Director, Onir at the LGBT Pride Parade in Mumbai today

Among the thousands of people who walked in the LGBT Pride Parade (Queer Azadi March) - from August Kranti Maidan to Chowpatty Beach today in Mumbai – was Bollywood director, Onir!

Best known for his films with themes of alternate sexuality – like My Brother Nikhil and I Am – Onir is one of the few Bollywood personalities who wears his sexuality with comfort.

Onir and friends at the Pride Parade

He writes on his official Facebook page: “Was at the Pride March #QAM2012 with friend Urmi and Deborah. Felt good to be a part of thousands of straight n gay men n women marching for Love n Dignity :)”

Rahul Bose and Bhaichung Bhutia hold up a jersey autographed by footballer, Roberto Baggio

Autographed vest by Magic Johnson, donated by the NBA

Yesterday afternoon, the Rooftop at the Trident Hotel in Mumbai was worth billions of Rupees, what with all the sporting memorabilia that lined the walls.

Sachin Tendulkar’s bat, Sebastian Vettel’s signed F1 World Championship Racing vest, the match ball used for the final of the ICC World Cup 2011, signed by the captains, M. S. Dhoni and Kumar Sangakarra, Rafael Nadal’s autographed tennis shoes, Lionel Messi’s Team Argentina autographed football, Milkha Singh’s Rome Olympics 1960 running spikes, Mary Kom’s World Championship medal–winning boxing gloves, 2011 – all this and more, took pride of place in the room, enclosed in glass boxes.

Bhaichung holds up a jersey autographed by Roberto Baggio, which is up for auction

Rahul Bose admires Magic Johnson's autographed jersey, donated by the NBA

Autographed shoes donated by Rafael Nadal

The Foundation, the NGO founded by actor Rahul Bose announced the arrival of “Equation 2012 – an auction for equality”.

Also at the conference to promote the auction, which will be held on the 11th of February 2012, was India’s ex football captain, Bhaichung Bhutia. Reticent and quiet, with a quick smile and disarming humility, Bhutia has also donated a few jerseys which he has worn himself (see video for more details).

Autographed raquets by Mahesh Bhupati and Leander Paes

A cricket bat signed by the Indian World Cup Winning Team 2011

Signatures of the Indian World Cup Winning Team 2011, on the cricket bat

Says Rahul Bose “The auction this year will see twenty-nine pieces pledged, not only by world champions from India, but from across the world, as an expression of both – the faith in The Foundation and their highest regard for Equation. This is an event dedicated to the beauty and honor of sport. The auction will be held on February 11, 2012 (at the Trident Hotel, Nariman Point) preceded by cocktails, followed by a black tie, sit-down dinner.“

Autographed gloves by Alonso, are also up for auction

Autographed jersey donated for auction by Sebastian Vettel

Rahul tells us that he’s “Spent six months collecting pieces from across sports, across continents. Already it is the greatest collection of sporting memorabilia in history.”

Adds Bhutia, “The evening will be hosted by actor Siddharth and Cyrus Broacha. The proceeds of the auction will go towards the corpus of The Foundation, an NGO dedicated to creating a world without discrimination. Also, the proceeds from four of the pieces, which I’ve donated, will go towards building a world-class football ground in Sikkim, and also relief work, since the state was ravaged by an earthquake last year!“

Gloves for auction donated by Vijendra Singh

Milkha Singh's spike shoes for auction

List Of Pieces Up For Auction:

SPECIAL TRIBUTE
Lot 1. Sachin Tendulkar : Bat. IPL 2011.
Lot 2. Brian Lara : Bat. Autographed Bat.
Lot 3. Rafael Nadal : Autographed Tennis shoes.
Lot 4. All Blacks : World Champions 2011. Autographed Jersey.
Lot 5. Lionel Messi, Team Argentina : Autographed football.

ICC WORLD CUP 2011 SPECIAL
Lot 6. ICC World Cup 2011 Final, Mumbai : Autographed Ball.
Lot 7. ICC World Cup 2011 : Bat. World Champions – India.
Lot 8. ICC World Cup 2011 : Autographed Captains’ Bat.
Lot 9. Zaheer Khan : ICC World Cup 2011. Bowling shoes.
Lot 10. M. S. Dhoni : ICC World Cup 2011. Bat.

