Celebrated passage through India

It was almost a regal passage through India for one of international fashionrsquos reigning queens Fern Mallis the influential former executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America CFDA and the lady who created New York Fashion Week Mallis is an old India hand her love for the country presumably stoked when she had been Senior Vice President of IMG Fashion and it had played a significant role in nurturing the nascent India Fashion WeekFern Mallis Wendell Rodricks Sabyasachi Sandeep Khosla and Abu JaniEditors of glossies designers and show biz stars in India and abroad have long regarded the Brooklynbased Mallis as a visionary and so no surprises that her most recent trip to the country was a mini fashion week of its own which saw her being feted by Indiarsquos bestKicked off by a dinner at Abu Sandeeprsquos leafy apartment in Juhu the Goa leg of her visit saw the recipient of the Pratt Institutersquos 2012 Fashion Industry Lifetime Achievement Award being feted at many beautiful Goan haciendas including one which featured designer Wendell Roderickrsquos birthday dinner Whatrsquos more the fashion mavenrsquos engagement with Indiarsquos fashion frat does not end thereNext month at the prestigious CFDA annual awards an event considered the Holy Grail of Fashion Oscars we hear designer Sabyasachi is making an outfit that Mallis will wear on the red carpet And given that the awards recognise outstanding contributions made to American fashion by individuals from all areas of the industry and related arts it will be another significant showcasing of the best of Indian fashion in the international spotlightWhat will Sabyasachi design Mercifully no ball gowns expected here for sureBlue Chip AffairIt was said to be a true blue Mumbai lsquoclubbyrsquo event when the brainchild of Sanjiv Saran Mehra which is said to be the worldrsquos longest running and largest corporate cricket 7s championship recently completed 20 yearsSanjiv Saran Mehra in blueThe celebrations included the annual CEOs Challenge match in which Ajay Srinivasan CEO Aditya Birla Financial Services Group captain of the winning team lifted the trophy and was awarded the Man of the MatchThe other participants were equally blue chipped Sanjiv Mehta MD Unilever India Ravi Chawla MD Gulf Oil India Shailesh Ayyangar MD SanofiAventis India and Russell Perreira Partner PWC all donned their cricket colours and batted await to gloryCandle in the windThis is an exercise in live reporting As we write this we are inhaling the aroma of New Yorkbased hostess socialite and philanthropist Meera Gandhirsquos lsquoGiving candlersquo the one she describes as the lsquobest scent in the worldrsquoMeera GandhiThe olfactory passion which Gandhi is caught up with currently is connected to her philanthropic interests which is a perfume called Giving the sale proceeds of which will go to Gandhirsquos NGO The Giving Back FoundationMade after years of her personal involvement in laboratories around the world it is redolent with lsquoSicilian bergamot Egyptian Jasmine Absolute Heliotrope French Sunflower myrrh oil from Namibia South American tonka beans sandalwood from Mysore Vanilla Bourbon Reunion with a spin off candle She says ldquoAfter 5 years of testing this is finally available for you to enjoy I promise you only the best because I demand only the best from liferdquoSo are we experiencing the lsquosweet scent of generosityrsquo as we write this right now Well at least we are writing about candles and not scandalsMan in the centreIf a picture is worth a thousand words than this one featuring Sahara Sri Subrata Roy the out on bail tycoon surrounded by his family friends and employees and looking very much like a demi God with his head shorn in respect to his recent bereavement and clad in a pristine white shawl is worth at least Rs 200 croreSubrata RoyWhy so Because that is allegedly the amount that Roy is said to have deposited to SEBI as bail for his parole to be extended to 11 JulyAnd going by the steely resolve in his eye and the inner calm in his stance his recent incarceration and financial woes do not appear to have bowed the controversial biz manrsquos spirit muchDJ DevDev Patel the affable Indian actor whose professional success appears to be a scene straight out of his debut film Slumdog Millionaire is said to have walked into Juhursquos Trilogy over the weekend and by all accounts endeared himself to the crowd thereDev Patel and friendsldquoHe waited patiently for the guestlist and didnrsquot throw any starry tantrums asking himself to be let in just because he is a celebrityrdquo says an eyewitnessldquoOnce inside he couldnrsquot get enough of the DJrsquos console and he sportingly said a few words in the mic to pump up the crowdrdquo says the source who informs that the actor was accompanied by a couple of friends who did not appear to be from the industryAnd the icing on the cakeTrilogy played lsquoPaper Planesrsquo from Slumdog Millionaire in honour of the exuberant starSaving his soulSources say that Enrique Iglesias charged anything between Rs 9 to 10 crore to perform at the two high profile Indian bashes he appeared at recently Whopping nine cool criers for one night of warblingEnrique Iglesias PicAFPWe donrsquot know if therersquod be many who lsquoWould you cry if they saw him crying But as far as lsquosave ing his soul tonightrsquo there are obviously many takers