Bal with bubbly

Rohit Bal in ChampagneJust when you thought his life could not get any more charmed word comes in that fashionrsquos favourite enfant terrible the very pouty Capitalbased designer Rohit Bal who recently launched his new store Balance in Delhirsquos Mehrauli is currently in the heart of Francersquos Champagne Valley in the cellars of Dom Perignon in Epernay sampling its finest vintagesldquoAt Champagne In their cellar Bottles of Dom by the thousands being matured What a triprdquo he posted about the experience To which one of his friends responded Irsquod take a bath there No we do not know whether he took the hintLaudable exhibitionBombay Black the exhibition of Dalit Adivasi Bahujan art during the recent Kala Ghoda Festival drew a fair share of city luminaries to its doors we are informedSudharak Olwe and Anand PatwardhanFrom Police Commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar to highprofile public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam to the grandson of the legendary Babasaheb Ambedkar who is said to have written parts of the Indian Constitution sitting at a cafeacute at Kala Ghoda to filmmaker and activist Anand Patwardhan and photographer Vikram Bawa they were all spotted taking in the works in rapt attentionThe exhibition featured the works of 21 artists including Michael Kelly Williams Mohammed Khallil and Mehlli Gobhai who showcased their art inspired by the Black Panther Movement and the cityrsquos relationship with the colour black However sources say that it was awardwinning photojournalist Sudharak Olwersquos striking photograph of a young Dalit boy who had been hanged for his choice of ringtone that elicited the most responseldquoWhy would any one kill a boy just for a ringtone Whatrsquos happening in this worldrdquo was the refrain from visitors who perhaps did not expect to encounter such a powerful reminder of human suffering Commissioner Padsalgikar was overheard lauding Olwersquos efforts as a true artist who had amplified a social issue in a powerful art formRajes Rajasthan renaissanceShe may not have made it to the BJPrsquos inner power circles and her proximity to Lalit Modi might have attracted unfavourable notice but there is no doubt that Vasundhara Raje the chief minister of Rajasthan has been pretty busy infusing her statersquos arts crafts and cultural with energy and zest making it a vortex of activity and attractionA part of the renovated JKKFrom the Jaipur Literature Festival to Photo Jaipur an international photography festival to the Udaipur World Music Festival to the Handmade in Rajasthan heritage week and the Sacred Music Festival in Pushkar the panoply of delights never appears to ceaseVasundhara Raje Charles Correa and Rahul MehrotraAnd now word comes in that Rajersquos latest brainchild Jawahar Kala Kendra JKK an autonomous creative cultural and art space in Jaipur has recently been restored boasting three major performance facilities mdash a state of the art proscenium stage an auditorium and an open air amphitheatre along with a library a cafe and design shop on its premisesAnd with internationally renowned artist the Delhibased Bharti Kher as its honorary chairperson and Pooja Sood as its director and an upcoming comprehensive exposition on the life and times of Ebrahim Alkazi Indiarsquos great theatre personality coming up in March JKK promises to be yet another jewel in Rajersquos tiaraIncidentally the institution boasts of a strong Mumbai connect Designed by the late Charles Correa a true son of the city its restoration has been undertaken by his soninlaw architect Rahul Mehrotra who also happens to reside in MumbaiRestaurant boomThe city is witnessing a glut of new eateries this season From Jia launched this month in Colaba by Neville Vazifdar of Royal China to DOH a cafe in Kamala Mills by the guys at DeGustibusNeville Vazifdar Anurag Katriar and Zorawar KalraAnurag Katriar who oversees matters in the postRahul Akerkar era took to social media to announce the new opening with ldquoFinally the Dday or shall I say doh day has arrivedrdquo Then there is Zorawar Kalrarsquos soon to launch Papaya in Colaba It appears to be boom time for the cityrsquos legion of foodies Forks and knives to the ready