Logo rhythm

Nothing political?

The venue for the engagement of Shradha, daughter of hotelier and MP Lalit Suri and adopted by his brother Ramesh, was initially Kamal Nath’s residence at 1 Tuglak Road. But later fresh invitation cards were sent out changing the address to Suri’s farm on Delhi’s outskirts. Some speculated that the shift in venue was because Nath developed cold feet in view of the poor vibes between Sonia Gandhi and Suri, who was once a close Gandhi family friend. ‘‘I don’t think we should bring politics into a private family affair’’, says Suri, who explains that the changed address was because the VIP neighbours in Lutyens New Delhi might have objected to music after the 11 pm deadline and there was not enough space.

Politics could hardly be ignored at the festivities considering that leaders from across the political spectrum turned up. Mulayam Singh, Laloo Yadav, Mayawati, Arun Jaitley, Pramod Mahajan, Maneka Gandhi, Farooq and Omar Abdullah, Subramaniam Swamy, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Najma Heptullah and Kamal Nath were among the politicians jostling for space under the VIP marquee. In the crush, Farooq was seen greeting his estranged daughter Sarah, who recently married Sachin Pilot, with a peck on her cheek. Bollywood’s leading lights, from Aishwarya Rai to Karishma Kapoor, provided the glamour.

With some 6000 guests, arrangements were on the scale of a Cecil B DeMille movie set. Two neighbouring farms were hired simply for parking cars, there was an ambulance, doctors and special repair team on standby. Scores of guests were constantly on their mobiles trying to locate lost spouses in the milling crowd. The actual wedding in Goa will be a small, intimate affair.

Still only ‘maybe’

Pakistani cricket legend Imran Khan who sat for a while with the younger Gandhis in the VIP box at the Karachi cricket match remarked to Priyanka that he had heard she might be standing for Parliament. ‘‘I didn’t say so,’’ was Priyanka’s enigmatic reply. ‘‘What does that mean?’’ Khan queried. ‘‘Maybe’’ was Priyanka’s response.

Congresspersons believe that only one of Sonia’s two offspring will stand for Parliament while the other will accompany Sonia on the campaign. If Rahul is to stand for Parliament, he will first have to get over his inhibitions, judging from his performance in Karachi at the historic moment of victory in the Karachi one day match: Priyanka leapt for joy, Robert Vadra was visibly exuberant, Arun Jaitley seated next to them jumped up from his seat in excitement with both hands raised in the air. In sharp contrast, Rahul simply clapped politely with a quizzical expression. His restrained response was more suited for a drawing room piano recital and was too lukewarm even for an opera performance, let alone a cricket match.

Age, only bar

His two cousins have yet to make up their mind whether they are joining politics, but Feroze Varun Gandhi has hit the campaign trail in a big way. On March 13, his birthday, he addressed a tribal rally in Chhota Udaipur in Gujarat followed by another large meeting at Vadodara that night. Feroze says candidly that if it had been his 25th birthday not his 24th, he would have been a candidate for Parliament. He is to speak at a tribal rally in Khandesh, Maharashtra next week and numerous public meetings in UP are scheduled for later in the campaign. The fledgling politician claims modestly that it is ‘‘a learning experience’’, but it is obvious that he knows how to work a crowd. His fluent command of Hindi, unlike many of the baba log politicians of the second generation, is because he was brought up in a bilingual household.

Feroze who has completed his MSc in public policy plans to release his second book of poems Burden of Metaphor in July. By the year-end, his anthology of songs, speeches, writing and letters on what it means to be an Indian, titled Patriot’s Guidebook to India is scheduled for release.