Remembering Khushwant

And since we were the very first to write about The Khushwant Singh Literary Festival KSLF Kasauli that excellent meeting of minds and people that is conducted annually by his son Rahul Singh and the lovely Niloufer Billimoria in memory of the writer who died at the ripe old age of 99 last year heres an update on this years fareThe festival is on from Friday October 9 to Sunday October 11 this year and its theme is 100 To live 100 years is to be blessed To live on beyond is indeed to be in very heaven says the exquisitely penned concept note Khushwant Singh did not make it to 100Khushwant SinghBut then he was ready to meet his maker a long time ago Whether his maker was ready to receive him as Churchill said we will never know What we do know is that his ideas and his work continue to live on And then in tribute to the writereditor this Centenary Edition of KSLF which we had the pleasure of attending in its very first edition promises a cornucopia of delights as varied and eclectic as Singhs celebrated interests Happy Hundred celebrates KS extraordinary facets as a student a family person and a public figure Love amp Longinga passion for poetry delves in to his love for Urdu poetry and Our Cold amp Lonely Planet features eminent activists explaining why the environment is a red flag issueBut for our money what we are particularly looking forward to is the program titled Always Khush for decades the Sardarji and his jokes left millions of Indians shellshocked or doubled over in laughter Often both At KSLF 2015 we hope to continue in the same spirit amuse provoke engage and inspire We likeHomecooked Bandra ShtyleSticking with the pop up trend in the city word comes in that a new culinary pop up appropriately named Cafeacute De Mom is set to open its doors in Bandra over the coming weekendAlka Shehzeen SiddiqueAlka Shehzeen Siddique wife of erstwhile Congress MLA from Bandra Baba Siddique is the momcumchef behind the venture And she proposes to cook her famous home food including gulzaareshaami tender lamb teekhay khatte aloo tangy baby potatoes and murgepeshkash chicken in coconut cream there is also a sevencourse chefs tasting menu we were informedWe caught Baba about to take off on a flight yesterday who confirmed the happy news ldquoA preview food tasting took place last week and we received good feedbackrdquo he said And now that the Facebook page has been created and the description reads for those who adore delicacies from the secret kitchen of a mom turned chef We arent surprised that bookings have already started for the pop up that will be conducted later this weekEnter Ada MalikComposer Anu Malik the serial IPL fan of the lucky green tee shirt fame got in touch to inform us that his younger daughter Ada 21 has made a successful entry into the world of fashionLeft to right Anju Malik Anu Malik Anmol Malik and Ada MalikldquoAda is representing India internationally on FTVrdquo he said about the girl who is currently midcourse at Parsons The New School For Design in New York and who held her first fashion show at the age of 15ldquoNot only is she representing India on an international scale among Parisian brands being a part of various fashion shows in New York and rubbing shoulders with Valentino Marchesa and Vivienne Tam shes currently working on her new line for the Elle Shoprdquo exclaimed the proud father Er how about asking her to design some lucky new green tees nowClean sweep for KhambattaA talkative little magpie tells us that restaurateur and foodie Farrokh Joss Amedeus Khambatta is on a bit of a roll ldquoFrom Zarine Khans recent book launch to the QueenieRishi wedding celebration hosted by Kiran and Anil Agarwal tonight to Gautam Singhanias 50th and Vijay Mallyas 60th forthcoming destination birthday parties Khambatta has bagged the catering assignments for allrdquoQueenie Singh and Rishi SethiaWhen we asked Khambatta on how hed managed to make a clean sweep of all these highprofile engagements he said ldquoActually Ive known Gautam for very long and Queenie too We have been catering for Anil Agarwal exclusively for long nowGautam Singhania and Farrokh KhambattaI had done VJMs 50th for him and we go back a long way too My association with Zarine is recent and came about after the opening of Joss Santacruz where the family loves to dinerdquoZarine Khan and Vijay MallyaHe smiled ldquoBut theres only one connection really all are true connoisseurs of great cuisine And hopefully want the best catering for their milestonesrdquoSOBO House any oneA source called to inform us that the big plans to open a branch of this exclusive membersonly club in Mumbai have finally been abandoned Talk has been rife about the celebrity hangout club opening doors in Juhu since way back in 2013 but now the story goes that the proposed venture which was in collaboration with a local Indian partner will be scrapped for the time being at leastApparently the CEO and founder of the club which is headquartered on a tony London street and which has branches across the world including New York purportedly fell out over some clauses in the deal which proved that the vision between the brand and its local partners was inherently differentldquoYes the capital invested in the project was significant as they had even purchased a 38storey property in Juhu which would house their offerings like a hotel rooms fine dining restaurant bar and a spa and pay for the expensive upkeep of their expat managerrdquo said the sourceldquoBut now word on the street is that the international schmoozers watering hole will skip Mumbai for now and continue with its other expansion plans in Istanbul Toronto Barcelona and the Middle Eastrdquo So now with plans of its opening set aside and out of the way mdash how long before we see something with a similar model in Mumbai SOBO House anyone