Thirty-two-year-old Bengali beauty Barkha Bisht-Sengupta is a recognised face on Indian television. The starlet, who started her career with a show called Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi in 2004, tells M&B that her most rewarding moment in front of camera is the one she shares with her seven-month-old daughter Meira…

THE BEGINNING
I started off with a reality talent hunt by Balaji Telefi lms for their fi rst show on MTV called Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi. They were auditioning all over the country and I was one of the lucky four to have been selected.

It’s quite evident that Mumbaikars Shivangi and Amit Kamath are made for each other. Their daughter Aroha, 10 months old, ensconced in the midst of their love and their doting extended family, completes the picture of a truly happy and blessed household

It’s Amit who first gets in touch with me and initiates the process for a cover story with his beautiful wife Shivangi and their adorable daughter Aroha. But after that, the finance manager with a multinational company prefers to stay in the background, playing the perfect foil to his pair of pretty prima donnas.

‘Tis the season of love, as St Valentine’s Day spills across February with its red hearts and satin ribbons. To refl ect the mood of the moment, we thought we’d bring you the beautiful love story of Vithika Agarwal, 36, and Joseph Cairns, 39. They are the perfect fit, she a model and former Miss India, he a British-born professional who loves photography. With the arrival of their son Jai, 17 months ago, their circle of love is complete...

LOVE STORY
It happened circa 2000. Joseph Cairns, all of 6’5” tall, was enjoying a meal at Rim Naam, the Thai restaurant at the Oberoi on Bengaluru’s MG Road.

They’ve tasted the limelight, they’ve travelled all over the world and they’ve come home to roost. For TV actors and lovebirds Shweta Kawaatra and Manav Gohil, their bonny seven-month-old Zahra Tabeetha is the true star. In an exclusive photoshoot and interview with M&B, they share their unique journey to parenthood...

KAHAANI SHWETA AUR MANAV KI
Shweta Kawaatra and Manav Gohil met on the sets of the hugely popular serial Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki in which she played the vamp Pallavi.

Sonia Daryanani Ramchandani,  32-year-old HR professional, and her husband Bharat Ramchandani,  35-year- old real estate consultant, have been married for seven years. Their son Hrehaan, who will complete 12 months this month, is a bundle of babbles and energy. We catch the trio in a  festive mood in their plush South Mumbai home, surrounded by a loving extended family

IN THE BEGINNING...
Their families have been friends for many years. Bharat and Sonia would often see each other at social engagementents but had never really spoken. Sonia shares, “We interacted for the first time only in 2001, when I was doing a project on real estate for which I got in touch with him. After leaving his office, I was looking for a cab to get back home. He passed by and offered to drop me home.

She needs no introduction as a model, TV anchor and actor, but Mandira Bedi as a mum to Veer, 14 months, is someone else. Having lost oodles of weight and looking like a million bucks, she talks to M&B about motherhood, postpartum depression, the secret behind her waif-thin figure, her plans this festive season and another addition to the family!

A year and four months ago, amidst much excitement and anticipation, a little bundle of joy arrived in Mandira Bedi and Raj Kaushal’s life. His name is Vir. But the ecstatic Papa likes to call him the Czar of RAMA (their home). “Because it’s not just Mandira who’s glowing, the entire house is happy. Our home is abuzz – from the watchman to the maali to the driver to the house-help – everyone’s waiting. When it’s like this, then you say the Czar of Rama is coming,” he says with a gleam! Though Raj was ready to be Dad five years before Vir arrived, Mandira had to wrap her mind around it. One day, she sat up and realised that the biological clock was ticking away. Soon, they planned to have Vir, and the rest... well, is the future!