MASTERS
Lot 11. Magic Johnson : Autographed LA Lakers vest.
Lot 12. Steve Ovett : Running vest, European Championships, 1986.
Lot 13. Greatest All Rounders :

Lot 14. Spin Quartet :

• Test Blazers: B S Bedi, S Venkatraghavan.
• Test Pullovers: E A S Prasanna, B S Chandrasekhar.

Lot 15. Spin Quartet : Autographed Cricket Balls.
Lot 16. Milkha Singh : Rome Olympics 1960: Running Spikes.

FORMULA 1 – THE FORMIDABLE FOUR.
Lot 17. Sebastian Vettel : World Champion 2011, the Red Bull racing vest.
Lot 18. Rubens Barichello : Williams racing suit, 2011.
Lot 19. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari racing gloves, 2011.
Lot 20. Famous Five : Autographed team caps, 2011 – Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Mark Weber & Niko Rosberg.

YESTERDAY, INDIA. TODAY, THE WORLD.
Lot 21. Viswanathan Anand : World Champion Trophy, Teheran 2000.
Lot 22. ‘Indian Express’ : Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi: Autographed Racquets.
Lot 23. Mary Kom : Gold medal-winning boxing gloves, from the 2010 World Championship, Barbados.
Lot 24. Sushil Kumar : Gold medal-winning wrestling vest, from the 2010 World Championship, Moscow.
Lot 25. VVS Laxman : Bat – 148 v Australia, Adelaide, 2003.
Lot 26. Saina Nehwal : Autographed shoes & racquet, from the All England Championships, 2011.
Lot 27. Dhanraj Pillay : Asiad 2002 (Gold Medal): Captain’s blazer, armband, & hockey stick signed by the Indian team.
Lot 28. Vijender Singh : Bronze medal–winning boxing gloves, from the 2009 World Championships, Milan.
Lot 29. Harbhajan Singh : Pullover, 400th Test wicket.

(photo courtesy | socialmoms.com)

Love this! BOOKS on TOAST Charity Book Sale, where your favorite authors are available at exceptionally low prices and every rupee from the sale goes towards the education of street kids! #DoubleWin.
Where: Candies, Bandra
When: 21st and 22nd of January, 12-8pm
Facebook Event
Remember your [♥] of books, can help a street child learn to read! Be there. xoxo

Get eco-friendly with stuff from the Eco Corner, Mumbai (photo credit | robinage.com)

How much sense does that title make? If you weren’t one of those eco-friendly, let’s-save-the-world people before, I’m sure you’re thinking about it now huh?

And why is the title of this blog in quotation marks? Because it’s the sign-off from Urvashi Mody, one of the partners of Eco Corner in Mumbai and it got your attention didn’t it? I admit, before I Googled the store, I had no idea that I have already been there. And I loved it. Located on the 3^rd floor in Palladium, High Street Phoenix, the store is very easily missable, but once you’ve been there, you keep going back. Home accessories (including animal planters, which can double up as candle- stands – adorable!), stationery, candles and body products are among the things available, to name a few. Their newest offering? A 2012 planner made from the A4 paper that YOU threw out. Yes, those pointless printouts that somehow manage to find their way to your desk every, single day have now been recycled into this cute planner:

2012 Planner from Eco Corner

Specs are as follows:

Size: 12cm x 17cm, 14pages.

Two options are available: Cycle & Yogasana.

Both are white  & available at Rs. 370 each.

So this year, we at Team MissMalini pledge to save the earth in our own little way. Will you be joining us?

For more details check out their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ecocornerindia

Forty Red Bangles

Tell me who you’ll light a candle for this year or what you’d make a wish for to win this set of four Forty Red Bangles, scented candles; post your answer in the comments below! xoxo

As I mentioned I’ve been collecting all sorts of adorable things for my wedding goody bags and party favors in Goa and even though I can’t really afford to invite all of you to my wedding I’m hoping these little contests will give you a chance to experience the fun along with me! First up Forty Red Bangles who make the comfiest pajamas and elegantly scented candles. Mmmm, yummy!

