She could have been happy playing trophy wife to industrialist Anand Mahindra, but Anuradha Mahindra is not the sort of person who would be content with just that. Once reckoned to be one of the most attractive women in the city, she is an intelligent, informed parent to her daughters; the perfect wife; and publisher of Verve, a lifestyle and fashion magazine. Besides she is engaged with charity: the cause of the girl child is very close to her heart.

She may now be known in London and Cannes for her Verve parties but there is more to Anu than being merely a classy hostess. She is most at home at high-powered book launches and at forums which help women. After writing for the Illustrated Weekly, Imprint and Sunday, she started Verve and Man's World to champion the cause of top-drawer feature-writing. Anuradha follows fashion trends closely: she goes to Paris Fashion Week to look up Givenchy and John Galliano, but her personal wardrobe, she insists, is put together by her teenage daughters.

She is shy and reserved, but has a disarming sense of humour. Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis is her style icon. Her cornerstones? Grace and confidence.