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| IN HIGH PLACES: (From left): Lady Mohini Noon; Garter Principal King of Arms, Thomas Woodcock; and Lord Gulam Noon |
An Indian now very much in his seat
“Curry king” Sir Gulam Noon swore on the Koran as he formally took his seat last week in the House of Lords as Baron Noon of St John’s Wood.
It was an historic day in the life of the 75-year-old entrepreneur who recalled he had come to Britain as a 24-year-old from a modest background in what was still called Bombay.
As he entered the ornate Palace of Westminster, with its marble statues, frescoes commemorating landmark events from Britain’s history and halls ornate with red and gold, he murmured modestly that his had been a long journey “for a small chap from Crawford Market” — a metaphorical reference to Bombay’s bustling bazaar.
Noon had the intricacies of the ancient “introduction” ceremony explained to him by “Garter Principal King of Arms”, Thomas Woodcock, LVO, DL, FSA, an Old Etonian who was dressed in a splendid scarlet uniform.
“It dates back to 1621,” Garter told me.
Noon was watched by his wife, Mohini, his daughters, Zeenat and Zarmin, his sons-in-law, Arun Harnal and Manraj Sekhon, his granddaughter, Natania, and other family members and close friends as he was escorted to the “Robing Room”. There he donned ermine before entering the upper chamber precisely at 2.35 pm, accompanied by his two “supporters”, Lord Sainsbury and Baroness Jay.
The Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, seated on the Woolsack — she had welcomed Meira Kumar only a few days ago — smiled and shook Noon’s hand, to a rumble of “Hear, hear!” from other members.
“After I had put on the robes, I looked at myself in the full-length mirror,” Noon confided later. “As I entered the chamber, I said, ‘My God, I’ve arrived!’”
He certainly has.
Noon, who has done plenty of charity work through his Noon Foundation, was offered a peerage in 2006. However, he withdrew his nomination after getting unwittingly embroiled in the “cash for honours” scandal. But an inquiry exonerated him.
After his introduction, Noon sat for half an hour in the chamber where he would have noticed several other Indian faces — Bhikhu Parekh, Navnit Dholakia, Karan Bilimoria, Sandip Verma, and Dolar Popat, among others. New peer Raj Loomba was spotted in the corridors.
Noon, who was trapped in the Taj when the terrorists struck on November 26, 2008, had a narrow escape.
As a peer, he will “speak out against extremism no matter where it’s from”, he said later.
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| BUSY BOY: Patrick French at the RSA |
Patrick shining
Patrick French has been a busy boy since returning from his hectic book tour of India. He had his first party, mostly for family and friends, at Daunt Books, an establishment in Marylebone High Street with a lovely, old world atmosphere.
I caught up with Patrick again at the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), where a lady in the audience piped up and announced she had attended his Calcutta launch at the Oxford Bookshop. She can’t have too much of Patrick, obviously.
That same evening he spoke at the London School of Economics.
What else?
“I am doing all the literary festivals,” he said, mentioning Hay-on-Wye and Oxford, among others.
Once life returns to normal, he hopes to start on a socio-political history of the Himalayas.
Wherever Patrick goes, his India: A Portrait is much in evidence. At Daunt Books, for example, an entire window was taken up by a display. He sold a pile at the RSA.
The tourism ministry, with its Incredible! India campaign, should be pleased. Patrick’s book cover, with “India” emblazoned all over it, is doing its work.
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Shoe in
Men who like good shoes should come to London, if only to do a spot of window shopping. My one pair of black shoes, bought five years ago at Clarks in Oxford Street for £38, is about to be binned, even though our excellent mochi (cobbler) in Calcutta has struggled valiantly with it, repairing his many repairs.
One morning last week, I stopped by J.M. Weston, in Burlington Gardens in Mayfair. A pair of plain, black shoes was priced at £545 (Rs 40,117); an adjacent pair at £540 (Rs 39,749).
Among other renowned shoemakers, Church’s English shoes, founded in 1873 by one Thomas Church and his three sons, claim to use techniques that go back to 1675. Its classic “Chetwynd” retails for £370.
John Lobb, exclusive bootmakers with a shop opposite St James’s Palace, has shoes that retail for £2,620, plus 20 cent tax. Its clients include “kings, maharajas, actors, singers, politicians, business moguls and literati”.
All these firms employ skilled craftsmen but I bet none would be as good as our Calcutta mochi, who is remarkable, not least, because his right hand is missing.
Bushy tales
Rachel Johnson, younger sister of Boris Johnson, is editor of an old fashioned magazine called The Lady.
Her revelations have “caused outrage”, reported the Evening Standard after her critics felt she had behaved in a thoroughly unladylike manner.
In an article in the UK edition of Vogue — “the world’s fashion bible” — Rachel has recounted how she burst into tears after discovering that her 15-year-old daughter, who had been given her mother’s credit card to have her legs waxed, had blown £40 on a “Brazilian”.
“Mum, chill,” said her daughter. “Everyone does it.”
Rachel was persuaded to follow her daughter’s example but what many find unforgivable is that she chronicled the whole episode in Vogue in excruciatingly painful, anatomical detail.
Rachel admits her husband, Ivo Dawney (who was briefly my very laid back foreign editor at The Sunday Telegraph), doesn’t like it.
All I can say is that it is very unlikely this is an article that will be reprinted in Vogue India.
Calling Cairo
Hosni Mubarak did not seem a bad man to me when I met him in 1985. His special forces had burst into a hijacked EgyptAir plane and, instead of rescuing the hostages, had shot dead 60 passengers in a botched operation.
Mubarak’s people said, at first, there was no chance of an interview but thanks to Rajiv Gandhi’s intervention, the decision was swiftly reversed.
At his presidential palace in Cairo, Mubarak spoke warmly about India, the non-aligned movement — and about Rajiv: “We are pilots — Rajiv and me.”
I am glad I resisted the temptation to say: “…and you are both crash landing your countries.”
Few will now want Iran 2. Mubarak has overstayed his welcome by about 20 years but if he is overthrown violently, the extremist Muslim Brotherhood will almost certainly turn Egypt into another hardline Islamic regime.
This is certainly not in India’s interest — or that of Egyptians.
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| WEDDED BLISS: Inderjot and Alexandra in Hello! [Pic: Hello!] |
Tittle tattle
The former Tory cabinet minister, Jonathan Aitken, 68, seems relaxed that his one-time socialite daughter, Alexandra, 30, has married a Nihang Sikh, Inderjot Singh.
We learn that the latter is “only a part-time saint” — he speaks fluent English, was educated at the Holmes Institute in Sydney and is “a property developer”.
Aitken, a born again Christian, who has just returned from visiting the happy couple at their new home in Amritsar, says: “I am very loyal to my faith but there are many paths to God, and she and her husband are on a different path,” he says.
He seems the perfect father.
