Ghoshs, we say, are great hosts. While Bhaskar
Ghosh, 60, the former bureaucrat, hosts his own tele-show with élan, wife Chitra,
53, an adperson-turned-gourmet-cook, can help you host an authentic Bengali dinner. Visit
Chitra's Kitchen, her takeaway-cum-catering service at the Ghoshs' home in Defence Colony
in Delhi-and you could get a range of Bengali dishes from the humble Shukto (a
bitter-to-taste starter) to the exotic Chingri Malaikari (jumbo prawns cooked in coconut
milk). ''I've always loved calling people over and feeding them. So, when my family
suggested that I put my skills to some use, I got hooked,'' explains Chitra. With the
2-month-old service picking up a discerning clientele, she now plans to host parties with
true-blue Bengali ambience-for a price. Must be all those slices of fish... 
First, he worked for a propah
multinational. Now, he's gonna try to work for a swadeshi transnational. First, he got 'em
to smoke it; not chew it. Now, he's gonna try to make 'em chew it; not smoke it.
Obviously, Raj Sujan, 53, who resigned as the head of the Rs 649.26-crore
VST Industries 2 years ago, and has just resurfaced as the CEO of the Rs 350-crore
Dharampal Premchand Ltd (DPL), has come full (smoke) circle. Isn't chewing-tobacco the fag
end? Retorts the neo-non-smoker: ''DPL's core competence lies in flavouring; the way we
can flavour anything from tobacco to spices to supari. We plan to get into these areas,
which have tremendous export potential.'' For the big Baba, that's the flavour to
savour... 
He's back in service. Dapper as ever, Rajan
Jetley, 48, the former CEO of Air-India, has, after a lucrative exile in
Singapore for the last eight years, returned home with his lovely wife, Rita. From a
Mediterranean-style farmhouse on the outskirts of Delhi, he will work with the $20-billion
Carlsson Group-which owns, among others, the Radisson Hotels brand-in expanding its
fledgling operations in this country. ''I've always been in the hotels business-ITC
Hotels, ITDC Hotels-and even at Air-India, I was in the services business,'' laughs Rajan,
who says that, despite developing a taste for Chinese food, he enjoys eating out at
TGIF's. Obviously, since he is a shareholder in that restaurant chain. No jetlag for the
Jetleys, eh?