Why Martha Stewart inspires & causes ire

Martha Stewart is the first lady of homemaking. She's built an empire, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, on improving people and their lifestyle. Most newlyweds and experienced housewives have, at some point, looked up to her, to create that perfect home. She's taught generations of women and lately men, how to cook, buy those perfect bedsheets and throw cushions that goes with the Mediterranean motif vases etc.

Behind the stylish presentation - both the products and Martha herself - is the implication, that the rest of us need her and her recipes and her tips on beautifying our homes. So, she has a slew of magazines that attempt to tell us how to better ourselves and our environs.

But, the truth is and everyone knows it, that even before she came along, homemakers were swapping recipes for that delicious chocolate cake, or advising their friends on where to buy that fabric (at the best bargain sales) etc. Martha came along and added a touch of gloss and the additional pancake, make her magazines like Martha Stewart Living, Everyday Food, Kids, Martha Stewart Weddings and Body + Soul, so popular.

After all, the artistically designed pages of her magazines capture in all its technicolour glory, the behind-the-scenes work done by an array of food stylists, gourmet chefs, interior designers and photographers who stage the shoots. That's Martha's technique to pitch her empire at her audience. All well and good.

But can her average Jane audience, who don't live at addresses like Trump Tower or Park Avenue ever hope to get there? She's built her company with a canny eye for what she, correctly, perceived as a market, which didn't have anyone else doing anything, in the home and self improvement space. So she gave American housewives what they thought, they were missing.

These American housewives (and singles) have repaid her favour, a million times over. Today, her company is worth around $420 million and it's thanks to these consumers. So, what made a woman like her get involved in the ImClone stock scandal, something that made her money but was morally wrong? After all, she of all the people, could afford to take the losses.

What makes her the tough (as in mean) and testy boss, she's reputed to be? Certainly, not troubles at home. Her pillows must be fluffed just so and the roses must be cut fresh every morning, all of this done by expensive, paid help. So, why hasn't anyone heard of 'Martha donates a million dollars to the UN' - a la Ted Turner, but only on a much smaller scale? Perhaps, because she does good old charity work quietly. Or perhaps, she just doesn't care.

She's made her money by telling other people how to improve their material belongings - a home, kitchen, garden, estate/property, themselves. And her audience are the wealthier citizens (in comparison to Third World citizens), of rich countries - I've yet to see a Martha Stewart publication in India. So, she's not going to find her kind of captive audience anywhere but in the US, UK, Canada, Australia etc.

Martha Stewart lives through her image and her 'products' are supposed to amplify the wholesome, pure, beautiful, innovative, caring, loving side of her followers and by extension - hers as well. Well, she does not come across as loving and caring and wholesome. Why is that some other adjectives come to mind, when one sees her - and I'm not just thinking innovative, canny, smart, shrewd etc!

Somehow, Martha Stewart is just not able to make herself more likeable or even an inspiration to others. Here's a list of women with her attributes, who inspire others:

Blonde hair: Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana, Cameron Diaz, even Britney Spears.

Business woman: Oprah Winfrey, Anita Roddick, Coco Chanel, Estee Lauder.

Short hairstyle: Princess Diana, Halle Berry.

All the money Martha Stewart's made in the world, won't get her some of the many compliments bestowed on these other women, because she couldn't care less.


Written for www.moneycontrol.com

The Vagina Monologues

What does the V-Day have to do in today's context? Well this V-Day has to do with celibrating the vagina and its marvels and not about celebrating the end of the Second World War. In 2003, after just five years, V-Day is a global movement that aims to stop sexual abuse of women and as of 2003, has already raised over $13.5 million. In 2001, it was named one of the "100 Best Charities" by Worth magazine.

And the play 'The Vagina Monologues' has made all this possible. This play has been more of a power statement for women, than anything else. And its work will be done, only when violence against women and little girls stops. That kind of utopian world will allow women to just be.

#It will also allow girl children to be born in China and Korea.
#Allow women to go swimming in Iran.
#Allow them to eat icecream in public in Afghanistan.
#Sleep safely in their beds at home in Asia, USA and Europe.
#Keep their clitorises intact in Africa and Asia.
#Wear blue jeans in Italy.
#Vote in Kuwait.
#Walking in the park at night in the US.
#Harmless flirting in Jordan.
#Driving in Saudi Arabia.
#Safe at college campus parties.
#Wearing trousers in Swaziland.
#Walking safely home from work in Juarez, Mexico.

