Farzana Contractor is India's 21st century media woman. A savvy and spirited newspaper proprietor who crossed over from being a media baron to play the role of editor and photographer in 2000.

It began for her with the Afternoon Despatch & Courier, Bombay's popular and now 21-year-old tabloid, of which Farzana is CEO. And continued with the UpperCrust, India's first and only food, wine and lifestyles magazine, of which she is Editor and Photographer.

Her marriage to Behram Contractor – the inimitable Busybee, the doyen of the eating out column in India and the nation's lovable satirist – only made Farzana more versatile at being a media person. Writing came naturally to her, the Editor's pen putting down on paper details that the Photographer's eye had observed, and apart from her evocative photo-essays and travelogues for the UpperCrust, Farzana also writes a touching, heartfelt personal column for the Afternoon called A Few Stray Thoughts.

The reader response to all her works is genuine and rewarding. And, as a consequence of her thoughts and words, Farzana is often invited to speak at public functions on subjects ranging from food to travel and home to health. If there was such a thing as an all-rounder in journalism, then Farzana Contractor is it.