This alliance is for life.
When Dilip Modi, 24, the son of B.K. Modi, the CEO of the Rs 1,300-crore
B.K. Modi Group, tied the knot with Sonal Himatsingka, 22, the daughter
of Rakesh Himatsingka, the CEO of the Rs 39-crore Indian Carbon, they sure made a quiet
song-'n-dance about it. Amidst Shubha Mudgal's bhajans, Daler Mehndi's bhangra, Shiamak
Davar's Hindish pop, Bismillah Khan's shehnai, and Colonial Cousins' fusion music, the
couple were quietly wedded. "Marriages ought to be celebrated in temples," says
BK, a born-again Buddhist, who insisted on a simple ceremony at the Chattarpur Temple,
near Delhi. While the B-school jock from the Imperial College in London will try to focus
on the group's cellular telecom business, the English grad from St Xavier's College in
Calcutta will try to write poetry. It's in the air, remember?
Bade Miya To Bade Miya,
Chotte Miyans To... When Vidorha Debroy (centre), 15, and Nishanka Debroy
(extreme right), 12, were invited last month by the Massachussetts Institute of
Technology to participate in a global children's summit, they proved all the maxims about
fathers and sons right--besides doing papa proud. While everyone knows of Bibek
Debroy (extreme left), 42, who heads the Indira Gandhi Institute For Development
Research, it was the two little Debroys who stole the show by winning the right to be
among the 100 children in the world who came together to create a virtual nation, Nation
1.0. To exist only in cyberspace, Nation 1.0 will serve as a platform for exchanging ideas
and redressing real world economic problems, especially those concerning children.
"It's a children's world. Adults can participate, but we have the right to ask them
to evacuate," says Nishanka. Exactly the kind of thing Daddy Debroy would say!
They are the low-flyer's
hi-fliers. What would you do if you had to market a global brand that cannot be advertised
locally? Well, apart from sponsoring golf-tournaments, you could diplomatically appoint
Ambassadors for your brand. Like the £112-million Highland Distillers, which has anointed
the 20-something Anupama Verma, the model-turned-actress, and the
designer-turned-model, Gurpreet Gill, 23, as the Brand Ambassadors of its
Scotch whiskey, Famous Grouse. Although Highland Distillers doesn't plan to manufacture
the product here, it is trying to increase the awareness about the brand. So, it roped in
Anupama and Gurpreet, who were initiated at a week in Scotland and a chaperoned tour of
London's night-clubs. Explains Anupama: "The brand has a lot of flavour, of fun, of
flair. That's what I will promote in my own way about Famous Grouse." And become as
famous as a grouse
"I love Calcutta. I was
born here. I went to college here. I got married here. Aditya was born here" says
Laxmi Niwas Mittal, the 48-year-old CEO of the $15-billion Ispat Industries. And, he can
add, Aditya was married here. In early December, 1998, in one of the three weddings of the
month, LNM's son, Aditya Mittal, 22, wedded Megha Patodia,
21, the daughter of Anjana and Mahendra Kumar Patodia, the CEO of Rs 153-crore GTN
Textiles. Nearly 300 rooms were booked at the Taj Bengal, the Oberoi Grand, and the Park
Hotel for the guests, who had 50 Cielos--bought exclusively for the wedding--at their
disposal. While the controversial Sangeet ceremony on the lawns of the Victoria Memorial
featured dance recitals by Mallika Sarabhai and Mamta Shankar, the wedding itself took
place at the palatial residence of Ashok Jain, the Chairman of Bennett, Coleman & Co.,
and a close friend of the Mittals. Not only was the guest-list--which included West
Bengal's Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu--a Who's Who, there was a cuisine to suit every
palette too. Clearly, Marxist Calcutta will never forget its billionaire son.
This alliance is for life.
When Dilip Modi, 24, the son of B.K. Modi, the CEO of the Rs 1,300-crore
B.K. Modi Group, tied the knot with Sonal Himatsingka, 22, the daughter
of Rakesh Himatsingka, the CEO of the Rs 39-crore Indian Carbon, they sure made a quiet
song-'n-dance about it. Amidst Shubha Mudgal's bhajans, Daler Mehndi's bhangra, Shiamak
Davar's Hindish pop, Bismillah Khan's shehnai, and Colonial Cousins' fusion music, the
couple were quietly wedded. "Marriages ought to be celebrated in temples," says
BK, a born-again Buddhist, who insisted on a simple ceremony at the Chattarpur Temple,
near Delhi. While the B-school jock from the Imperial College in London will try to focus
on the group's cellular telecom business, the English grad from St Xavier's College in
Calcutta will try to write poetry. It's in the air, remember? 
Bade Miya To Bade Miya,
Chotte Miyans To...
They are the low-flyer's
hi-fliers. What would you do if you had to market a global brand that cannot be advertised
locally? Well, apart from sponsoring golf-tournaments, you could diplomatically appoint
Ambassadors for your brand. Like the £112-million Highland Distillers, which has anointed
the 20-something Anupama Verma, the model-turned-actress, and the
designer-turned-model, Gurpreet Gill, 23, as the Brand Ambassadors of its
Scotch whiskey, Famous Grouse. Although Highland Distillers doesn't plan to manufacture
the product here, it is trying to increase the awareness about the brand. So, it roped in
Anupama and Gurpreet, who were initiated at a week in Scotland and a chaperoned tour of
London's night-clubs. Explains Anupama: "The brand has a lot of flavour, of fun, of
flair. That's what I will promote in my own way about Famous Grouse." And become as
famous as a grouse 
"I love Calcutta. I was
born here. I went to college here. I got married here. Aditya was born here" says
Laxmi Niwas Mittal, the 48-year-old CEO of the $15-billion Ispat Industries. And, he can
add, Aditya was married here. In early December, 1998, in one of the three weddings of the
month, LNM's son, Aditya Mittal, 22, wedded Megha Patodia,
21, the daughter of Anjana and Mahendra Kumar Patodia, the CEO of Rs 153-crore GTN
Textiles. Nearly 300 rooms were booked at the Taj Bengal, the Oberoi Grand, and the Park
Hotel for the guests, who had 50 Cielos--bought exclusively for the wedding--at their
disposal. While the controversial Sangeet ceremony on the lawns of the Victoria Memorial
featured dance recitals by Mallika Sarabhai and Mamta Shankar, the wedding itself took
place at the palatial residence of Ashok Jain, the Chairman of Bennett, Coleman & Co.,
and a close friend of the Mittals. Not only was the guest-list--which included West
Bengal's Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu--a Who's Who, there was a cuisine to suit every
palette too. Clearly, Marxist Calcutta will never forget its billionaire son. 