Ashutosh Parekh

A firm handshake, a welcoming smile and a big dream for London in his eyes - that’s my first impression of Ken Livingstone, the mayor of the city on my erstwhile meeting with him at his famed City Hall Office, London. I am hoping it all remains the same when I meet him this time except that he will be in Mumbai on a heavy duty agenda on his trip to India.

The mission - to promote closer ties between London and India in business, tourism, education and the creative industries. Meeting top notch desi companies and government officials on the theme of 'London and India: Partners in Globalization'. He will be naugurating the London India Office in Delhi and Mumbai, a visit to Amritsar…an insider tells me that Livingstone is quite eager to meet Amitabh Bachchan at a showcase of London and Indian creative industries…incidentally Big B’s critically acclaimed Cheeni Kum was extensively shot in quaint little London restaurant.

The man with the mission who enjoys sprucing up his city for the Olympics 2012 as much as making London as tourist friendly as possible to savouring his curries says, “India is a rising economic superpower. It has a growth rate of over nine per cent a year, 1.2 billion people and it already accounts for the second highest number of inward investment projects into London after the US. Last year, India was one of the three countries accounting for the majority of world economic growth".

Ken, as he fondly called back home will be on a A Sustainability Exchange on Planet Cities seminar with Nobel Prize winner Dr Rajendra K Pachauri; and signing a film agreement between Film London and the Film and Television Guild of India.

And he hasn’t come alone. Check his muster for company - a delegation of London ‘ambassadors’ includes a cross section of its talent from business, creative industries, sport, culture, tourism, education and science accompany his this time. They include Christopher Rees, Partner and Co- Head of the TMT Group, Peter Kenyon, Chief Executive of Chelsea Football Club and Graeme Le Saux, Former Chelsea Football Club and England international player; Jitesh Gadhia, Managing Director, ABN AMRO;  Phillip Bouverat, Director of Major Accounts, JCB;  Wally Olins, Chairman, Saffron Brand Consultants; Raj Loomba, Chairman, Rinku Group Plc and The Loomba Trust;  Lord Desai, London School of Economics; Prof Peter Jenner; Kings College, London; and TV presenter and singer Myleene Klass.

Some familiar desi names there too as he further tells us, "The Indian community is already the largest minority ethnic community in London and London’s strength as the most globalised city is helped immensely by its Indian community - there are already 10,000 Indian-owned businesses in the capital. Cultural interaction between India and London is already strong and is going to increase even further”.

But it doesn’t end here - we hear that Ken Livingstone wants to beat the Mumbai’s traffic for a suburb meeting by hopping onto the Churchgate - Bandra local train and get a first hand “experience” the lifeline of Mumbai. We are hoping that a few odd Bollywood posters of Shilpa Shetty and her famous bellybutton (who doesn’t know here in the UK) at the passing stations will make it worth all the trouble like an average Mumbaite faces everyday.

Source : Indiainfo