The incurable romantic

Two high-profile failed marriages later, Raja Dhody tells Gayatri why love is still the answer.Two high-profile failed marriages later, Raja Dhody tells Gayatri why love is still the answer.Two high-profile failed marriages later, Raja Dhody tells Gayatri why love is still the answer.IF Raja Dhody is not hiding on a boat, anchored off the coast of Monaco, he's at the Grand Prix. While his first marriage to stylist Rita Dhody found an exit point as graceful as a society scandal can be, divorce to wife number two, former Miss India Queenie Dhody, has been making quite the muddy splash with her current flame and Raja's former best bud Farhad Taraporewala. His four children, family ties and society friendships badly affected, Raja wants the clatter to cease.
"I left town for three weeks when the scandal hit, because I just don't want to make a tamasha of it all." Scandal is not all Raja is escaping. The sprawling Beunavista bungalow in Worli, tastefully restored from its original 1912 structure with Husains, Anjolie Ela Menons and Souzas lining the walls ��� echoes emptiness to the newly-single dad. His eyes mist as he opens his teenage daughter's bedroom . "It's hard not to have the children here. I'm thinking of selling the house. People paint me as a party animal, while most of the time, it's my kids and their boyfriends I party with at Prive."
Raja has always maintained a sense of mystery about himself ��� whether that's running the family business (' the oldest transport business in Mumbai' he explains), his education, and his influential friends. "I'm not a name dropper, nor am I a social climber. I've known Sanjay (Dutt) and Vijay (Mallya) for 35 years ��� I did Rhea's kanyadaan when they got married. The Chatwals are family friends."
Raja is now friends with ex-wife Rita. "She's an extremely spiritual person. My life with Queenie was also good ��� for the first five years at least." Why did he say nothing for five years? "Mainly because Anju (Taraporewala) was in denial, our kids were best friends, and we took family vacations together every year." Raja confronted his second divorce by plunging into the dating scene. "At my age you end up dating younger women because they are the only ones who are single," he confesses.
He's now in a relationship with a 26-year-old whom he hopes to keep in hiding until she's comfortable with the situation, "It just happened. We met on Valentine's Day." She's introduced him to Buddhism, and it's had a calming effect on him. And how have his children taken it especially considering his oldest daughter is about the same age? "They're happy to see me move on."
He pauses to think. "The difference is in the feeling . As you age, you're looking for a quiet, mature companionship ��� peace. Besides, there has to be love... what else is there?"
gayatri.jayaraman@timesgroup .com