So until women can be open about their desires, love their bodies and enjoy sex, a play is hoping to emancipate them. And a play that talks about the vagina is a rarity in any part of the world, so when 'The Vagina Monologues' comes to India, you should grab the opportunity to watch it.

It was written by Eve Ensler and has been translated into 35 languages. Last year, she and Hollywood stars like Marisa Tomei and Jane Fonda performed the play in Mumbai. This play has gone around the world and has been performed in Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Phillippines, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela.

And now, Poor-Box Productions has brought it to India. With a cast comprising producer and performer Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, Dolly Thakore, Avantika Akerkar, Jayati Bhatia and Sonali Sachdev. These sterling performers are putting up a show that should be made mandatory viewing for all the men in this country and women should go to learn more, about a very vital part of their body. A largely ignored part of their body. A mostly used and in many cases abused part of their body.

The abuse rather than the neglect is really why this play is in existence. Eve Ensler was inspired by the stories of over 200 women and her own personal experience with violence. This play is the story of all those women who have suffered rape, incest, female genital mutilation, FGM, marital rape and well, just plain dissatisfaction with their sex lives.

This play has an urgency to it, precisely because it is addressing such volatile issues as men being unable to satisfy women or in some case, not even knowing where the vagina is! Then there are men at the other end of the spectrum, who get turned on only "when he shaves my vagina."

Or as is the case of a man named Atul Kulkarni (not the actor), who visits a prostitute and initially doesn't do much, but then after his hands accidentally touch the woman's, it sparks sexual electricity and how! He then loses his inhibitions and sees how beautiful and desirable she is - all the while he is saying and addressing this to her vagina!

The hilarity of these situations are so incredibly brought out by these expressive and talented actors - to hear them emote these scenes is a privilege, not to be missed. Their voices express a range of emotions - from rage, pain, fun, exasperation to cock teasing and orgasmic. Jayati Bhatia does a musical range of orgasms, that is just so mindblowingly funny, you will ache after having laughed so hard and for so long.

Besides do you know how women would like to dress their vaginas, if they could? Well, how about in diamonds, peacock feathers, fur etc

Do you know how the vagina tastes....well, if your imagination is running really wild at this point, then you know you will be waiting to watch this play!

Written for www.purpleparka.com

The hot new ornament for 2006

Remember a time, when calendars were just meant to be looked at, to check on the day/month/week etc? But these days, they have to be extremely ornamental as well. Or should I honestly say, it should show skin and lots of it to qualify being displayed, as a work of art in your living room or office lobby.

Here are some really sexy ways to keep track of your appointments and dates in 2006.

Channel V recently launched its limited edition calendar featuring the likes of VJs Pia, Sarah-Jane, Archana, Juhi and Tina in all their natural and unnatural glory. Of course, gracing the occasion were a small but steady posse of celebrities who themselves took quite a shining to the cameras.

And, in the tradition of all good events, the party started almost an hour late, leading mere mortals to wonder whether the chief guest had bothered to check his calendar. Moral of the story: When it comes to dates, get a calendar with women on every page.



The Kingfisher calendar

Mention women and calendars in the same breath, then Vijay Mallya can't be far behind. His Kingfisher calendars are hot and has the best bodies in the world of modelling, dying to get on it. A regular who has been featured in this calendar, has been Yana Gupta and a new flavour of the season seems to be Pia Trivedi. It goes without saying that this calendar is mostly beaches, babes and bikinis. Also, the calendars are not sold, they are handed out to maintain exclusivity, so try and steal them!

But the really first Indian corporate to put out beautiful women and handsome men on desktop calendars, made out of handmade paper, was the Taj Group of Hotels. Every year, Tata Group executives got these classy calendars and for the most part, there was a theme - '100 years of the Taj Hotel', the 'Retro Look', the 'Bohemian theme' etc. Indian designers get to showcase their clothes on Indian models. These are tasteful calendars featuring gorgeous people, and for those who don't prefer the rampant skin show.

Writing about calendars that show a lot... of stuff, then one is reminded of the grand daddy of such calendars - the Pirelli calendar. This Italian tyre brand is forever associated with putting on the most beautiful, the boldest and the sexiest people on the planet, in really compromising positions and photographing them.



