Celebrating Kavita Singh

Playback singer Kanika Kapoor with designer Kavita SinghCelebrating Kavita SinghSaturday afternoon saw some of the citys most celebrated grande dames gather at Ballard Estates Clearing House to bring in the birthday of uber aesthete and designer Kavita Singh whose doting daughters Priya and Nandini had organised a surprise lunch in her honour There had been much feverish excitement leading up to the event This is a very very last minute surprise birthday invitation Since you are her closest of friends it would really make her birthday special if you are there Venue details will be sent shortly read one of the messagesDuring the cakecutting ceremonyAs it turned out the occasion saw a veritable crush at the door as limos after limos arrived delivering one famous face after another From designers like Pallavi Jaikishan to art aficionados like Sheila Jhaveri to stars like Simi Garewal to star mom and entrepreneur Lalli Dhawan and the birthday girls colleagues from her modelling days like Salome Roy Kapur and Esther Daswani they were all there to raise a toast to the statuesque and indomitable designer renowned for her unerring eye who had decorated some of the countrys most celebrated residences including Sea Wind according to sourcesBy the time the cake arrived an unusual circular creation the gathering feasting on the restaurants delectable repast was well and truly exuberant Is the cake supposed to resemble the Coliseum whispered one grande dame to another commenting about its unusual shape Maybe said another It will probably belong to her soon too she replied only half in jest alluding to the decorators reputation for unearthing fabulous structures and rendering them even more fabulous through her interventionKresha Bajaj and Vanraj ZaveriProfessional couplingNext weekend will see the recently married Kresha Bajaj daughter of Kishore and Kintu Bajaj and her husband Vanraj Zaveri son of Hemant Zaveri come together to showcase their new collections The couple recently back from an extended deep sea diving holiday in the Maldives to celebrate their first anniversary has come together professionally too and while Kreshas designer label Koecsh will display its bridal wear it will be accompanied by jeweller Vanrajs fine jewels And if that wasnt enticing enough the invitation includes a box of delicious assorted macarons from Yautcha owned by the Bajaj family A match made in heavenKabir BediHeres looking at you momIts here on Amazon Finally Cheers texted actor Kabir Bedi yesterday from America about the handsome tome he had been working on ndash a biography of his extraordinary mother The Revolutionary Life of Freda Bedi by Vicki Mackenzie Freda had been born Freda Houlston in Derby and was a student at Oxford University where she had met her future husband the dashing philosopher Baba Pyare Lal Bedi who hailed from a clan tracing its roots back to the Guru Nanak familyFreda BediThe couple moved to India where they along with many others of their generation had thrown themselves into the Independence movement This is when they had come to befriend our own parents in Srinagar during some of the countrys most challenging times The Bedis were left leaning intellectually vibrant and ahead of their times and no surprises that Freda had finally found her calling in Buddhism becoming the first Western woman to be officially ordained as a monkThe Book CoverMummy was a real trail blazer My parents wedding was the first interracial marriage in Oxford My mother became a handpicked satyagrahi of Mahatma Gandhi during Indias struggle for freedom and was jailed as was my father by the British After Independence she became a Buddhist nun says the proud son She was the first nonTibetan to rise to the highest rank Gelongma For her work in the refugee camps she was also called Mummyla by a generation of Tibetans who fled to India in 1959 with the Dalai Lama at whose urging this book was written Im so happy her story has finally been told said an emotional Kabir of what appears to be one of his lifes missionsEconomic exiles and other poor chapsFriends of the countrys two bestheeled economic exiles ought not to fret too much about their situation Whereas the first is well on to his way to rehabilitation through his masterly understanding of the way things work the second though unable to extricate his public image from that of reckless indulgences is not doing too badly either Hes just bought himself four super luxury vehicles said the OTSHF Oolong tea serving hostess friend purring approvingly into the phone Cant wait to visit London this summer she said dreamily Hes such a thoughtful host she added Wasnt there a bit of strife and a considerable straining of resources now that hes the subject of so much regulatory scrutiny we askedThat said the OTSHF and we heard the clanking of her diamond bracelet as she waved her plump hand dismissively Dont tell me you believe every thing in the news she said Dont you know that its all a cozy financial arrangement that allows him to retain much of the vast empire he had created Hes under no financial strains as far as I know she said adding But poor chap I guess its awful to be stuck in a mansion in London and not be allowed to go back home Exactly the kind of situation you need to buy four new luxe cars to take your mind off we saidExactly said the OTSHF Its his way of cheering himself up I guess Then she tinkled her little bell for some more hot waterSandeep Khosla at the sangeet ceremony of a wedding in LondonOne two cha cha chaWe have known the affable Sandeep Khosla one half of the inimitable Abu Sandeep Khosla label for close to two decades Over that period we have watched him grow as he along with partner Abu Jani have created one of the countrys most renowned couture brands the go to name for Indias glitteratiBut what we didnt know was Sandeeps secret talent ndash he is an exceptionally rhythmic and graceful dancer Guests at a high profile wedding in Hyderabad a couple of months ago swear that Sandeep who had also done the decor for the wedding had been the cynosure of all eyes when hed let his hair down during one of the functions and danced on a table along with the grooms father who is also known for his dancing skills And now word comes in that Mr Twinkle Toes demonstrated the courage of his convulsions this weekend in London during the sangeet ceremony of a big fat Indian botanicalthemed wedding Yes Sandeep was dressed in his own creation a baby pink kurta and was seen dancing away to Sunny Leones hit Laila main Laila along with a group of the ladies present Of course the loudest cheers and claps were reserved for him and he so sportingly stole the show says one of the guests Who would have thought