"I only dropped by to pay my respects to Rajeev Sethi, after my meeting the PM to launch the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports initiative to promote sports consciousness in the country," says Nita Ambani about her weekend sojourn to the Capital, which sources say left many in her thrall
"I only dropped by to pay my respects to Rajeev Sethi, after my meeting the PM to launch the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports initiative to promote sports consciousness in the country," says Nita Ambani about her weekend sojourn to the Capital, which sources say left many in her thrall.
Nita Ambani with the Parikhs and (right) with PM Narendra Modi
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Others present when Ambani had met Sethi at the Asian Heritage Foundation, were artists Madhu and Manu Parikh, and Jatin Das, aesthete Momin Latif and designer Ritu Kumar. "I was just telling Isha and Mukesh what a pleasure it was to meet such vibrant personalities," she said when we spoke on Sunday.
And after this heady dose of art and culture, it's back to sports for the first lady of India Inc. "Next week, I will be flying Rio for an entire month," said Ambani, a member of the International Olympic Committee. A whole month, we asked. Not flying in and out? Yes a whole month," she said, "There's so much to do." Indeed.
There goes the Joy
In a season of goodbyes and losses, the departure of the iconic Chef Ananda Solomon, corporate chef of the Taj's business hotels division, and the man who put some of the tastiest dishes in front of the most famous folk in the country, is only more grist to the sorrow mill.
Ratan Tata and Chef Ananda Solomon
Such was Chef Ananda's singular passion for regional and international cuisine, and his commitment to excellence that whether it was Thai, Italian or Konkan, each of his restaurants at the five-star in Colaba serving these, would be overbooked by his faithful fans almost every night.
Ratan Tata dined with almost monastic regularity at one of them, Anil and Tina Ambani would drop in from Sea Wind next door for another restaurant's famous fare, and hordes of SoBo brats converged to another post the midnight hour for their fix of pizza and pasta. What's most astonishing is that through all of this, Ananda managed to remain a strikingly humble, warm and modest man.
Unlike his publicity hungry and manipulative peers, he did not blow his own trumpet or seek personal glory. Few who visited his restaurants knew that the tall, soft-spoken chef who greeted them with warmth, had no reason at all to do so. For all his modesty, Ananda was a towering figure at one of the country's leading hotel chains with the responsibility of approximately 30 hotels and 60 restaurants under him.
Next week, the icon will be hanging up his apron strings. Of course there will be many who will say it is the end of an era. We would like to put it differently, "The Ananda has gone out of the Taj," we would like to say. Or more correctly, "The Taj Group has lost its Ananda.'
Fiery fare
A few weeks ago, we had reported about a luncheon meet between two of the capital's consummate media mavens, former media advisor to the PM and best selling author Dr Sanjaya Baru, and Barkha Dutt.
Maya Mirchandani, Barkha Dutt and Dr Sanjaya Baru
Held at the Andhra Bhavan, a great favourite of the former, being his home state cuisine and one where he obviously likes to entertain, this week, when Baru posted another picture from the same table at the same restaurant, but this time with another top female anchor, Maya Mirchandani, it prompted the irrepressible Suhel Seth to enquire, "Does one have to be of the opposite sex and from NDTV to extract a meal from you, please?"
"You can send in your application," replied Baru, adding, "Caste, no bar." To which Seth jousted, "And sex? Baar baar?" "Suhel, I thought you were cleverer than that," said Baru. Nice!
A sable affair
A few months ago, when a swathe of Lutyen's choicest luvvies flew to Moscow to bring in the birthday of one of their own, the topic of conversation apparently was the number of sables that were gifted to a high-profile dusky diva her by her latest 'friend.'
"Each probably cost around Rs 7 lakh and this was a steal as the rouble was down," says an insider. "But even the highest rollers on that trip found it OTT that the nephew of a former union minister was throwing around so much moolah," she says, adding, "What's most amazing is that even as she flaunted a new sable every evening, her benefactor was hitting on every attractive woman behind her back, and each time the lift door opened, they were spotted arguing viciously." Guilt/Makeup Sables?
Bag ladies
There's a certain kind of lady who carries a Birkin and there's another who carries a Longchamp or a Coach — and such is the polarisation of these brands, that never the twain meet.
Ritu Beri with the Birkins (right) Radha Kapoor
The Birkin babe is most likely a bottle blonde, a yummy mummy or a stratospheric diva — Ritu Beri who posed for this pic with her claque of Birkins is delightfully two of the above; the Coach/Longchamp and Birkin ladies are of an entirely different ilk: Mala Singh, the artsy craftsy cultural czarina of Delhi, whose revamping of Bikaner House has charmed the capital's pashmina pashas, favours a Coach; Sunita Kohli, Delhi's other artsy craftsy cultural czarina, swears by her collection of Longchamps, and between these iconic brands, lie a hundred others labels which just don't make the same statement.
Ironically, the next few days will witness the launch of both Coach and Longchamp in India: Radha Kapoor of ISDI is bringing Longchamps and Sanjay Kapoor of Genesis is bringing Coach to India. Does this mean that the LV, Fendi and Dior-toting ladies will embrace a new order? Not likely: Coach Longchamp and Birkin ladies are seldom known to change their stripes!
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