Gauri sounds good

Gauri Khan is on a roll. Not only has she tied up with all manner of design and lifestyle mavens to position her design studio at Khar as a lifestyle hub in Mumbai, but now word comes in, that later his month when Scandinavian audio tech guru, Peter Lyngdorf, comes to India for the opening of the first Steinway Lyngdorf Flagship showroom in Delhi, not only will it boast furniture from Ms Khan's showroom but the Steinway Lyngdorf S–Series sound system, said to be one of the world's finest audio systems for music buffs, will be installed in her design studio in Bandra.

Gauri Khan

"The project has been tied together by Monica Sambharya and Harshul Parikh, the people behind Delhi's Trescent Lifestyles, whose high-end audio video solutions adorn homes such as those of Twinkle Khanna and Shahid Kapoor," according to a spokesperson.

And this bit of news only confirms what we've suspected for a long time: that Delhi is preferred over Mumbai as the capital of high end luxury goods and services and that Twinkle Khanna might have more star power now than Mr you know who!

Popping the scene
Over the weekend Dino Morea and Vishal Shetty once again took over the Four Season's hotel ballroom to host yet another installment of their invite only pop up nightclub concept called 'Playground'. And inspite the unexpected rain showers, we hear the city's young and restless did show up to play.

Mahesh Jethmalani and Arjun Rampal

And whereas DJ Clement played commercial tunes in the main room, DJ group the 'usual suspects' took over the smaller trance room.

Alia Bhatt and Dino Morea

Spotted letting their hair down were Arjun Rampal, Alia Bhatt, Ayan Mukherjee, Suraj Pancholi, Mahesh Jethmalani, Chunky and Bhavna Pandey, Amrita Arora and Seema Khan. And with timing regulations relaxed as it coincided with fashion week, it is said the organizers went laughing all the way to the bank.

Deliciously dubious dinners
To begin with there's the name Doobious Dinners. Any one who can think up such a wry witty name must know their onions.

Gresham Fernandes

Then there's the description: 'Think Mad Scientist Food Lab, Community Dining Tables, New Age Flavors, and lastly there's the concept: a sit down dinner held at a modest Bandra space, where diners can experience 'pushing the envelope when it comes to food, creating our own as well as rediscovering cuisines & ingredients.'

Riyaz Amlani

Over the past few weeks we have been hearing whispers from foodie friends, about this undercover joint in Bandra where they have been savoring what they say is the finest food to be had in the country. "You can only book the whole space for an evening to seat around 8-12 guests," said a source.

"It's around 2 k per head. And dine on such mind-blowing food as butter milk sorbet and aubergine miso," he said. And so with a little checking here's what we have learnt: launched by the creators Riyaaz Amlani and Ayaz Basrai of Impressario and their Executive Chef Gresham Fernandes, a few months back Doobious Dinners is the space where chef Fernandes prepares a 8-10 course meal, and diners discover flavours and the craft of plating to heighten their sensibilities to fine foods.

"Growing up in a Christian joint family in Bandra with his father's four brothers and innumerable cousins, and a matriarch with legendary culinary skills, would give him the perfect head-start to a career that would see him cooking in far spread kitchens," said a spokesperson for Doobious Dinners about Fernandes whose past experiences have seen him cook up a storm at the Leela, Saltwater Grill and Aurus and apprentice at the world renowned NOMA. And yes, diners can take along their own alcohol.

Imminent partnership?
Even as art mavens assemble this evening to listen to one of the art world's leading international voices, the other news that's jangling the art grapevine is the possible coming on board with the Delhi Art Summit of a well-known city art patroness. "One of the foreign partners is exiting," said a source.

"And the wife of a leading industrialist has been approached to pick his shares and lend her heft to the venture." And of course, if this does happen, it could mean that Mumbai might also feature in this premier art movement's plans. As we've said before-why should Dilli have all the fun?

The art of investment
When you stand in front of a work of art in a museum or exhibition, the first two questions you normally ask yourself are 1) Do I like it? And 2) who's it by? said a part of the invite from Sotheby's sent by Robin Woodhead, Chairman of Sotheby's International, and Edward Gibbs, Chairman India, Middle east and Africa, for a talk by Philip Hook, at a five-star hotel in SoBo.

Philip Hook. Pic/sothebys.com

Hook, a senior director at Sotheby's, best known for his witty and worldly books like Breakfast at Sotheby's, on the inflection point between art and finance, will enlighten a slew of the city's finest on the ins and outs of investing in art. In the room the bankers come and go, talking of Michelangelo.

A Sufi in Mumbai
We had met the young Haji Syed Salman Chishty of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah last year at a new age spiritual festival in Goa and had been struck by his gentle and wise presence. And so yesterday when he informed us that he was in town to speak at his alma mater, the Wilson College's annual Festival Of Peace, we were pleased.

Haji Syed Salman Chisty

Held by the Chishty Foundation Ajmer Sharif archival collection, the 'Building Bridges of Love' - A Photographic Journey, will also be showcasing a soulful collection of photographs by Chisty. It will feature portraits of whirling dervishes and the Ajmer dargah shrine. Nice!

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