In some of the tributes paid to R K Karanjia, better known as "Russy", one of the guttiest journalists, who died recently, I found nothing of his colourful life. A known communist, Russy had a fondness for good clothes, unlike other commie friends. His one Goan connection was through his longtime mistress Olga Tellis, also a journalist. Olga was a stunner. She and Russy made a formidable pair in Mumbai's social circuit. I saw them together a couple of times, at least once at the Taj hotel. Don't know when their special friendship ended. I was liked reading Blitz. Later on its arch-rival Current, also started by a Parsi -- D F Karaka. The battle for readers between these two weeklies was great and enjoyable. Both papers made hay and earned wide recognition during the famous Nanavati case. If I remember correctly, Blitz supported Nanavati while Current favoured the family of the mudered Ahuja. It was a love affair between Nanavati's wife Sylvia and Ahuja, a Sindhi businessman, that led Commodore Nanavati to kill Ahuja. I don't remember if Ahuja was his friend, but they definitely knew each other. Nanavati and Sylvia came back together, and I don't know if they lived happily ever after. Nanavati was given a 25 years or perhaps life sentence. He was pardoned by Governor Vijaylakshmi Pandit, sister of Nehru. He migrated to Canada. I approached someone who knew him well if I could do an interview with Nanavati. I was told that he did not want to meet any mediaperson. I think he was selling insurance in Canada. He was said to be the future chief of naval staff.
Eugene Correia ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