SMALL TALK with Maureen Wadia - Racing into fashion - -By Tariq Engineer | Mumbai Mirror
Posted on - 11 Mar 2017
SMALL TALK with Maureen Wadia - Racing into fashion
-By Tariq Engineer
Mumbai Mirror
High heels, hats and horses have always gone together but once a year, the high-profile magazine publisher ups the ante even higher at the Mahalaxmi Race Course
Once a year Mrs. Maureen Wadia, whose reputa tion as a hermit is well earned, steps out of her self-described closet and proceeds to glam up the Mahalaxmi Race Course on the day of the annual CN Wadia Cup by hosting a slew of beauty pageants. This year, Maureen will have about 120 models of both sexes, ranging in ages from four to 56, all dolled up and ready to walk the ramp today.
It is a tradition that goes back almost three decades, when Maureen began mixing fashion with the sport of kings. "I started [attending races] by going to the CN Wadia Cup and I thought to myself racing and fashion look very good together, like wine and roses," she says."My father-in-law, Neville always said to me, `Go on and bring models and brighten up the place and make it glamorous'.So that is how I got into this one day of racing as a tribute to Cusrow Wadia, who was a very dapper dresser."
The first time Maureen introduced two-legged beauties to compliment the four-legged ones, she got so carried away she built a ramp that started at the paddock and ended up at the winner's post, a length far in excess of a normal ramp. "I don't do anything in half measures," she says. "But I didn't realise what a long ramp that was." The models who walked the ramp that year included Aishwarya Rai, Mehr Jesia, Kelly Dorji and Lisa Ray, head-turners all. Glamour had officially arrived. However, they weren't exactly welcomed with open arms.
"There were quite a few oohs and aahs about what we were up to in the middle of the paddock," Maureen says. "Most people don't want change. They wanted to see the horses and make their money.But then I think most people got into the glamour of it."
Of course, fashion has always been part of the races. Dressing up is de rigueur from Melbourne to Ascot to Churchill Downs to the Royal Western India Turf Club. Suits and top hats mix with flowing gowns and heels, though these days the rules have been relaxed a little."Suits are a little more casual and maybe they don't wear a tie but people do make an effort and they look more handsome I think. And the women look much more attractive. A little bit of effort always helps," Maureen says. Her fashion advice for first time race-goers is to choose comfortable footwear, but then she laughs and admits that it is tough for the women because being glamorous requires high heels. "I think today's women can manage it in 8-inch and 10-inch heels," she says. "So I think high heels and a simple dress. I don't like over-the-top dressing; people dressing like chandeliers." She recalls one instance where a movie couple, who shall remain nameless, came to the races in matching satin polka-dot outfits."They were dressed like a pair of jockeys," Maureen says.
Since the first year, the ramp has been confined to the paddock. This time there will be four separate categories of pageants. There are the Miss India and Mister India contests for kids, the Mrs. India pageant, the manhunt and finally the mega models contest. "It is a very difficult day because two seconds too late and the horses are in the paddock and two seconds too early you miss your slot," Maureen says. "It has to be Swiss precision. I feel I am going to be like a Swiss clock, all wound up."
By the end of the evening, Maureen is typically exhausted and relieved that she doesn't have to repeat this again for a year. "By the time we get to our high tea, the perspiration has dripped down on you and you wish you were home in an air-conditioned room. And that's the time to have a nice slice of cake -we have a beautiful cake cutting ceremony -one fat slice of plum cake with thick marzipan. It is delicious."
That said, Maureen still draws immense satisfaction from the production because being with the models and training them is something that inspires her and brings her out of her shell. "It is a role in which I have become a role model and a teacher and most importantly I think I can change lives in little ways," she says. "I feel they realise that there is more to life than putting on diamonds and pearls and thinking I have to have a lot of money. We are all equal during this time and the best part is we part with nice memories of each other."
