A Family Affair

The Rajanis are a close-knit family with sartorial leanings that are poles apart. How does the push and pull live within the precincts of their home? CHLOE CHOU gets a foot in the door.

- CHLOE CHOU

IT’S 6PM IN Juhu, Mumbai, as Sarla and Suresh Rajani take their seats in front of our Zoom call. The evening sun streaming through their window casts a sheen on their silvered heads, one coming up taller than the other. “People often approach me and ask, ‘Why do you dress up like this?’ In return, I ask them a simple question: ‘But don’t you look happy looking at me?’” At 74, Suresh Rajani is the unlikely style icon you would be lucky to cross paths with. Take a walk down Juhu beach any given day and there’s a chance you’ll run into the cheerful septuagenarian peacocking a bright yellow T-shirt accessorised with aviators, a sailor cap, arm socks, football stockings and a matching baton.