Kishwar Desai | Americans Moving to London As Ties Cool! Kandhari Film on Marriage Is a Hit

The weather in London is changing — and Spring may have arrived — flowers are blooming but it would not be London without the early April showers — in March. When the sun shines, it is as beautiful as the English poets tell us. But we have to wait for it, and obviously, that is why you can write a whole poem about a sunny day! However, to be honest — coming from a hot climate — I have always loved the rain, and for me therefore this is an ideal country to live in. I love walking in the rain — and the rain is, most of the time, soft and drizzly like a baby’s breath. It is refreshing and rejuvenating, and so I say, bring on the April showers!

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Politically, it is Donald Trump and Ukraine which occupy the mind and the media. You can always get the measure of the man (or woman) in a crisis. And so we have in the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, a relentlessly active statesman who is trying to contain the bad news coming out of America. He is also trying hard to build a coalition of European nations to withstand the possible collapse of the Atlantic Alliance.

The re-writing of the Cold War era — when the James Bond films were at their height — is now taking place. Who will be the “bad guy” in America — now that Trump and Putin are coming closer? Surely not Europe? Because the idealistic among us thought that alliances are made from shared values, and Sir Keir is trying to maintain that. But for Trump — alliances are based on purely economic transactions. So the good friends in the past — the US and the UK are suddenly wary of their relationship.

But in the meantime, this is good news for the property market in the UK — as a flock of rich Americans are migrating to London and buying up houses. Again, this is the irony because in the past it was the Russians oligarchs who bought the fanciest apartments here. Now it is the Americans who feel constricted in the US — and the UK seems like safe territory with the same “shared values”.

So hurry if you want to buy up property here!

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One sure sign of Spring is that the Cheltenham races were on last week. These steeplechase events test the horses and their jockeys. But the big thing is the fans who line the stands. The royalty is regular and it is the fashion to be seen at Cheltenham. So, you have to be dressed in your best and poshest outfits, and who knows you may feature in the media the next day, as the latest fashion icon! Of course, a race hardly lasts 10 minutes if that. So, you fill in the time in between betting and, of course, eating and drinking. This year the rules of drinking have been relaxed so you can drink as and when and where you like.

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Now a movie about a newly married couple, set in Mumbai, Sister Midnight, has just opened in theatres here and is, surprisingly, earning four stars for itself. British Indian filmmaker, Karan Kandhari has put together this comic-horror-drama of a wife in an arranged marriage going completely awry. Radhika Apte is in the lead and has dazzled critics with her performance while Chhaya Kadam seems to be in every film that is hitting the headlines abroad. She just could be a filmmaker’s lucky talisman! Here she plays the recalcitrant neighbour to Apte’s character.

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And those who like their festivals down and dirty (yes, I said I like the rain but don’t exactly want to listen to music while scrambling around in the wet mud while living in tents), the Glastonbury Festival has just been announced and will start in June, so note it in your calendar. It is quite a tradition with headlined bands and celebrities all attending. This year those lucky enough to make it will be able to listen to veteran pop stars Rod Stewart and Neil Young — which are just about the only names I recognise in the line-up. The rest of the band names could be where Elon Musk gets his inspiration when he names his children: “Charli XCX” , “The 1975”, “Wet Leg”, etc. etc. However, all this means is that I am too old now to listen to today’s bands! But the rest of you get your tickets as this is one of the largest musical festivals in the world.

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…And we also have the first solo show “Remembering” by well-known Indian artist Arpita Singh at the Serpentine, showing six of her paintings — that is good news indeed as more and more Indian art becomes popular in the UK! Singh is known for drawing her inspiration from Indian miniatures, Bengali folk art and Indian stories. Thus, one more thing to do in multi-cultural London.