Valentine’s Day with friends
It was such a fun evening by the poolside with besties — Bhavnesh Sawhney, Farid Khan, and Vinod Mirchandani — over high tea only extended into the wee hours when we realised we were headed to the same Valentine’s Day party. A party is imbued with a different kind of magic when it includes some favourite people it. I walked into a room full of red hearts, red teddy bears, red balloons with ‘I Love You’ and luscious burgundy flower arrangements on all the tables, creating romantic overtones as Barbara, Hira and Romila Sehgal at their swish South Mumbai home. Even so, the buoyant decor was no match for the warmth, camaraderie and bonhomie of this celebration of love and romance that has been a tradition at the Sehgals’ home for 20 years.
I can remember attending this for over 15 years and I prize the friends I see here every year. Sabeera Merchant, Farzana Contractor, Ramesh Sippy, Kiran Juneja, Pallavi JaiSingh and so many precious Bombaywalas so cherished and who make Mumbai the Bombay we know and love. A city of art, writing, conversation and culture over faffy clothes, brands, jewellery and oneupmanship that just might take it over one day soon? Will this rising materialism wipe out the innate character that makes Mumbai magical?
The drinks, hors d’oeuvres, all-red dress code... Everything about the evening made it a dreamy, musical and memorable Valentine’s. For me, the added sparkle was my dearest friend Romila, who flew down from Dubai for the evening.
Meaningful conversations
If you were to ask me what is my favourite kind of social ‘do’, I’d say it is a tiny group of friends in bonding, and conversation that lingers on your mind like a beautiful fragrance way after the evening is over. You rewind it in your mind the next day as you would replay your favourite music again. It brings a happy smile to your face as you sit alone and the memory of that fragrance wafts into the atmosphere around you.
Dinner with close friends, Aakif Habib and Iram Habib was just that and more. A magical evening unfurled with Princess Vidita Singh (who is also an artist), Perseus Bandrawala, and Kaizeen Writer at the rooftop of Saint Regis Hotel overlooking sparkling skyscrapers of Mumbai, that have transformed the city’s skyline into something akin to Shanghai, as I remember it. Through many courses and conversations on interesting topics, the evening extended over four hours and we created memories forever. We were celebrating Ebrahim’s (Aakif’s son) foray into the luxury athleisure wear called HabibE — pun intended.
Private soirées
Competing closely with tiny intimate dinners with special friends are soirées at private residences even if they are semi-official dos. I’m still not sure if I was invited or I was standing in for my more illustrious, reticent, reclusive husband, but the Consul General of Israel, Kobbi Shoshani was more than an official dinner reception. Held to introduce a select few to Israel Minister Miri Regev, it was surprisingly joyous especially because Minister Miri was the opposite of a self-important politician. One stuffy Bureaucrat present made up for her humility with his hot air balloon pomposity as he looked down his nose at most of the guests and launched into some monotonous diatribe about his important role in the ‘system’. Miri, on the other hand, was vibrant, youthful, and fun. She spoke with depth, sincerity, and emotion about the ongoing war that is painful for all parties involved. And, I have to say she was drop-dead gorgeous. She has some exciting news about India that she will share soon and I will keep you in the loop right here.
(Write to Nisha at nishjamwal@gmail.com)
