The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] What they all are always interested in is the course of the Balkan war. Yet, these diplomats do need little diversions now and then to indulge in non-confrontational dialogues with members of the peacetime society. One evening French ambassador, François Richier, hosted a cocktail reception at his residence on Nyaya Marg. The pretext was the launch of Ghosts of Calcutta, a novel by Sébastien Ortiz, the Consul General of France in Kolkata, West Bengal. The guests were picked from the highest levels of Delhi’s social circle. Rajkumari Anita Singh of the royal house of Kapurthala looked resplendent in her golden sari and elaborately coiffed hair. Her family’s kingdom is history but Ms Singh continues

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The most handsome person in the select gathering was the new Mexican ambassador. Melba Pria entered the drawing room with her long hair cascading down her back. Her multi-stringed necklace too demanded diplomatic accreditation. One evening The Delhi Walla attended a private cocktail reception held in honor of João Cravinho, the outgoing ambassador of the European Union to India, and his wife, Jessica, who was dressed in a white frock. The evening was hosted by Man Mohan Bhagat, his wife, Sumohini, and his daughter, the charming Geeti, at their bungalow on Tees January Lane. The CEO of Bhagat Global & Earth Foundation, Ms Bhagat divides her work hours between Defence Colony and

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was raining. The famous TV news anchor Sagarika Ghose still managed to reach the India International Center (IIC) on time. She was to stage a conversation with author and journalist Sanjay Suri for the launch of his book 1984: The Anti-Sikh Violence and After. But Ms Ghose initially landed in the wrong venue. Standing unaccompanied in the foyer, she was heard anxiously talking on the phone to people at HarperCollins India, the hosts. She then headed to the next building in the complex. Walking alone in the monsoon drizzle, Ms Ghose looked rather vulnerable in her purplish Raw Mango sari (the rumor has it that she has hundreds of saris). As

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Are rules beginning to relax? Delhi’s art world is opening to the idea of samosas with unlimited beer. One breezy evening The Delhi Walla attended the inaugural bash of Colors of Life-15, an art show held by Bhiku Ram Jain Foundation, at the Visual Arts Gallery in India Habitat Center. All of us in the gallery moved around carrying our respective samosas and beer bellies. One man carried his noisy baby. It was difficult to spot any famous face, though of course there was Ratan Kaul, the omnipresent society diva who is seen in every noteworthy party that takes place in this town (I have written about her here). The most curious moment of

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] That athletic elderly man in shorts was the hippest man in the crowd. He arrived alone, stayed by himself and looked meditative with a pair of white headphones slung around his neck. One cool summer evening The Delhi Walla went to the launch of Amitav Ghosh’s new novel, Flood of Fire, at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Center. The liveliest part was the brief period when big names sauntered in through the metal detector. Retired Chief Justice Leila Seth (looking lovely as always) was an early bird and, Chief Justice-like, she marched straight to the front row. The Bombay-based novelist Amish Tripathi entered solo and looked extremely cheery—his new novel is soon hitting

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One cool evening The Delhi Walla attended the opening of 'Frammenti Expo ’67: Alexander Calder, E Emilio Vedova', an art exhibition in Magazzino del Sale in Zattere, Venice. (I'm in Europe!) The venue was a former salt godown. Some of the guests were the most distinguished members of the Venetian society, the kind who have massive collections of museum-material paintings piled up in their palace-like homes. These important people stood by the Canale della Giudecca and made unimportant talks over rounds of aperitifs. Mario Messinis, Italy's great music critic and former art director of La Fenice opera house, arrived with his professor wife, the lovely Paola. They go to every notable party of

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening The Delhi Walla went to hear a high-brow chitchat in Hauz Khas Village. Poet Vijay Nambisan and The Caravan magazine’s associate editor Supriya Nair had announced a conversation on stage. The event was hosted by poet-novelist-guitarist Jeet Thayil in The Toddy Shop, a bar whose waiters present bills in poetry books. Mr Nambisan, who lives in some far-flung corner of South India, is whispered to be a recluse who would rather mull over Larkin and Heaney in his study than corrupt his soul in Delhi’s bitchy literary circle. But here he was with his wife, novelist Kavery Nambisan. After all, somebody had to promote First Infinities, Mr Nambisan’s new collection

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening The Delhi Walla attended the launch of journalist Vinod Mehta’s second volume of memoirs, Editor Unplugged: Media, Magnates, Netas and Me at central Delhi’s Lodi The Garden restaurant. It was hosted by Penguin Random House India. Novelist Arundhati Roy formally launched the book. She followed it with an impromptu speech on Mr Mehta; it was both sentimental and political. Novelist Vikram Seth, who was dressed like a Hasidic Jew but without the black hat, read out a few passages from the book; Mr Seth had come with mummy, retired Chief Justice Leila Seth. However, Mr Mehta himself was nowhere to be seen. He had died a few weeks ago. He was represented

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening The Delhi Walla attended the inaugural ceremony of Jashn-e-Rekhta held in the Fountain Lawns of the India International Centre (IIC). The two-day Urdu literary festival was hosted by Rekhta Foundation (I have written about its fabulous poetry website here) in collaboration with the IIC. The sundown began with chauffer-driver cars queuing up in the portico to let loose their stockpile of Delhi’s smart set. One erect white-haired woman sashayed out holding a long slim cigarette; another invited notice with her gigantic pearl necklace. There were hardly any black-haired people save for the volunteers, politely guarding the front seats for the VIPs. Sighted on the first row -- Allahabad-based writer Shamsur Rahman Faruqi,

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One cold evening The Delhi Walla attended a talk by Pakistani author Intizar Hussain at the Oxford Bookstore in Connaught Place. Mr Hussain lived up to his name, which means 'wait' in Urdu. He arrived almost an hour late. The host was obliged to serve two rounds of ginger-flavoured chai for the waiting crowd. It did not help that there were only two famous people to ogle at – author Rakhshanda Jalil and graphic novelist Sarnath Banerjee who was accessorized with a a red man bag. (A woman's handbag lying unattended on a chair showed a glimpse of Upamanyu Chatterjee's new novel.) The most powerful person spotted was Karthika V.K. She is not