Sparkler season
Mid-day week
The highlight of last weekend had to be the Mid-Day celebrations for its 18th anniversary. It started on Friday night at the Palkhi restaurant and concluded the next day with Tarique and Anu Ansari’s annual brunch at the Oberoi rooftop. And of course, all of media’s bigwigs were there. There was Verve’s Anuradha Mahindra, Business India’s Ashok Advani, Elle’s Nirja Shah, CNBC’s Anish Trivedi and Shobha De.
But the lady who seemed to catch everybody’s eye was pop singer Suneeta Rao, dressed in a bright blue halter neck blouse worn with a green sari. This do ranked among Mumbai’s best organised and most tasteful lunch of the season. The food, atmosphere and ambience were just right. There was just about every champagne cocktail you could imagine, a wonderful spread and a scrumptious salad bar.
In the groove
Getting a head-start on the parties of the week was Razzberry Rhinocerous, celebrating it’s fourth birthday, in true ’60s style. The theme of the party was Flower Power and guests were expected to wander around barefoot. Seen sans shoes were people like Samira, Meghana Reddy, Arjun Ramphal (chaperoned by Mehr Jesia’s sister Avan) and Vivek Mushran. Rumour also has it that Copa Cabana cancelled one of their biggest events on the same day, because the feeling that no-one would turn up was just too strong.
The 1900’s too had the house party of a life-time over the weekend. Guest DJ Mick Robinson had the folks grooving to `pumping dance and hard-edged house’. Seen shaking a leg there were Milind Soman, Bobby and Tanya Deol and Nikhil Chib.
Other Big B
ENGLAND seems to be in a festive mood over the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence. This August, not only is there Lakshmi Shivdasani’s Independence do in London but now Ramola Bachchan is organising a gala event just outside the city in Hillingdon, called The Festival of India. This three-day affair at the end of August promises to be an event to remember.
Not only will famous monuments such as the Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Gateway of India be there in miniature versions but there will also be fashion shows, magicians and dance recitals. Ramola is also promising the locals a glimpse of Bollywood.
American stars
The Colonial Cousins conquered the US of A with a live performance on Sunday in New York at the Lincoln Centre. Lezz and Hari’s fusion music looks set to capture the hearts of Asian music lovers in America. Their record company, Magnasound, is very pleased with the duo and are selling Lezz and Hari as international stars.
Sparkler season
A gilr’s best friend the diamond — has been the centre of attention both this week and last week, since the jewellery fair continues at the World Trade Centre. So, it was a perfect time for Gitanjali to announce their tie-up with Thailand’s Prima Gold — a company world renowned for its designs in 24 carat gold. The designs should do well here as in Dubai, all of Prima Gold’s best customers are of Indian origin!
And finally…
The Narangs are opening a new restaurant in Bandra, a Chinese food eatery called Quick wok. Let’s hope they can cope with the crowds that throng this place a bit better than they have with Three Flights Up. Last weekend, despite shutting early, people were made to wait outside the club for ages.
People were asked to park their cars but later denied entry as the clock had struck 12. And taking the valet option is a serious no-no, as once you give your car for parking you have to wait another half hour to get it back.