At Bombay Duck we can’t wait to watch the fantastic film ‘The Sound of Mumbai’ on More 4 at 10pm on 8 March.

We were very privileged to attend a special screening held by Magic Bus. It’s a remarkable and very moving true story of a slum school choir in Mumbai who performed a concert of songs from The Sound of Music before an audience of over 1,000 people at the city’s prestigious National Centre for the Performing Arts, a venue that is normally inaccessible to the poor.

At the centre of the story is the amazing 11-year-old Ashish, whose wide smile and optimism defy his family’s constricted slum shelter. His natural charisma suggests that he could go far given the right opportunity and he can’t help but attach dreams to the event at which he experiences a different world and sings a solo; he hopes it can change their lives forever.

You can watch the trailer at

It’s a very emotional film that really puts our lives in perspective.

At Bombay Duck we have visited the slums in Mumbai and seen the terrible conditions in which many live. Please help us support children like this by making a donation to the incredible Magic Bus charity who help children in India develop their true potential and create opportunities for a better future. You can also donate to the children shown in the film at

At Bombay Duck we like to do things a little differently, and Valentine’s Day seems like the perfect opportunity to spice things up around the office. If you can’t send a beautiful handwritten anonymous card to confess a secret crush on February 14th, when can you? We asked around the office, and there are a few surprises coming at Bombay Duck HQ…

Maxine will be wooing Heston Blumenthal. Her reasoning is that she could get an amazing Valentines dinner in return. (Hopefully not snail porridge though.)

Gareth seems to have a thing for French actresses with Emmanuelle Beart, Ludivine Sagnier and Virginie Ledoyen all making him go weak at the knees. In his own words, “They’re gorgeous and talented with amazing accents! Check out the film 8 Women if you don’t believe me!” We did and we totally get it!

Tracey is drooling over Javier Bardem, a Spanish actor who first caught her eye in The Sea Inside. ‘He gave such an unbelievably powerful performance, I fell in love with him hook, line and sinker!’ A girl can dream, can’t she?

Carla has the best office crush though – she says she’ll be sending a love missive to none other than Christian Louboutin. As she puts it, ‘ who else could keep me supplied with shoes for the rest of my life?’ Nice work, Carla!

Happy Valentines Day from all of us at Bombay Duck xxx

Did you know that our company car is a bespoke, shocking-pink Hindustan Ambasador (the definitive Indian car)? Once we brought it over from India, it took a year to be customised. We personally thought of every detail, from the pink hub caps to the leopard-print dashboard. The insides of the doors are adorned with ribbons, bells, feathers and pom-poms. In shocking pink with sprinkled hearts, a spotty carpet, Hawaiian-print upholstery and appliquéd patchwork ceiling, our car is truly in touch with its feminine side. There’s even a pink tool box in the boot!

We love the smiles and special treatment we get when we drive it around over here, but after visiting India we all agree we’d need some practice before getting behind the wheel over there!

Driving in India requires steely nerves; the general rule of the road seems to be every man (or animal) for himself. Here are a few peculiarly Indian traffic ‘laws’ we’ve observed over the years.

1. Observe the following hierarchy (from top to bottom):
holy cows, trucks and buses, large cars, small cars, motorbikes, auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, bikes, pedestrians, stray animals (in height order)

2. When you pull out onto a main road, you should never look first. Just go for it!

3. Overtake on bends where possibe – particularly if this involves overtaking other overtakers.

4. If you own a slow-moving ox-cart or heard of goats, choose the busiest possible route to test the patience and horns of the maximum number of road users.

5. Whatever your size, use your horn all the time. You should observe the subtleties of horn code – from little taps to prolonged honks, a horn can express everything from ‘hello!’ to ‘get out of the way!’.