Raja of the Runway

Hes known as the wild child of Indian fashion the enfant terrible of haute couture but this weekend Rohit Bal he of the golden curls and cherubic looks appears to have established quite emphatically that he is the undisputed Raja of the RunwayAt his off site outing during the Amazon India Couture Week AICW 2015 in Delhi his lissome models sported a cornucopia of burgeoning flora and fauna ruby red roses and sumptuous silhouettes which enchanted allRohit BalBut of course as always at his shows the showstopper was none other than the flamboyant maestro who camped it on stage magnificently blowing kisses at his applauding admirersPortrait of the artist as a young boyIt seems Akshay Kumar has more competition to contend with at home Ever since the hunky star had to share the limelight with wife Twinkles flourishing career as a columnist and author with her moniker Mrs Funny Bones winning much admiration from all quarters Kumar has been basking happily in her reflected gloryAkshay Kumar Twinkle and AaravNow it appears theres more talent being incubated in the Kumar household Son Aarav Bhatia all of twelve has apparently displayed every sign of becoming an accomplished artist a talent he perhaps inherited from his Nani Dimple Khanna whose canvasses have received praise from credible collectors A writer and now an artist Obviously many muses bless the Bhatia homeGame nights of the rich and famousThat a slew of filmwallahs and their SoBo friends have been meeting monthly over the past 12 years to indulge their penchant for board games like Articulate is well knownChunky Pandey Shweta Nanda and Malaika KhanA bunch of friends some nosh and drinks much laughter and challenges what can be better to pass the time away Hard core fans of Articulate which challenge the gray cells and afford many hours of bonhomie and unwinding are the likes of Farah Khan Malaika Arora Chunky and Bhavna Pandey Rahul Khanna and Kajal AnandThis weekend saw a repeat of game nights with Arvind Dubash Shweta Bachchan Nanda Sikander BK and Vikram Phadnis joining in With most of the above approaching a comfortable middle age and acquiescing their rocking ways to their teenaged kids one could assume that the days and nights of rock and roll have given way to those of the roll of the diceHis brothers keeperWord comes in that this flamboyant and beleaguered biz man forced to live abroad to escape the long arm of the Indian law who was reported to have been removed from the running of his family empire in favour of his brother has recently turned the tables on the decision by ganging up with the said brother to take on the fatherNot only that but the family dynamics have undergone another change with his dynamic mother assuming the reigns of the vast empire and calling the shots Capital capersTen courses and some DilliMumbai bashingThe MS Sunny Side Up Breakfast Project is moving along at a steady clip taking its own shape and direction After three outings at local eateries this time it blossomed in the exclusive environs of a sumptuous art gallery at Kala GhodaSunil Padwal Vickram Sethi Shiraz Sidhwa Seated Omrita Sethi Malavika Sangghvi Harsh Goenka PicsPradeep ChandraIts owner the affable Vickram Sethi offered to host the gathering at his art and books filled Institute of Contemporary Indian Art where on the top floor the consummate foodie maintains a fully equipped kitchen and dining spaceAvocados with raw mangoesThe guests as usual were eclectic There was former Mumbai girl the journalist Sunday and the Financial Times Shiraz Sidhwa who having left the city for a long stint in Delhi America and now Brussels was returning to her hometown after 11 years To offset this prodigal return there was stylist Omrita Sethi who having spent a couple of years in Mumbai would be returning to Delhi to her home in Gurgaon next monthStar fruit with tomato jellySunil Padwal the dapper artist whose brooding canvasses have mesmerised art lovers ramped up the style quotient and finally industrialist Harsh Goenka foodie collector and patron of the arts completed the merry picture ldquoMake sure all your guests come very hungryrdquo was Sethis only requestldquoI am going to cook you a 10 course meal using only breakfast ingredients ndash but with a twistrdquo he said And what a meal it was Starting with bubbly the late morning repast began with avocados laced with raw mangoes in a mandarin sauce with cherry chutney to be followed by a dish of Japanese mushroom with artichoke accompanied with white truffle pate followed by star fruit topped with tomato jelly immersed with lemon curdA veritable banquet And yet in the tradition of the Breakfast Project the conversations were even more riveting We spoke about art and food people and places and of course given Shiraz and Omritas DelhiMumbai trysts we embarked on our favourite party game one weve invented and named Delhi Mumbai Hai High 1 Hostess with the Mostest in Mumbai Parmeshwar Godrej In Delhi Suhel Seth 2 Party Politics in Delhi Modi snubs Advani In Mumbai AD trumps Riyaz 3 Party intellect in Mumbai Mahesh Bhatt In Delhi Shashi Tharoor 4 Down and out in Delhi Not being invited to the Rashtrapati tea on Indie day In Mumbai Not being invited to a KJo preview As expected every one chimed in and there was much wicked laughter and ribaldryThe next dish uthapam with wasabi prawns amp roasted onions elicited the most oohs and aahs Miniature herb encrusted uttapams with delicious wasabi laced prawns and the burnt flavour of roasted onions gave the meal an earthy gravitas The next few courses passed in a blur and by the time we were served the perfectly cooked scrambled eggs with black truffle we were in a food coma As we said The MS Sunny Side Up Breakfast Project is full of surprises See you next week