Of starched linen and strawberry tortes

Villie and Brigadier Furdoon MehtaOf starched linen and strawberry tortesVillie Mehtas airy drawing room at Warden Road is testimony to an older more genteel Mumbai For it is here that the feisty octogenarian wife of the swashbuckling Brigadier Furdoon Mehta and mother of UTVs bright spark Zarina Mehta has taught four generations of Mumbais elite women how to be ladiesIt began when the young and glamorous Villie had returned to India with her husband and two children after a stint in Washington where hed served as a highranking attache in Indias diplomatic mission in the Seventies Her circle had clamoured for her recipes of drool worthy meringues and tortes and quiches My students came in batches of 1620 three times a week I taught them not only how to cook but also how to keep a kitchen spotlessly clean scrub it twice a day lay an elegant table only cloth no paper napkins etc she saysShe credits her prowess in the culinary arts to her family especially her fathers sister who had schooled her on the finer things of life as a young girl growing up in prepartition Karachi I was born lucky that way I was very fond of food and everybody at home cooked she said when wed dropped in for an excellent cup of coffee rolled in on a trolley laden with fine china starched linen and the most delicious strawberry torte in the worldThrough her culinary prowess Mehtas renown spread far and wide and her students have ranged from erstwhile Tata Chairman Cyrus Mistrys mother the lovely Patsy to many a young hostess of today Throughout our meeting Mehta had patiently fielded a series of calls from a panic stricken young lady called Simmone who was obviously having a melt down over her meringue Dont panic dear just put it in the refrigerator to cool And though she gave up teaching a few years ago she is still upto baking cakes or quiches for a small circle of loyal clients like Mana and Suniel Shetty and Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla I run a very organised kitchen and I can bake up to five cakes a day she winksOf course even Villie Mehtas exceptional culinary knowledge could not turn ducks into swans On the eve of our marriage we recall that we too had enrolled in her class but for all her kind and patient tutoring had emerged as unschooled in the kitchen as ever Which only goes to prove that theres always an exception to every ruleBabita and Rima JainThe familyIts a family that rallies around in times of celebration or crisis Even as photographs of a happy gathering of the Kapoors celebrating bahu Babitas seventieth birthday did the rounds yesterday we could not help thinking when not too long ago we had chanced upon more or less the same scene of mutual support and camaraderie when a loved one had taken ill Thanks to the blessings of our Gods and the upbringing of our parents our family is always there for each other in happiness or pain said Raj Kapoors younger daughter Rima Jain about this phenomenon Touchwood We are one big fat happy family she said IndeedRaveena TandonSita the warriorMy next book Sita Warrior of Mithila the second book of the Ram Chandra Series is the tale of Lady Sita in her warrior avatar Its the tale of an adopted child who rises to be a warrior prime minister and then a Goddess Considering the theme for all the events related to the book I have invited strong women achievers to share the stage with me I had announced its release with Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani says bestselling author Amish Tripathi who has roped in actress Raveena Tandon to be part of his cover launch event early next monthAmish TripathiI thought Raveena was the perfect person to invite for the cover release as I have been a fan of her work since my college days says the man whose combined book sales have been in the region of approximately R100 crore The fact that she likes my books is an added bonusTripathi had texted us these perfectly articulated few lines in less than five minutes flat from Delhi airport before hed boarded a flight proving that if theres anything more formidable than a bestselling author its a bestselling author from IIM whos been a successful banker and knows how to make things workHair raising storyHes always been known for his hotheaded arrogance and his habit for looking through those he does not consider important enough to his scheme of things But who would think this celebrated producerdirector one half of Bollywoods most powerful couples with a string of hits to his credit would also be discussed for his vanityKnown to wear a trendy baseball hat at all times Bollywoods answer to Steven Spielberg has according to insiders recently got himself the cruise liner of hair transplants Not any transplant mind you but only the very best for this leading enfant terrible His hair job is excellent because its been cleverly made to look absolutely natural by even retaining his familiar receding hairline so as to not attract notice says a sourceThe result The hat has been retired as its not needed to hide the bald patch any more But the irony is that in spite of his care in replacing his mop discreetly more attention has been aroused to his baldness now than ever before