Dining with royalty

As expected the gala dinner reception held at a fivestar ballroom on Sunday evening for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge or as their new acronym WillKat goes resulted in a flurry of news leaks the next day from those who attended eager to share the detailsFrom the curious but charming seating arrangements guests were initially made to stand around consoles in groups of nine along with a designated British ministry official to wait to be greeted by the royal couple the invitation came accompanied with a one page protocol and logistics advisory to the proceedings of the evening mdash Shankar Mahadevan and his son sang three songs Shiamak Davarrsquos troupe did a medley of Bollywood numbersPrince William and Kate dine at the reception held for themShah Rukh Khan gave a welcome speech Aishwarya Rai Bachchan presented a bouquet of pink roses to Catherine there was a delicious Thali serviceKate with Cyrus PoonawallaWhat no one wants to admit is that aside from the High Table on which the couple sat with a few handpicked guests every one else present were more or less fillers for the occasion made to come early wait for almost an hour to get their two seconds of royal PC and then to watch from the sidelines as those on Table One spent the rest of the evening breaking bread and exchanging sweet nothings with the couple du jourAnd who were the cherry picked few who had been invited to sit at this august table and dine with royal pair Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan RBI Governor Dr Raghuram Rajan the Tajrsquos Rakesh Sarna and Dr Cyrus Poonawalla and family including son AadarDid these table arrangements cause a tad amount of heartburn among the rest of the invitees Given the fragile egos possessed by the city social set what do you thinkNo cavalier on toast and foie gras any moreThey have long been celebrated for their legendary hospitality and the splendour of their tables groaning with delicacies and with both Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla showing particular fondness for good food the fact that the celebrated designers are both undertaking a selfimposed detox at a European Spa it has been received with a fair amount of incredulity by their friends and fansAbu Jani and Sandeep Khosla and one of their detox mealsBut of course even here the maestros display an unerring eye for detail Dispatches from their spa read lsquoThebigbreakfast atthespa imagine me eating misosoup tinyolives riceporridge tiny cutfruits thatsall smile abujanisandeepkhosla original always trendsetters and other such plaintive communiquesAbu Jani and Sandeep Khosla on a detox Goodness what is the world coming toKarmic connection to publishing coupldquoLike all publishers I have been hooked on getting the book and have been in touch with him for a whilerdquo said Juggernautrsquos Chiki Sarkar about the fact that her newly formed publishing venture had won the rights to publish what must easily be this decadersquos most interesting sagaChiki Sarkar and Rajat Gupta PicAFPIt is the story of how Rajat Gupta prince of the corporate world a man as admired as he was respected fell from grace after being convicted for leaking tips to hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam and spent 19 months in a US prison as a consequence Gupta who for nine years had headed the worldrsquos most renowned consultancy McKinsey and who hit the headlines with what was said to be the largest insider trading case in the US ndash will be penning his memoirs for JuggernautldquoMy life has had many ups and downs and in this book I want to talk about my struggles and how Irsquove found solace strength How do you act without attachment Help others without expectation And forgive without bitternessrdquo said Gupta known for his good looks who is said to have turned deeply spiritual in the past few years with particular interest in the Bhagwad Gita and its laws of cause and effectCause and effect and the laws of Karma could subliminally have had something to do with Juggernautrsquos publishing coup Born in Kolkata Guptarsquos journalist father had worked for the Sarkars And it was this family who is said to have stepped in and helped the young Gupta and his siblings when theyrsquod been orphaned in their teens One good deed deserves anotherBy affording the rights to what will certainly be one of the most awaited books of our times Gupta is also perhaps unknowingly repaying a karmic debt he owed Sarkarsrsquo progeny mdash Chiki Sarkar and her newly minted publishing ventureLevel playing fieldsEven as party hearties in Mumbai were torn between the many varied entertainment options in the city on Saturday night which included the IPL game and the Miss India contest word comes in that this scion of Mumbairsquos preeminent political clan was content to chill with his pals at a fivestar pop up hosted by his close friendAnd according to those present his presence came in for a fair share of teasing with other guests asking why the lettering of the event had not been rendered in a local script or the music changed to more ethnic beats Whatrsquos more they say that though he was seen having a good time till the wee hours the cops magically arrived only a moment after he left the site Thatrsquos the way the big boys play