Scene and Heard

Marcellus Baptista

What's happening in Mumbai’s hotels? A peek into the party circuit and events in the city...

Pack that Shack!

Amrita Arora and Sadhana Romy at the fifth anniversary of Hawaiian Shack

The buzz was on at the popular pub Hawaiian Shack that celebrated its fifth anniversary with a big party. Beaming was host Sadhana Romy who welcomed the many guests. Her late husband, Romy, who dreamed up this rustic and retro nightspot, was remembered with fondness and party people even sang 'Happy Birthday!' as it would have been his 50th birthday. Songs by Sharmilla and her band along with a flashy performance by the Hawaiian dancers put you in the mood to have a good time. Adding to the glam factor was the presence of sisters Malaika Arora Khan and Amrita Arora who strolled in with their mother Joyce. The action spread from the ground floor to the sections higher up, right till the terrace with a white deck at the very top. Experiencing the birthday bumps were Geeta Basra, Salim Asgarally, Vinta Nanda, Ashish Balram Nagpal, Rocky S, Ameet Gaurr, Aman Verma, Rahul Nanda, Bijon Dasgupta, Aamir Ali, Farid Currim, Viren Shah, Kishin Mulchandani and Hard Kaur, all hardcore lovers of the Shack.

Sips and sounds

Ashita Tham, Lina Ashar and Reshma Bombaywala at the Belvedere music night at Henry Tham

There's nothing like a cool Martini while you listen to the music. That seemed to be the case at Henry Tham at the launch of the Belvedere Luxury World Music Nights. Henry Tham and wife Ashita and son Keenan along with Belvedere's Gaurav Bhatia were there to meet and greet the guests who trooped in to experience a new music genre called Putumayo. Enjoying the music and the vodka cocktails like Cosmopolitan and Appletini were Sabina Chopra, Monica Vaziralli, Esther and Raju Daswani, Louis Banks and wife Lorraine, Vikram Bawa, Shonali Nagrani, Aashish Raheja, Narendra Kumar, Sherry and Tony Singh, Brian Brown, Arshiya and Rij Eappen, Leena Mogre, Nikhil Chib, Riyaaz Amlani, Lina Ashar, Nisha Jamvwal and Anupam Mittal. Many of these guests promised to come back for more of the same, every Thursday night.

Scotch safari

N R Rajsekher and Richard Paterson at the Whyte & Mackay scotch safari at ITC Maratha

The breezy royal garden at ITC Hotel, The Maratha was the happy venue for the Whyte & Mackay scotch safari with master blender Richard Paterson. Guests were transported to Scotland, land of the Jura and Dalmore single malts and the blended Whyte & Mackay. Hosts N R Rajsekher, COO, United Spirits Limited and D Kavarana, GM, ITC Maratha along with wife Shahina were on the lawn while you embarked on a journey that put into perspective the history of whisky, the 'water of life.' In a spirited mood were Jyoti and Niranjan Thakur, Arzan and Khushnuma Khambatta, Nikhil and Leena Mogre, Anu and Shashi Ranjan. Patterson singled out Rashmi Uday Singh from the audience and gave her the privilege of tasting a rare scotch from a small bottle. He also demonstrated how he could float whisky on water.

Dish and that

Avanti Birla at the Robato Grill night at Tetsuma

It was a grill thrill at Tetsuma with a rather relaxed Robato Grill sit-down dinner with well-known faces invited to host tables for their friends. And so Anju and Farhad Taraporevala hosted a table for Avanti Birla and Arjuna Mehra, Zeba and Rajesh Kohli called Azeem Khan and wife Sameena along with Bina and Talat Aziz. For the Kohlis it was a double celebration for it was also their wedding anniversary. At the third table Pratap Gaekwad and wife Pragyashree were with friends Penny and Sanjeev Patel and Aditya Kilachand. There were also a sprinkling of other guests including shoe designer Payal Kothari, fashion designer Kiran Gidwani, Tarini Jindal of Muse and Ira Dubey.

The happy guests for dinner relished the Japanese principle of Robata meaning 'by the fireside' offering appetiser-size portions that allowed you to feast on a variety of dishes prepared over charcoal and served with authentic Japanese sauces and condiments.