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Conspicuous consumption

Updated on: 31 October,2012 07:44 AM IST  | 
Malavika Sangghvi |

As far as conspicuous consumption and expensive price tags go who are its prime practitioner? From what we learn it looks like top of the list is the Amber Lounge in Delhi where the high-octane Formula One Grand Prix after party was held.

Conspicuous consumption


>> As far as conspicuous consumption and expensive price tags go who are its prime practitioner? From what we learn it looks like top of the list is the Amber Lounge in Delhi where the high-octane Formula One Grand Prix after party was held. With tables beginning at 5,000 euro and the Jeroboam tables at 15,000 euros and an endless flow of Dom Pérignon and Belvedere vodka it appears to have been a hedonists’ dream come true.


Partaking of this extravagance we hear were the likes of Delhi’s Peter and Sonali Punj, Sanjay and Niamat Bakshi, Raghavendra Rathore and Suneet Verma and Mumbaiwallahs like AD Singh, Gaurav Bhatia, Neha Dhupia and Celina Jaitley who danced the night away with Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Narain Karthikeyan.


Suneet Verma and Sebastian Vettel
Suneet Verma and Sebastian Vettel

“It was an intimate, uber VVIP and the edgiest party this side of the French Riviera!” swear its promoters. With syntax like that — glad we stayed home!

Neha Dhupia
Neha Dhupia

Stylistic flattery!
>> Recently we have witnessed the phenomena of people writing in to this page with news updates that appear to have been meticulously crafted to echo this page’s style down to its last T. We are hugely flattered and so as a tribute to the ingenuity of their authors we’ve presented a few. Readers who guess which they are and who they came from will get a pat on their backs!

Speaking mishti
>> How do you have some of the countries most celebrated individuals eating out of the palm of your hand?

Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan

Speak Bangla of course! At the Shubha Mudgal–Saby-asachi event on the Museum grounds on Sunday, actor Vidya Balan had the crowd reduced to a quivering ras malai like syrup with her bhalo speech in Bengali, delivered with just the right rosogolla in mouth enunciation we’re told. What’s more Kolkata lovers and lads like Harsh Goenka, Suhas Roy and Jogen Chowdhury were charmed beyond belief! Mishti dahi anyone?

The guru and the laureate
>> We hear Anil Dharker, festival director of the Mumbai International Literary Festival has been getting an avalanche of requests for entry passes for October 31, the first day of the festival.

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and Sir V S Naipaul
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and Sir V S Naipaul

Especially in demand, we are told are two contrasting events in the evening. At 6.30 pm Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the guru who has been photographed with his long hair flying in the breeze as he rides a bicycle, will talk about re-inventing spirituality.
This will be followed immediately after by the Lifetime Achievement Award to Sir V S Naipaul and his talk.

Pune’s turf wars
>> A measure of the Mumbification of Pune — that once lovely sleepy banyan tree infested town — is how the turf wars for the title of hostess with the mostest have intensified. Time was when the best attended parties were the territory of an attractive female media maven with close links to a national newspaper. A measure of her influence was the fact that no less than some of the country’s most powerful Maharashtra based politicians used to kowtow to her. This lady’s position had been unchallenged until a younger edgier rival (given to dancing on table tops) had thrown her hat in to the ring for the society queen’s title. Now of course, things seem to have settled in favour of the ambitious daughter-in-law of a Pune tycoon who wears the title as prettily as she does her occasional tiara! As for those who loved Pune for its laid back vibe, time to relocate!

Don’t drink the water!
>> A few months ago we had written about how the art deco collective of residential buildings opposite SoBo’s Oval was home to some of this city’s most intellectually vibrant individuals like Ayesha Sayani, Padmini Mirchandani, Gerson da Cunha and Faredoon Bhujwala. Now to our dismay we learn that some of them are in serious danger of being slowly poisoned by the BMC if the authorities don’t act fast.

Gerson da Cunha
Gerson da Cunha

“We have been subjected to a mix of sewage with our drinking water since Oct 10 2012,” informs a resident. “It started with frantic calls from Windsor Manor and Empress Court when all the chowkidars who had drunk tap water in these buildings began to suffer from diarrhoea, dysentery and vomiting,” said the alarmed resident adding: “To its credit The BMC did send their personnel couple of times and asked us to clean out our tanks. But even though we complied at a considerable expense of Rs 30,000-40,000 per building, we are still stuck with muddy water from our taps and it’s been 20 days and two residents have had to be hospitalised as well.” We sympathise with their plight and urge the authorities to rectify the situation immediately. Perhaps the problem lies with the unattended gutters outside Eros and the influx of the many new restaurants in the area? Whatever it is it needs to be set right. u00a0

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