‘The Tribune-Chatterati’ 5th.April.2010

Delhi has been through a hectic social week. A bunch of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches and non-official after parties along with the FDCI Fashion Week and its bacchanalia, all coincided. The party of the first Indian Premier League match in Delhi was a ‘happening’ one in Delhi’s language. For a change the owner of the Mumbai team Nita Ambani and her two children were present. The Ambani children have been kept out of the media glare till now. This was actually a fun evening with the country’s top models walking on the ramp in Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna’s outfits. Of course in all IPL after match parties you have almost the same crowd of Lalit Modi, Rajiv Shukla and the relevant cricketers and team groupies who dance till the wee hours of the morning and then amazingly are again ready for the next match, next party, next city.
The much awaited fashion week of the FDCI was however a dampener. Obviously the FDCI’s carelessness led to commotion and frustration for many top designers. They could not get their fire license in time thus leading to the first day’s shows getting cancelled en-masse. So, Ritu Beri for example, could not get Sushmita Sen as her show stopper the next day because alas Sushmita was already booked for the next programme.
Actually the fashion weeks are now quite a public flop. In this fashion week one neither saw celebrities or major buyers. The designers were not, privately, happy with arrangements at all. But here once again the after party of some designers were quiet a hit. Free booze and free khana is after all, always welcome in Dilli.