Forty Red Bangles

Forty Red Bangles is a tale of three cities. The label represents Ramona Saboo’s journey across Melbourne, Jodhpur and Mumbai. For an Indian bride, a mark of her newly-wed status is her forty red and white bangles. Forty Red Bangles is a “marriage” between sustainability and design creating a sustainable luxury line of organic clothing, all natural candles, jewelry and homeware. Their junior label, Four Red Bangles is fun and playful line for kids with super soft organic cotton pyjamas and toys colored with natural dyes are all part of this collection.

Forty Red Bangles

Forty Red Bangles also reaches out to local designers and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) to produce one-of-a-kind items. Working closely with NGOs, such as Noah’s Ark, Kadam Haat, The Kishkinda Trust and Sambhali Trust in Jodhpur, to create unique products that tell the story of their creators. The Sambali Trust is a safe haven for women that have been victims of abuse and persecution.

Forty Red Bangles available at www.fortyredbangles.com

Facebook Like! fortyredbangles
Twitter: fortyredbangles
Blog: fortyredbangles.wordpress.com

Coca-Cola's new commercial campaign

Caught Coca-Cola’s charming ‘Reasons to Believe’ ad campaign on TV yet? If not, you must, ASAP ‒ it’s guaranteed to bring a little smile on your face. After all, when life is as enveloped with doom and gloom as it currently is, when the cold, hard facts stubbornly suggest anything but an upswing of fortunes in the near future, when the ones supposed to pull us out of this rut show themselves to be bumbling fools, isn’t it nice to have something that reassures you that everything will be okay, once again, rather sooner?

Negative vs Positive

Conceptualized by a creative team lead by Prasoon Joshi (yep, that ace lyricist & A.R. Rahman’s sidekick) for McCann Erickson India, this TVC ‒ directed by Kaushik Sarkar for the production house Apostrophe ‒ dropped just in time to ring in 2012 on a bright note. It opens with a gaggle of kids merrily crooning the jingle Umeed Wali Dhoop, Sunshine Wali Asha (penned by Joshi himself and composed by Shantanu Moitra) to the strum of guitar. As they sing, some stats flash on screen juxtaposing a heartening picture to every negative development.

I often say that ‘simplicity is genius’ and this TVC was the best depiction of it. No slebs, no poncy location or fancy technology, not preachy or patronising ‒ relying on just a bunch of kids brimming with hope. Contagious, really.

Happy 2012!

So, 2011: good riddance or another vintage, for you all? Nevertheless, we at MissMalini.com wish 2012 is a decidedly better year for each and every one of you… :-)

Lady Gaga poses for Vanity Fair December 2011 issue

Lady Gaga is being generous this Christmas by putting up for auction, accessories that she wore for the fashion shoot in the January 2012 issue of Vanity Fair and a poster of the cover autographed by Gaga, herself.

And if that’s not enough, there’s also a sketch of her in the nude which has been painted by crooner Tony Bennett, and which also features in the magazine spread (above).

According to the description on Ebay, “Tony Bennett created this charcoal portrait of Lady Gaga using Prismacolor Premier Art vine Charcoal sticks working on Fabriano Artisico heavy weight watercolor paper. The portrait measures 18″ x 24″ and is signed by the artist, using his given name “Benedetto” which is how Tony Bennett signs his original artwork.”

Lady Gaga on the cover of Vanity Fair - January 2012

All proceeds go to Tony Bennett’s charity, Exploring The Arts, and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation.

Founded in 1999 by Tony Bennett and his wife Susan Benedetto, the mission of Exploring the Arts (ETA) is to strengthen the role of the arts in public high school education. Through targeted outreach ETA currently supports 14 NYC public high schools providing funding and support for scholarships, apprentice programs, arts equipment, teacher grants and staff development.

The auction started today with a minimum bid of $5000/- and ends on December 19th.

Check it out here.

Lady Gaga

If you’re a M.A.C or Lady Gaga, Fergie or Dita Von Tesse fan then you should already know that every rupee/cent of M.A.C’s Viva Glam products go to the M.A.C Aids Fund. They support men, women and children who are living with HIV/Aids. They have a number of great Viva Glam products some which have the signatures of Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper. My favourite from the whole range has to be the lip glass in a nude colour (I forget the name). So next time you pick up a Viva Glam product know that you’ve done your small bit for the cause.

