Quite often, I find myself talking to the taxi drivers in New York City. Sometimes out of curiosity as to what their lives are like, and other times to distract myself from the bumper-to-bumper frustrating traffic.

Does being connected really make up for physical separation? In this day and age, we are connected 24x7, whether it is by email or the mobile. The BlackBerry Messenger not only keeps you connected 24 hours but also gives

The question asked was, “What is the most important thing a mother learns?” Ankita Sheorey cleared her throat and smiled, then with extreme confidence, she said, “When a mother gives birth to a child, a child gives birth to a mother. A mother learns to love unconditionally.”

Tiara, my daughter, started teaching at the Society for the Education of the Crippled in Mumbai Central. Earlier, she had gone to check out the group that teaches street children but then decided to teach the handicapped children.
Every time she came back from teaching, she had new stories to tell about the plight of the children there. Her observations — earlier that of a 16-year-old — slowly became deeper and more soulful.

It was difficult getting Aki on the phone as I picked the middle of fashion week fittings to talk to him. He kept messaging me “Give me 20 minutes!” every half-an-hour. Aki is styling 14 shows for the Lakme Fashion Week.
“It is exciting styling a show, because you see the work of the designer that he has lived with for the last two months and then I view it with my eyes, giving my inputs after reviewing it,” said Aki Narula, while talking to me between fittings.

We live in an urban jungle. The other day we were at lunch and the topic of discussion moved to stress busters. How do we really relieve ourselves from the stress that eats into us, produced by a society like Mumbai? My friend from Hyderabad remarked that we were making a mountain of a molehill by talking about this, and unanimously, the five of us answered back almost in unison, “We live in Mumbai!”

Fear is by far the most crippling of human emotions. Last night, I saw the film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara which left a lasting impression on me. Three boys on a holiday in Spain deal with the fear that each one cradles for many years. They face their fears through different experiences and release themselves of this incapacitating emotion that keeps a person caged in a box.

The happiness on her face knows no bounds when she is with her two-year-old twins, Ishaan and Isabella. “Having children is the best thing ever,” she gushes. “Life does not get better than this,” she goes on. Ramona Narang Rodella has been married before too, but didn’t have children. “I always wanted them, but I guess things only happen at the right time,” she adds.

Farheen Khan and I did a number of shows in the early and mid-90s. I remember when she got married and moved to London. We lost one of the sexier models of the industry.

I am amazed at how independent and courageous children of this generation are at 16, compared to our generation. Rahul Munshi, who has just finished his ICSE board examination from Mumbai’s Cathedral School, decided to trek to the base camp of Mount Everest.