Celebrating Kavita Singh

Playback singer Kanika Kapoor with designer Kavita Singh

Celebrating Kavita Singh
Saturday afternoon saw some of the city's most celebrated grande dames gather at Ballard Estate's Clearing House to bring in the birthday of uber aesthete and designer Kavita Singh, whose doting daughters Priya and Nandini had organised a surprise lunch in her honour. There had been much feverish excitement leading up to the event. "This is a very very last minute surprise birthday invitation. Since you are her closest of friends, it would really make her birthday special if you are there. Venue details will be sent shortly," read one of the messages.

During the cake-cutting ceremony

As it turned out, the occasion saw a veritable crush at the door, as limos after limos arrived, delivering one famous face after another. From designers like Pallavi Jaikishan to art aficionados like Sheila Jhaveri to stars like Simi Garewal to star mom and entrepreneur Lalli Dhawan and the birthday girl's colleagues from her modelling days like Salome Roy Kapur and Esther Daswani, they were all there, to raise a toast to the statuesque and indomitable designer, renowned for her unerring eye who had decorated some of the country's most celebrated residences (including Sea Wind according to sources).

By the time the cake arrived, an unusual circular creation, the gathering, feasting, on the restaurant's delectable repast, was well and truly exuberant. "Is the cake supposed to resemble the Coliseum?" whispered one grande dame to another, commenting about its unusual shape. "Maybe," said another. "It will probably belong to her soon, too," she replied, only half in jest, alluding to the decorator's reputation for unearthing fabulous structures and rendering them even more fabulous through her intervention.

Kresha Bajaj and Vanraj Zaveri

Professional coupling
Next weekend will see the recently married Kresha Bajaj (daughter of Kishore and Kintu Bajaj) and her husband Vanraj Zaveri (son of Hemant Zaveri) come together to showcase their new collections. The couple, recently back from an extended deep sea diving holiday in the Maldives to celebrate their first anniversary, has come together professionally, too, and while Kresha's designer label 'Koecsh' will display its bridal wear, it will be accompanied by jeweller Vanraj's fine jewels. And if that wasn't enticing enough, the invitation includes a box of delicious assorted macarons from Yautcha (owned by the Bajaj family). A match made in heaven!

Kabir Bedi

Here's looking at you, mom
"It's here on Amazon! Finally! Cheers!" texted actor Kabir Bedi yesterday from America about the handsome tome he had been working on - a biography of his extraordinary mother, 'The Revolutionary Life of Freda Bedi' by Vicki Mackenzie. Freda had been born Freda Houlston, in Derby, and was a student at Oxford University where she had met her future husband, the dashing philosopher Baba Pyare Lal Bedi, who hailed from a clan tracing its roots back to the Guru Nanak family.

Freda Bedi

The couple moved to India, where they, along with many others of their generation, had thrown themselves into the Independence movement. This is when they had come to befriend our own parents, in Srinagar, during some of the country's most challenging times. The Bedis were left leaning, intellectually vibrant and ahead of their times and no surprises that Freda had finally found her calling in Buddhism, becoming the first Western woman to be officially ordained as a monk.

The Book Cover

"Mummy was a real trail blazer. My parents' wedding was the first inter-racial marriage in Oxford. My mother became a 'hand-picked satyagrahi' of Mahatma Gandhi during India's struggle for freedom and was jailed, as was my father, by the British. After Independence she became a Buddhist nun," says the proud son. "She was the first non-Tibetan to rise to the highest rank, Gelongma. For her work in the refugee camps, she was also called 'Mummy-la' by a generation of Tibetans, who fled to India in 1959 with the Dalai Lama, at whose urging this book was written. I'm so happy her story has finally been told," said an emotional Kabir of what appears to be one of his life's missions.

Economic exiles and other poor chaps
Friends of the country's two best-heeled economic exiles ought not to fret too much about their situation. Whereas the first is well on to his way to rehabilitation through his masterly understanding of the way things work, the second, though unable to extricate his public image from that of reckless indulgences, is not doing too badly either. "He's just bought himself four super luxury vehicles," said the OTSHF (Oolong tea serving hostess friend), purring approvingly into the phone. "Can't wait to visit London this summer," she said dreamily. "He's such a thoughtful host," she added. Wasn't there a bit of strife and a considerable straining of resources now that he's the subject of so much regulatory scrutiny? we asked.

"That," said the OTSHF and we heard the clanking of her diamond bracelet as she waved her plump hand dismissively. "Don't tell me you believe every thing in the news!" she said. "Don't you know that it's all a cozy financial arrangement that allows him to retain much of the vast empire he had created? He's under no financial strains as far as I know." she said, adding, "But poor chap. I guess it's awful to be stuck in a mansion in London and not be allowed to go back home." Exactly the kind of situation you need to buy four new luxe cars to take your mind off, we said.

"Exactly," said the OTSHF. "It's his way of cheering himself up I guess." Then she tinkled her little bell for some more hot water.

Sandeep Khosla at the sangeet ceremony of a wedding in London

One, two, cha cha cha
We have known the affable Sandeep Khosla, one half of the inimitable Abu Sandeep Khosla label, for close to two decades. Over that period we have watched him grow as he along with partner Abu Jani have created one of the country's most renowned couture brands, the go to name for India's glitterati.

But what we didn't know was Sandeep's secret talent - he is an exceptionally rhythmic and graceful dancer! Guests at a high profile wedding in Hyderabad a couple of months ago swear that Sandeep, who had also done the decor for the wedding, had been the cynosure of all eyes when he'd let his hair down during one of the functions and danced on a table along with the groom's father (who is also known for his dancing skills!). And now, word comes in that Mr Twinkle Toes demonstrated the courage of his convulsions, this weekend in London during the sangeet ceremony of a big fat Indian 'botanical-themed wedding'. "Yes, Sandeep was dressed in his own creation, a baby pink kurta and was seen dancing away to Sunny Leone's hit 'Laila main Laila' along with a group of the ladies present. Of course, the loudest cheers and claps were reserved for him and he so sportingly stole the show," says one of the guests. Who would have thought!