Viva Glam

Marv D'Souza

Kick for Change

And they Kicked for Change!

The country’s most well-known fashion and entertainment circle have come together to support Magic Bus’s Kick For Change drive. I personally had a blast doing it. To make more people aware of the Kick For Change Goal, stars like Aki Narula, Purab Kohli, Pia and Binal Trivedi, Bhawna Sharma, Carol Gracias, Acquin Pais, and many more come together.

1) Pia Trivedi- Model and Actor

Pia Trivedi

One of the most loved faces in the industry and recently seen in her debut film, ‘Hum Tum Shabana’, Pia was super-cute to sign and pose with our Kick For Change Football. She was thrilled to the first to get the Ball rolling and wished more would take initiative to donating Kicks.

2) Acquin Pais – Fashion Model and CO-founder, Butter Events

Acquin Pais

The tall and super sexy Acquin Pais kicked the ball from his home in Bandra. Acquin too was quite interested in the cause and showed his support by signing the ball with a smile. We love you Acquin, you’re a star.

3) Binal Trivedi – Fashion Model

Binal Trivedi

One of the most mesmerizing faces on the Indian Runway and super, super warm heart, Binal Trivedi too joined the World’s Biggest Football team to show her support. She signed, ‘KICKED’ and showed that she cares!

4) Aki Narula: Designer, Stylist and Mentor at Lakme Fashion Week for Gen Next.

Aki Narula

Talented, visionary and a playful mind… Aki took a stop from a busy day to sign the ball and ‘kick’ For Change… Thanks Aki…

5) Bhawna Sharma – Fashion Model

Bhawna Sharma

With a runway walk to kill and a personality that one can’t help but love, Bhawna Sharma stepped out and Kicked hard to make sure the change is made. And we love that about her.

6) Emilliano Collazo – The Zenzi-Man

Emilliano Collazo

He jumped to be a part of the drive with no second thought. And being Mr. Daddy Cool, he glad posed kicking the Ball… literally… SO cool!

7) Mia Uyeda

Mia Uyeda

The gorgeous Mia joined her husband, Emilliano, in the Kick For Change campaign and we’re so glad to have her in the World’s Biggest Football Team… :)

8) Carol Gracias – Fashion Model and Reality Star

Carol Gracias

The ever-so gracious and smiling Carol said she was glad to be of any assistance to the cause. She signed the ball and donated a couple ‘Kicks’ for change, but sadly was a little under the weather for a picture. Nevertheless, she did kick for change and that’s the Important Part… Thank you Carol for the love and support.

9) Sheetal Mallar- Fashion Model Turned Photographer

Sheetal Mallar

Sheetal took a breather from her tremendously hectic new schedule to sign the ball. All for a good cause, she posed and ‘Kicks the ball’ near her Bandra residence. Glad to have Ms. Mallar as a member of the Biggest Football Team, this by the way is growing by the second.

10) Purab Kohli – Actor

Purab Kohli

Always a favorite amongst, children, women and dudes, Purab Kohli is probably the kindest and most humble celebrities around the city. Always known to smile for cause, Purab didn’t hesitate to be a part of the Kick For Change initiative. In fact, he was thrilled that the money been raised was through sports. Purab Kohli has Kicked for Change!!!

11) Shilpa Chavan

Shilpa Chavan

Shilpa Chavan of Little Shilpa, after making hats for the most fashionable people in the world like Lady Gaga, took a moment to sign the Kick For change ball and share the smile :)… thats thank you Little Shilpa

They all have Kicked for Change, have you? Log on to Kick for Change and donate a ‘Kick’ to improve an underprivileged child’s life. Also join the Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. It doesn’t take much to show your support. The World’s Biggest Football Team is waiting for you!

Thanks to Pia Trivedi, Binal Trivedi, Aki Narula, Bhawna Sharma,Shilpa Chavan, Acquin Pais, Carol Gracias, Purab Kohli, Sheetal Mallar, Emilliano and Mia Uyeda for Kicking the ball. Also to Malini Agarwal and her fabulous team at MissMalini for running the post.