The Pirelli calendar

You think this is just hyperbole. Well, this year's calendar had Naomi Campbell in the nude with her boyfriend, also in the buff, lolling around in bed. Sorry guys, this year is almost out...so there's no way you are getting to look at this nude fest!

In 2006, the Pirelli calendar has the Brazilian hottie Giselle Bundchen among many others, in their birthday suits, most of the time. Still want to know more? Well, try and get your hands on this calendar. That should be your first New Year's resolution for 2006.

Or, here's a link to the website, where you can check out the Pirelli beauties. http://www.pirellical.com/thecal/calendar.html

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Give VIP business guests a taste of Mumbai

You are a week away from closing a huge deal with a foreign partner and you want to make a proper impression. You've done your homework and the presentations are made, now all that's left is to really do some serious entertaining.

So, do you have any clue where to take them for a really good meal or a night of dancing, in Mumbai? This city is sprouting new restaurants and nightclubs like weeds, so we will do moneycontrol readers a favour, by narrowing down the best restaurants, bistros, nightclubs and patisseries in Mumbai for them. The food in these places is pricey and the ambience stylish, and all that adds up to a hefty bill. So don't say, we didn't warn you!

But, if you are playing in the big league, what's a few thousand bucks mean to you anyway. And if you are wrapping up a deal, that will surely impress your boss, then he/she won't mind you putting it on the company's expense account!

Or you just want to make an intimate, private moment very memorable. So go ahead and do it in a style that will be remembered, for some time to come. Go ahead and indulge...

Here's a guide to fine dining in Mumbai. We give you a category-wise break-up of the best in the business. Here they are:

Best Western/European restaurants in hotels
M at Grand Hyatt
Trendz at Intercontinental The Grand
West View at ITC, Grand Maratha
Zodiac Grill at The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower

Best Western/European standalone restaurants
Bohemia
Indigo
Moshe's
Monza
Olive Bar & Kitchen
Rain Bar & Eatery
Shatranj Napoli

Best Italian restaurants in hotels
Celini at Grand Hyatt
Corleone at Intercontinental
Mezzo, Mezzo at JW Marriott
Stax at Hyatt Regency
Trattoria at Taj President
Vetro at The Oberoi

Best Italian standalone restaurants
Casa Linga
Don Giovanni
Little Italy
Mangi Ferra
Pizza Express
Santino's
Spaghetti Kitchen

Best Chinese restaurants in hotels
Emperor's Court at Renaissance Hotel and Convention Centre
Golden Dragon at The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
Imperial China at Le Royal Meridien
Ming Yang at Taj Lands End
Sampan at Holiday Inn
Shanghai Club at ITC Grand Central
The Oriental Blossom at Hotel Marine Plaza
The Great Wall at The Leela Kempinski

Best Chinese standalone restaurants
China Gate
Chinese Palace
Henry Tham's
Ling's Pavilion
Mainland China
Royal China
5 Spice

Best Pan Asian Hotel in hotels
All Stir Fry at Gordon House
India Jones at Hilton Towers
Pan Asian at ITC Grand Maratha
Spices at JW Marriott
Woks at the Intercontinental, The Grand
Far East at Rodas Ecotel

Best Pan Asian standalone restaurants
Asia Wok
Busaba
Joss
Seijo & The Soul Dish
Sidewok
Temple Flower
Tian

Best Lunch Buffet
Bay View at Hotel Marine Plaza
Brasserie at Le Royal Meridien
Citrus at The Leela Kempinski
Frangipani at Hilton Towers
Lotus Cafe at JW Marriott
Peshwa Pavilion at ITC Grand Maratha
The Glasshouse at the Hyatt Regency

Best Sunday Brunch
Citrus at The Leela Kempinski
Hornby's Pavilion at ITC Grand Central
Indigo
Lotus Cafe at JW Marriott
M at Grand Hyatt
Olive Bar & Kitchen
Trattoria at Taj President
Vista at Taj Lands End

Best Coffee Shop/All-day dining places
Brasserie at Le Royal Meridien
Citrus at The Leela Kempinski
Frangipani at Hilton Towers
Glasshouse at Hyatt Regency
Lake View Cafe at Renaissance Hotel
Lotus Cafe at JW Marriott
Trattoria at Taj President
Vista at Taj Lands End

