Old school

So you thought Nandan Nilekani was busy spearheading only the gargantuan Aadhar project? Not so. The former head of Infosys belongs to a school that taught him, among other things, to multitask. And so this old boy of Bangalore’s iconic Bishop Cotton Boys’ School is now serving as a strategy advisor to the Old Cottonians’ Association. He will help plan the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the school, which comes up in 2015. After helming Infosys and working with the Indian bureaucracy for the staggering job of allotting unique identification numbers to a billion and more Indians, this should be a cakewalk for Nilekani.

Daddy’s song

It’s nice when the grandson also rises. Especially so if he is endowed with multiple talents. It seems Dharmendra’s grandson and Sunny Deol’s son, Karan, is not just a would-be actor but is also a gifted rap artist. On dad Sunny Deol’s 55th birthday, which was celebrated on the sets of Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 in Leicester, UK, Karan, aka Rocky, came out with a surprise. He did a rap number, which he had written himself, to show his love for his dad. That must have pleased the older Deol no end. Incidentally, Karan is now an assistant director in Yamla Pagla Deewana and will soon make his acting debut in a romantic film. One hopes his creativity in the field of rap songs will extend to his acting as well.

Magic carpets

From fashion to food to home décor — designer Rohit Bal seems to revel in wearing many hats. Clearly, the fashion designer who is now a restaurateur too finds it hard to restrict his designing moxie to just embroidered lehngas and embellished sherwanis — prohibitively priced though they are. In a bid to spread himself a little wider, Bal now plans to make Indian homes look more beautiful and is tying up with Danish carpet conglomerate Ege to launch his own line of carpets. The designer’s carpet collection will be sold in 65 international markets around the globe. So will we have a spring / summer collection of carpets? Wait and watch.

Speed creed

Fernando Alonso may have been beaten by rival Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel in the practice session at the Buddh International Circuit at Noida on Friday, but well before that Alonso had made quite an unbeatable gesture. The two-time world champion, who drives for Ferrari, visited a primary school in Tugarpur, a village in Uttar Pradesh, and gave the children some lessons in hygiene. The Spanish F1 driver and Unicef ambassador told them about the merits of washing one’s hands with soap regularly. “This very simple act can save hundreds of thousands of children who die needlessly every year,” said Alonso. He had a simple mantra for the kids — wet, rub and rinse. Different from va va vroom, yes, but perhaps much more important for children in an Indian village. Well, who knew the speedster had such an active social conscience?

Reality bites

Photographer Raghu Rai is all set to showcase his images of children from the slums around Delhi in his latest photobook, Outside the Margins. From pictures of ragpickers to malnourished children queueing up in front of a health camp to children selling newspapers at a traffic signal, the book has more than 50 images of children who dwell in urban poverty. Rai, who is releasing the book on November 2 in association with Save The Children, the non-government organisation, says, “I have no illusions about changing the world through these pictures, but by sharing them with sensitivity and responsibility, I hope they will touch people to some extent.” Well said.