We have always felt that as a society we do not do enough to give back to our armed forces who defend the country often in the most difficult of circumstances
Rakesh Sarna and his wife Mae with (second from left) chef Sriram Aylur and (to his left) chef Srijith Gopinathan
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We have always felt that as a society we do not do enough to give back to our armed forces who defend the country often in the most difficult of circumstances. Wednesday night, we were pleased to see the Taj Group of Hotels doing its bit quite splendidly.
The hotel hosted a ‘Michelin Star Chefs Fundraiser,’ and invited its regular patrons to attend the dinner by donating a minimum of R10,000 each per seat. “When calamity strikes, they are at the forefront. We are hosting a special Michelin Star dining experience to express our gratitude to the heroes of our armed forces,” said the group’s dapper CEO Rakesh Sarna, who was in attendance with his elegant wife Mae.
And when we reached the venue, we were pleased to note that it was a full house. The hotel had flown down two of its star chefs from its foreign outposts; the two Michelin-starred chef Srijith Gopinathan who cooks at Campton Place in San Francisco, and the one-starred Sriram Aylur from their hotel in London together presented baked black cod, slow-cooked duck, baby lamb shank and roast chicken paired with French wines.
Post the dinner, the star chefs received a standing ovation during an interaction conducted by foodie Rashmi Uday Singh. And next, we hear, the Sri Sri Chef Special will move to the Falaknuma Palace over the weekend followed by an event in Delhi. Nice!
The second coming
If this picture of author Arundhati Roy standing with a group of her publishers in London’s Covent Garden Hotel last week casts her aglow in hallowed light, it is not far from the truth.
Arundhati Roy with the publishers
Sources swear that the mood on the occasion during the run up to the international release of her new novel ‘The Ministry of Utmost Happiness’ (only her second since the bestselling Booker-winning ‘The God of Small Things’) was positively reverential, as 24 of the book’s publishers caught up excitedly with the publishing world’s mega star.
Publisher Dorotea Bromberg of Sweden is said to have shared how she had embarrassed the young courier who brought her the final physical manuscript of the book, by hugging him with inordinate passion. Roy, after all, has many readers who have eagerly awaited the publication of a second novel, making it something of a Holy Grail in book circles. The evening, much like Roy’s earlier novel, was not without its share of irony and unexpected twists.
Apparently, the Estonian publisher was the only one who had cheerfully declared “that things were getting better and better in his country.” “The next night on the news we heard that British troops had landed in Estonia for some reason or the other,” says the source. ‘The Ministry of Utmost Happiness’, said to be based in Kashmir, is said to be even better than ‘The God of Small Things’. Incidentally, most of the publishers present that evening had also published her earlier novel.
Coffee, tea and Al Thani
When we’d had tea with the beatific Amin Jaffer al fresco at the Taj poolside last month, the modest, soft-spoken gentleman, with the looks and manner of a Hollywood star, had not even mentioned that his spectacular exhibition ‘From the Great Mughals to the Maharajas: Jewels from The Al Thani Collection’, which he had curated with Amina Okada of the Musée Guimet, would be opening this month at Paris’ Grand Palais.
The exhibition catalogue, Amin Jaffer
Said to be a veritable king’s ransom of dazzling emeralds, pearls and diamonds strung together with breathtaking artistry, the exhibition was the culmination of many years of assiduous collecting by Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, who began at 27, inspired by Jaffer to use his considerable resources to build a world-famous collection.
Monologue that fostered dialogues
Word comes in that next month on April 1 and 2, the smash-hit phenomenon of Indian theatre, Kaizaad Kotwal and Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal’s The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler is having a homecoming of sorts at the Prithvi Theatre. It was exactly 15 years ago that this path-breaking play began its journey at Mumbai’s premier theatre venue.
Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal with Eve Ensler
Since its launch, the play went on to break new ground; 2007 saw the launch of the Hindi version called Kissa Yoni Ka, which too was staged along with the English version in places as diverse as Delhi, Pune, Gurgaon, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat. “From five-star hotels and community halls in Dharavi, to college auditoriums and alternative theatre spaces, TVM continued to regale, educate and move audiences like few theatrical experiences have,” says Mahabanoo.
Jane Fonda, who was part of the original cast in the US
We have also played a small role in the play’s history. Fifteen years ago, we are informed, we were the first media person to write about the play’s launch in India. This had occurred when Mahabanoo had invited us to witness a rehearsal in her well-appointed apartment in Churchgate. The original cast had comprised the director, Dolly Thakore, Jayati Bhatia, Avantika Akerkar and Sonali Sachdev. But 15 years is a long time and the cast had gone on to include many well-known personalities, notable amongst them Eve Ensler, Oscar winners Jane Fonda and Marisa Tomei, Imran Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Usha Uthup, Nandita Das and Suchitra Pillai.
What’s more, Mahabanoo and Kaizaad have used the play as a platform to raise awareness on violence against women, as well as raising funds wherever they have gone. No surprises then that this April, on the 15th anniversary of its performance in India, there will be much celebration. After all, few plays can be said to have begun a dialogue, and to think it all began with a monologue!
His big, cool friend
It was quite a spectacle when this high-flying bon vivant, one of India’s most famous economic exiles, found himself in the centre of a slanging match with the management of the luxury hotel he was staying at in Dubai recently. Apparently, the trouble had begun when one of the high fliers’ guests had been refused entry due to lack of some documentation.
On hearing this, the HF had rushed down to the lobby and made his ire felt quite unambiguously, until the hotel’s GM, perhaps unaware of his status and reach, had lashed back at him. This would have gone on, say bystanders, were it not for a single phone call made by the HF to his big, cool friend from the ruling family, who is said to have intervened by making the GM apologise profusely to his VIP hotel guest. Oil’s well.
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