Best Nightclubs
Enigma at JW Marriott
Insomnia at The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
Lush at Phoenix Mills
Polly Esther at Gordon House
Ra at Phoenix Mills
Rock Bottom at Ramee Guestline
Squeeze
Quilla

Best Patisserie
Bombay Baking Company at JW Marriott
Gourmet Store at Grand Hyatt
Grand Delicatessen at Intercontinental, The Grand
Indigo Deli
La Patisserie at The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
Sugar & Spice at Taj President
The Gourmet Shoppe at The Oberoi
Theobroma
Desserts R Us
Gaylord
Ovenfresh
Churchill
Birdy's

Now for a taste of India and some authentic Indian cooking, short of taking your very important guests home, these are some of the places, you might want to consider taking them to.

Best North Indian restaurants in hotels
Dum Pukt at ITC Grand Maratha
Kandahar at The Oberoi
WG's Kebabs and Kurries at ITC Grand Central
Nawab Saheb at Renaissance Hotel
Saffron at JW Marriott
Soma at Grand Hyatt
Kebab Korner at Hotel Intercontinental

Best North Indian standalone restaurants
Copper Chimney
Great Punjab
Jewel of India
Khyber
Mela
Moti Mahal
Shalimar
Zaffran

Best South Indian restaurants
Ramanayak Udipi
Cafe Madras
Cafe Mysore
Mani's Lunch Home
Ram Ashraya
Woodlands Garden

Best restaurants that serve thali
Bhagat Tarachand
Chetna
Golden Star Thali
Panchavti Gaurav
Rajdhani
Shree Thakker Bhojanalay
The Friends Union Joshi Club

Best coastal food restaurants
Ankur
Gajalee
Gomantak Boarding House
Konkan Cafe at Taj President
Mahesh Lunch Home
Sadichha
Sushegad Gomantak
The Excellensea
Trishna
Churchill
Salt Water Grill

Best regional fare
Aram
Goa Portuguesa
Howrah
Jimmy Boy
Oh! Calcutta
Panshikar Aahar
Rice Boat
Swati Snacks
Thackers

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Feel the thrills leap off the screen

You just love the new Bang and Olufsen home theatre system but the thought of setting it up just daunts you. Don't worry, help is here. If you know what to expect, then the task doesn't seem all that overwhelming.

First begin with a good flat panel displays, better known as plasma TVs. A lot of brands are out there but a Kores 42 inch is definitely going to hog space in your apartment. So trying hanging it on the wall. The Kores plasma display has got an SVGA output, which means it gives decent resolution for DVD, VCDs etc. It is not a very well known brand but is a value for money buy.


It has two speakers like any other TV and also a built-in tuner, because of which you can watch off-air broadcasts, cable TV. This comes with a table stand and a wall mounted bracket, in case you want to put it up on the wall.

Next pick the DVD player. A Yamaha DVD player is just as good as any other brand. But the reality is that the better DVD player you buy, the picture quality will be that much superior. Apart from playing DVDs, the Yamaha player also plays SACDs (Super audio CDs), DVD audio, and also plays games. So this system will be able to play gaming CDs that have been burnt on a PC.

The next step is to look at a good home theatre receiver that will decode, process and amplify all you signals coming in from the DVD player. This is the heart of the home theatre system and it's called a AV Receiver or a AV Amplifier. Everything comes together in this unit and gets synchronised perfectly to give you that perfect viewing experience.

The next step is selecting a whole set of speakers and take competent advice to do this correctly. Take a knowledgeable friend along if you have to. But whatever you do, don't skimp on surround speakers for that groovy movie theatre feel.

Another thing that costs quite a bit is the cables attaching each of these devices, so you wouldn't want to do it wrong. But once you are all wired up, then you will be ready to go on just about any cinematic journey or musical odyssey.

Tips for setting up a home theatre
Keep centre speaker directly above or below the display (TV).

Front speakers should be close to the display and in the same plane.

Don't stint on buying the best DVD player and surround speakers.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Adfilms is all chills, thrills & fun in minutes

The 'Night of the Adeaters' is a unique advertising festival started by Frenchman Jean Marie Boursicot, a 52-year old, who has taken his passion for adfilms seriously and collected over 750,000 clips of ads from all over the world.

