Glamour in Alibaug

As expected, the Nyrika Godrej-Yashwant Rao Holkar wedding reception held on Sunday at Alibaug, was according to those who attended, a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Both families have been known to be interested in design, the arts, and heritage conservation, and unsurprisingly, the old beach front Godrej family bungalow just off the Mandwa jetty, had been transformed by talented Mumbai designer Dhun Cordo to a tropical paradise.

Parmesh and Adi Godrej

"Speed boats from Mumbai kept arriving from 11 onwards, bringing wave after wave of elegantly dressed guests," said a source, adding, "These included Gordrej family patriarch Adi, with glamorous wife Parmesh in a beautiful orange ensemble, and their children, along with friends like Ronnie and Zarina Screwvala, Ira Dubey, Delna Zavaray and Behroze Poonawalla, along with all the swashbuckling Udwadia clan of eminent doctors like Farokh and Zarir, Rita Mehta, Dilshad Khambatta and Jammy and Nisha JamVwal."

Ira Dubey, Zarina Mehta and Ronnie Screwvala

And given that the groom's parents, Richard and Sally, are amongst the country's most knowledgeable foodies, we are not surprised to hear that Farrokh Khambatta's butter poached lobster, Coonawarra lamb sliders, grilled jumbo miso prawns and milk fed New Zealand lamb were the talk of the occasion.

"The band belted out popular reggae n jazz tunes, and the bride, in a beautiful white dress, looked resplendent besides the Holkars in dashing linens," said the source. Nice!

Miss you, dear dad
Often what's right under your nose escapes notice. When Twinkle Khanna's best seller, Mrs Funnybones, was released at the Marriot a few months ago at a star-studded launch, featuring the likes of husband Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, mom Dimple Kapadia and Karan Johar on stage, it expectedly grabbed the headlines and it appears every one missed the real story. Because few, if any, had commented on the poignant dedication the author had penned to her late mega star dad, Rajesh Khanna at the book's beginning. "For my dad," it had said, succinctly.

Twinkle with Rajesh Khanna

No one bothered to enquire from Khanna why she had chosen to dedicate her first book to her enigmatic father. After all, Khanna's childhood had been a many-splintered affair, and her parent's separation had been played out in the national spotlight, making many assume, that Dimple and her young daughters had been estranged from Khanna, once the former had moved out of Aashirwad.

Akshay Kumar, Dimple Kapadia and Aamir Khan at the launch of Twinkle's book

But once again, Twinkle has proved that the bonds of family run deep and transcend everything - even our own lives. A few days ago, she had quietly posted a photograph of herself with her father on Twitter, to mark both their birthdays, which fell yesterday.

Once again, one of the country's most popular wordsmiths had chosen to do so without any superfluous words. After all, as every good writer knows, it's often what one doesn't state that's the most significant.

Trouble in Paradise
Easily one of the handsomest, and most eligible bachelors on the NRI circuit, he was regarded as a catch, regardless of his family's recent financial issues.

And the fact that he appeared to have settled down with the daughter of another well heeled NRI clan, after a slew of high profile relationships with Bolly stars, had made many society matrons begin to plan her attendance to what would easily have been the ultimate destination wedding of the era.

But word comes in, that the couple has recently called it quits due to unknown reasons, putting paid too many hopes. Sad, perhaps it's only a lover's tiff and the season's cheer that might bring the couple together again.

The view from Goa
So here's a bird's eye view from Goa: the in place in town has been chosen as Antares at Vagator, which over the weeks has hosted the best and brightest from Goa and Mumbai like Rohit Bal, Sarah Jane Dias.

Sarah Jane Dias

Mumbai's perennial party boy, Raja Dhody, meanwhile is said to have thrown the coolest party so far, at his hilltop home above Saipem village. This featured the likes of Sunburn's Harry Singh, Biddu with wife Sue and Evelyn Sharma.

Raja Dhody and Rohit Bal

Last evening Peepul's Srimoi Bhattacharya hosted a sundowner which attracted a good crowd again from Delhi and Mumbai, and the same faces (along with local Goa glam) have been invited to Rajiv (Sula) Samant's bash later this week in Morjim.

And as far as the late night young and restless crowd is concerned, the in place, the best place for EDM evenings is at the Soma run riverside joint, Teso, in Siolim. What else?

Ah yes, good to know that even as these new stars appear on Goa's firmament, industrialist and football team owner Raj Salgaocar will be hosting his year end party as usual at his home in Dona Paula, which expectedly draws in all those who matter from the holiday season. -Proving once more how the more things change the more they stay the same!