Overseas guests

British newspapers have been fascinated by the Ambani wedding extravaganza, where the guests included two former British prime ministers and their partners — Sir Tony and Cherie Blair and Boris and Carrie Johnson. Cherie frequently wears Indian clothes. For her husband, who looked fetching in a dark sherwani, this may be his second time in Indian wear. He first wore a Nehru jacket when he visited Hyderabad as the prime minister in 2002. Afterwards, Cherie told me: “Oh, that jacket! He got so much stick from right-wing newspapers that he decided not to wear it again.” Blair was accused of trying to ingratiate himself with ethnic minorities in Britain.

I myself have had a couple of encounters with the Ambanis. When I met Dhirubhai Ambani, he summoned his two boys, Anil and Mukesh, to say hello. Years later, Dev Anand, who was shooting in the UK, came for dinner, bringing his teenage co-star with him. “I can do any part,” declared Tina Munim, who later married Anil Ambani. Anil and Tina don’t seem to feature in the wedding pictures. During a Cannes outing, the late Srichand Hinduja said to me: “Dhirubhai tells me his sons are not getting on. He wants me to have a word with them.”

The wedding of Mukesh’s son, Anant, to Radhika Merchant, appears to have done no harm to India Inc. “What this tells you is that global business leaders believe that the Ambanis are strategically important and also that they see India as a very big market,” remarked James Crabtree, author of The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India’s New Gilded Age.

Secret weapon

The English fast bowler, James Anderson, received an emotional farewell at Lord’s after taking 704 wickets in 187 Tests at the age of 41 years and 354 days following his side’s easy win against the West Indies. He took 4 wickets for 58 runs in his final Test. The secret of why Anderson managed to keep going for so long, remarkable for a pace bowler, lies with Kartar Lalvani, the founding chairman of Britain’s number one vitamin company, Vitabiotics, and elder brother of the Delhi socialite, Bina Ramani.

In the summer of 2011, in a one-day international against India at the Oval, Anderson took three Indian wickets, including that of Virat Kohli. All around me were glum Indian faces; Kartar was the only one smiling. “I have just signed him up as my brand ambassador,” he said revealing that he had had a heart-to-heart with Anderson. “Before he used to be taken off after two overs,” he added. But after going on Vitabiotics Wellman pills, “he says he feels ‘fantastic’.”

Anderson has been especially effective against India. He managed to get Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket nine times. Asked about the toughest batsman he had bowled to, Anderson told Sky Sports: “The best batter I would have to say is Sachin Tendulkar.”

Reflected glory

A number of British politicians have been air-dashing to the United States of America to show support for Donald Trump, following the failed assassination attempt on the former president. They primarily believe that proximity to Trump, who they think will win in November, will be good for their own careers. Back from Mumbai, Boris Johnson, who perhaps hasn’t abandoned hopes of making a comeback, had half an hour with Trump and announced he was in “superb form”.

Nigel Farage, the leader of the far-Right Reform party, has called the former president, “my friend, Donald Trump”. He said he was flying to the Republican National Convention “to stand shoulder to shoulder with Trump”. And Liz Truss, a much-diminished figure after the former PM lost her own seat in the general election, arrived at the convention but hasn’t secured a meeting with Trump, despite saying that Biden is a weak president and that she wants Trump to win.

Loyal fans

Indians, especially first generation of immigrants, invariably support India when it comes to cricket matches against England. But this is not so with football when there is no conflict of loyalty. Among the UK-born second and third generation of Indians, many are fanatical supporters of Arsenal, Spurs, Manchester United and other English clubs. They were gutted when England lost 2-1 to Spain in the Euro. With the black community, the process of integration has been even easier given the number of black players, from Bukayo Saka to Jude Bellingham, in the English side.

Meanwhile, the brilliant play, Dear England, focussing on Gareth Southgate, is being slightly altered since he has resigned as the national team’s football manager after failing to win any major title in eight years.