Joyous nuptials

Nita and Mukesh Ambani

Taking a cue from the Deoras themselves, the evening reception to celebrate the marriage of Hema and the late Congressman Murli Deora's son Mukul, with Nitasha, daughter of Jyoti and Vikram Thapar, was a blend of the old and the young, the traditional and the trendy, the established and the edgy.

Held at the Tote over the weekend, the evening saw business heavyweights like Nita and Mukesh Ambani, Parmesh and Adi Godrej and LN Mittal with son Aditya mix easily with a slew of fashionistas, stylists, restaurateurs and artists like AD Singh, Reena and Jitesh Kallat, Alex Kuruvilla and Mozez Singh. We spotted Lalitha Mallya, Munna Javeri, Manmohan Shetty (whose daughter Pooja is married to Milind Deora), Pratima and Gaurav Bhatia and Che Kurien, editor of GQ, in the happy ensemble. Making a rare appearance was Dimple Kapadia, whose daughter Rinke is married in to the Thapar family.

Nita and Mukesh Ambani

Nitasha's glamorous sister Ayesha, married to Nikesh Arora, currently the Vice Chairman of SoftBank Corp, who shortly after their high profile wedding in Italy last year had resigned as Senior VP from Google, was seen catching up with the Mittals and Praful Patel, the latter who received many belated birthday wishes, given that his NCP followers had plastered the city with reminders of his big day a few days earlier.

Reena and Jitesh Kallat

All in all a joyous celebration, which eschewing the tradition of solemn and over wrought weddings, had urged guests to dress in ‘smart casuals', let their hair down and have fun. "The evening ended in full on dancing under the stars," said a guest from Delhi, "It was a genuinely happy occasion. Wish more people take the Deora cue in days to come."

Lahore litterateurs
Word comes in from the Lahore Literary Festival that the launch of Indian author Salil Tripathi's ‘The Colonel Who Would Not Repent' was eventful, to say the least. "It was a reflective beginning, tense middle, and an argumentative climax," says Tripathi about the event.

(From left) Taimur Rahman, Salil Tripathi, Sadaf Saaz Siddiqi and Hina Jilani

"Sadaf (Saaz Siddiqi, the Dhaka-based author) was also on the panel and spoke of the agony of her land, Hina Jilani (renowned Pakistani lawyer and civil society activist) asked uncomfortable questions to her compatriots, a man walked out shouting "rubbish, this is Indian propaganda", some in the audience asked him to shut up saying we owe an apology to Bangladesh, and Taimur Rahman, the moderator, called it ‘a readable unreadable book'," says Tripathi, a senior advisor of Global Issues at the Institute for Human Rights and Business, adding, "It was quite an experience.

The many Pakistani men and women who applauded at the end and the many more who bought the book, got me to sign, and took photos with me made me feel it was a truly worthwhile visit."

Incidentally, 21 February, the day of the formal launch of the book in Pakistan, was significant. After all, that is the day observed to commemorate the protests and sacrifices of those who rose on it during the Language Movement of 1952, which culminated in the Bangla Freedom movement.

Suited and booted?
"I have many suits with my name. But I'm not auctioning them to clean the Mandovi. Please buy them at non auction rates and wear with happiness," to our mind this wry comment from Goa-based designer Wendell Rodricks on you-know-who's cosmic wardrobe malfunction is the subtlest put-down of them all.

Narendra Modi's suit

Incidentally, the suit purported to cost R10 lakh to make and sold for approximately another 430 is the best symbol of the incredible India story with its recent growth rate of 6.9 per cent. Both great yarns after all.

Wendell Rodricks

New love, new chapters
And according to sources, this celebrated sometime Mumbai-based author, much in demand by visiting international rock stars and their ilk, who had more or less left the city of his fame to live in Europe with his wife, is back in town working on his much awaited new book and very much in love this time with a new paramour the former GF of a British aviation and music tycoon.

"The earlier marriage didn't work out and he was quite emotionally distraught as he'd given it his all," said the source, "but as he's so much of a romantic, his friends and well wishers are hoping that with this new love he will settle emotionally and get back to completing his magnum opus."
Nice!

Goa belly crawl
For our money, Chef Irfan Pabaney's (Sassy Spoon) recent Goa belly crawl has been the most delicious no-holds-barred food trips we've come across, much in the line of Anthony Bourdain's culinary expeditions.

From Poi and pickles at Mapusa market to pork roast at Claudis, to a virtual seafood feast at Mum's Kitchen, Pabaney appears to have tasted it all and then some. But what appears to have been the highlight of the trip is his discovery of his childhood favourite: gotisoda.

"Something we used to drink as kids. So there's this marble incorporated into the bottle, and when you filled it up with a fizzy beverage, the marble would automatically act as a bottle stopper," says Pabaney, whose signature dish of pan seared beef with sesame and cellophane noodle in barbecue sauce is said to be a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

So when will his Goa sojourn find its way into his own creations? Not too long if his enthusiasm with all things Goan has anything to do with it.