Illustration/Uday Mohite

The Master of the Household has received Her Majesty's command to invite Ms Meenakshi Shedde to a reception to be given at Buckingham Palace by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, to mark the official start of the UK-India Year of Culture, on Monday, February 27, 2017 at 6pm," read the invite. I was absolutely gobsmacked. It seemed rather early for April Fool's Day, so I conceded it might be true.