He's showed this collection off in various cities around the world, like Dubai, Sidney, Brussels, Geneva and Milan. This was started in 1981 and has grown into one of the most interesting festivals.

Jean Marie Boursicot told CNBC-TV18, "When I discovered that advertising agencies never conserve their work, I decided to have my own company with my little collection. Now, ofcourse, it's grown huge because we have more than 750,000 films from all over the world."

That is the reason for the existence of his company, Cinematheque. But the cost of preservation and restoration proved to be expensive on his pockets, so, this unique adfilm festival was born in France.

Now, this collection travels across 160 cities in countries like China, Japan, Mexico and Russia. Mumbai got a glipmse of those celebrated adfilms only recently and ad buffs, who can do without the serials but not the ads, shouldn't miss an opportunity to view these clips.

Boursicot says, "The Night of the Ad Eaters is an annual rendezvous and people are coming every year to see the collection. I'm hopeful of organising this festival again next year, not only in Mumbai but in 6-7 other Indian cities and with a real duration of seven hours of ads."

The event showed some 200 adfilms and the audience lapped it all up. Some in the adworld were also impressed. Veteran adman Prahlad Kakkar says, "I think it's a glorious occupation because ads are actually the reflection of a society in transition. So, if you ever want to find out what India is like at this particular time and moment, all you have to do is look at the 100 most successful ads, not necessarily the best ads."

An Italian viewer at the festival, Antonio Pasano sums it up, "In India you have a lot of channels with movies and lot of other advertisements. These channels should have advertisements with some movies around it!"

To know more about the Adeaters festival:
http://www.adeater.com/html/passion.htm

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Sunshine Boys put final touches to the play

There is good news for theatre buffs. Neil Simon's hit play, 'The Sunshine Boys' is playing in Mumbai for the next few weeks.

The cast is made up of theatre veteran Hosi Vasunia, Riyaaz Makaney, Vishaal Asrani, Heena Kamte and Kamal Mulla. Sam Kerawala is directing this play. The play is about a film agent's attempt to get two crotchety, old vaudeville artistes, Lewis and Clark, to perform together again. This means, they have to put aside their differences and get their act together, for a comeback. It has all the makings of a Neil Simon comedy - clever one-liners, and witty repartee.

Actor, Hosi Vasunia told CNBC-TV18, "This is a play about two old-time comedians in vaudeville, which is a different kind of comedy in America."

This play was first written by Neil Simon in 1972 for Broadway. The Sunshine Boys was adapted by the playwright for the big screen in 1975, which earned actor George Burns an Oscar and Walter Matthau an Academy nomination.

He also later wrote an updated version of the play for television, which was produced in 1995 but was then shelved for the time being. It was later shown during the Christmas holidays in 1997. This version starred Woody Allen and Peter Falk.

A colourful history....

Vaudeville is an art form that has its roots in America, where it began life as a kind of entertainment for the masses after the Civil War. It was after 1871, the term vaudeville, itself, referring specifically to American variety entertainment, came into common usage. This was also the time when the 'Sargent's Great Vaudeville Company of Louisville', was formed, which had little in common with the vaudeville of the French theatre.

MB Leavitt, who was a variety showman, claimed the word originated from the French "vaux de ville" which meant "worth of the city, or worthy of the city's patronage", but in all likelihood, the name was merely selected "for its vagueness, its faint, but harmless exoticism, and perhaps its connotation of gentility."

Initially, Leavitt and Sargent's shows didn't differ from the coarser material presented in earlier itinerant entertainments, but their use of the term 'vaudeville' points to an early effort to cater variety amusements to a growing middle class. Therefore, needing a little touch of respectability, questionable references and innuendo was done away with.

Some of the savvier show managers were more successful in tapping an emerging class of white collar workers, with more money and leisure time on their hands. In the 1880's, a former ringmaster with a circus turned theatre manager, Tony Pastor capitalized on this and his New York theatres began to feature "polite" variety programmes.

He was hoping to draw in a potential audience from female and family-based shopping traffic, so he barred the sale of liquor in his theatres, eliminated questionable material from his shows, and offered gifts of coal and hams to attendees. Pastor's experiment proved successful and other managers followed suit.

