Mumbai beauties

ldquoMet up with old friends last night at a friendrsquos birthday and this picture is a result of years of friendship I have known all more than 20 to even 30 yearsrdquo said the statuesque jewellery designer our friend Farah Khan Ali about this gathering of beautiesldquoIt was a friends birthdayrdquo she said ldquothat coincided with Friendshiprsquos Dayrdquo So without further ado and to shine the spotlight on some very leggy ladies and a very lucky man are from left to right is Ramona Narang Prerna Goel Roohi Jaikishan Bonnie Bulchandani Anju Chulani Farhad Taraporewala Farah Khan Ali and Lata PatelStyle over safetyldquoIrsquove just come from the Kala Ghoda cafeacutethey have a delicious lsquoSoy Cappuccinorsquordquo we recall our friend the urbane and attractive publisher Padmini Mirchandani telling us sometime in AprilWhich is why when we heard about the unfortunate sequence of events that transpired between Mirchandani and the Kala Ghoda cafeacute that handkerchief sized charming cafeacute we were dismayedPadmini Mirchandani with daughters Pooja and PriyankaldquoOn June 9 I visited the cafe with my two daughters and cousin The cafe was full and we had to wait for 10 minutes before a table became free This seating was at the mezzanine level which has one table This was not our first choice of seating but we had no option as no other table downstairs was freeThe only way to access this mezzanine level is by a nearvertical extremely narrow ladder The steps of this ladder are very short and it is impossible to climb without twisting your body and climbing up or down sideways There are two short handlebars on the wall left side when climbing up and no handlebars for support on the right sideWhen I was climbing down I slipped from the second step all the way to the floor Itrsquos about 1012 steps I fell backwards and slipped down my back hitting the back of my head on the way downrdquo she said This is where the plot sickensldquoNone of the staff came to help In fact the man behind the till wearing glasses said this has happened 56 times beforerdquo says an outraged Mirchandani ldquoSo the day after the accident my daughter Pooja Vir called the owner Farhad Bomanjee The main interest in this call was to first check if he was aware of the accident and secondly to ensure that this does not happen again to othersrdquoldquoPooja asked him if this had happened so many times before then why hasnrsquot he fixed it yet The explanation he gave was that he has been trying to come up with a solution but didnrsquot know the best way Then he said that itrsquos too small a job for an architect to take on My daughter said that she could give him the number of an interior designerrdquoWhat transpired is that they gave Bomanjee a number of an interior decorator ldquoWe said that if he does not start work on the stairs within the week then we will have to file a report for negligence with the BMCrdquo After going through all this Mirchandani was pretty certain that some measures would be put in place for customersafety But nadaldquoMa went there this weekendrdquo says Pooja Vir ldquoAll they have done is add a nonslip strip on the steps and a flimsy sign They didnrsquot show any interest in fixing anything elserdquo she added When we called Bomanjee for his explanation we took care to say that we were fans of his cafeacute and he assured us that he would respond to all allegations which in the interest of fairness customer safety and soy cappuccinos we will carryIncidentally guess what the lane that houses the cafeacute is called We kid thee not gentle reader its called lsquoRopewalk LanersquoRohit in reposeFor our money this is perhaps one of the most stylish portraits of a fashionista in repose It features the middleaged enfant terrible of Indian fashion the one and only Rohit Bal in Goa in the rainsRohit BalFrom the casual yet trendy slipons to the ink blue shirt matched with chequered Bermudas to the bottle of half drunk beer lying within hand distance you gotta admit it Bal has the styleIncidentally with his recently increased workload which includes a tieup with Myntra a bridal advisory bureau and styled bungalows in Goa how can Bal look so relaxed is a mysteryNow Sake bombsldquoItrsquos cheaper than wasabirdquo said a foodie friend about the menu at AD Singhrsquos Guppy by ai which we had visited over the weekend and were impressed byAD SinghldquoThe black cod is sold at Rs 1950 Wasabi does it for Rs 2325rdquo he said about one of the standout dishes that wersquod tasted as good in our opinion as that at the Tajrsquos celebrated eatery Guppy by ai which also served an excellent Japanese Pork belly and jumbo prawn both at Rs 1050ldquoOver all the quality isnrsquot badrdquo said our foodie friend ldquothey served the sushi rolls without soya so it was a little weirdrdquo Will he return Yes most definitely he said of the Olive at the racecourse ldquoLast season it was breaking plates with the Thalassa pop up this season itrsquos sure to be the Sake bombsrdquo