Catch it at the Tata Experimental Theatre in Mumbai, where an Indian cast is putting the finishing touches to the play

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Harlem Globetrotters to shoot hoops in India

Enjoying a game of basketball with hot dogs and soda is a quintessential weekend activity in the United States. The famous Harlem Globetrotters are coming to India, to give Indians a taste of the American life.

They are undoubtedly one of the most famous and skillful basketball teams in the world. Their unusual style has set them apart, in a league of their own - be it their antics on the court or their rather descriptive names. Speaking of things unusual - they should feel right at home, when they come to India in September. Hopefully, they will come with their adorable mascot, Globie, who unstintingly appeals to children. One look at him and you'll know why!

The team was originally formed from the Wendell Phillips High School. The team played in the Negro American Legion League as the "Giles Post," and in 1927 turned professional as the Savoy Big Five under manager Dick Hudson. Later that year, promoter Abe Saperstein (Hall of Fame, 1971) bought the team and renamed it the Harlem Globetrotters.

Up until the late 1930s, the Globetrotters were a serious competitive team. Starting with the acquisition of Inman Jackson, the Globetrotters began to work more light entertainment and comedic routines into their appearances, but could still play with the best of the professional teams.

In 1939, the Globetrotters were runners-up to the New York Rens (Hall of Fame, 1963) in the World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago. The team won the tournament in 1940. After World War II, the team lived up to its name and became real "globetrotters," travelling the world and entertaining thousands. With players such as Geese Ausbie, Goose Tatum, 1998 Hall of Famer Marques Haynes, Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon, the Globetrotters quickly became ambassadors of bringing their showmanship to millions.

The team has played over 20,000 games in more than 100 countries around the world. The Globetrotters have often taken the game beyond its definitions of winning and losing. And that's exactly what they have set out to do in India. Here, they will promote the game to remind people that sport is still fun.

This team appeals to little children like no other. Take a look at their website and you will understand the reason. They have a Flash Media programme that allows kids to play basketball games online and score hoops and jigsaw puzzles of team members, which they can put together. All this is off-court.

But on court as well, this is just the kind of interactive play and showmanship that they are famed for.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Cuba's Picasso steps into the art world

Juan Antonio Picasso's got exciting genealogy and painting in his blood. So watch out for him!

MANALI ROHINESH

If you're all set on having that beach house and convertible after retirement, chances are that you have explored the idea of investing in art. So have you considered a Picasso to keep you in comfort later in life?

Every Picasso fan, at some point must have wanted to own an original work. One may want some of his etchings, or something from the blue period or a work from his cubism period Well, owning an original Pablo Piccaso in this lifetime might not become a reality, most likely due to budget constraints! But a slightly lesser known Piccasso could be yours for the right price.




Juan Antonio Picasso's ancestors



Francisco Picasso Guardeño and Cristina Serra's first son,
Juan Francisco Aurelio Picasso Serra (1879-1924)




Francisco Aurelio Picasso's wife, Elvira Granados,(1878-1977)


Juan Antonio Picasso is a descendant of Pablo Picasso's grandfather. He has just opened an exhibition of 15 watercolours at a Havana Gallery last year. Though he admits that the famous last name is not helping him sell too many paintings. So, how is he related to the great man Pablo himself? Juan Antonio's great-great grandfather was Francisco Picasso Guardeno, who was the grandfather of the famed painter Pablo Picasso.

The family history becomes colourful at this point. According to published sources, Francisco Guardeno left Malaga, Spain and his wife and four children behind and headed for Cuba. Here, cupid struck and he fell in love with Cristina Serra, the daughter of a freed slave and started another family. He named the four children from this marriage after the ones he left behind in Spain. This familial ties bound him down more permanently to Cuba.

To date, this multi-racial love story has left behind 41 descendants, out of whom 31 are alive. They all descend from Juan Francisco Aurelio Picasso and his wife Elvira.

So Juan Antonio Picasso has the right genes and the flamboyant personal history. He told CNBC-TV18, "These are different time periods and he made a mark in his. His (Pablo) beginnings weren't very successful and there were times at the beginning of the 20th century, that he burnt frames to keep warm."

Well, if any of that talent has been inherited along with the last name, go and get yourself one of Juan's work. A 1905 Picasso was auctioned by Sotheby's for a record-breaking $104.1 million last year. So you never know, you may be sitting on a potential goldmine with Juan's paintings on your walls.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com