Game and Set

Irit Namatinia,an expatriate who shuttles between Beijing and Delhi,and Sumana Das Gupta,former member of the band Mrigya,are the latest nocturnal ambassadors who are trying to improve the Capital’s nightlife with an appropriately named package called Masala Events. It will provide tourists with a slice of Bollywood glamour,along with a five-course Indian dinner over a space of two-and-a-half hours. So after you break bread (well nan at least,with butter chicken and makhani dal),you can enjoy shimmying to K ajra Re,taught to you by choreographer Vikram Samson and his Masala Foxy Steppers dance troupe. “ Bollywood is a rage all over the world,so we thought it would be a good idea to give visitors a peep in to it,” says Das Gupta,adding,“Our test runs have evoked a lot of curiosity among expats,so for the Games we start our bookings from July.”

Meanwhile,shoe designer Swati Mehrotra of the label Swati Modo is plugging the cultural void by organizing wine and cheese evenings at her 1,000 square feet Shahpur Jat store. Mehrotra would be putting up a Commonwealth collection— size 39 wedges and pumps,outfits by newbie designer Jaya Rathore,jewellery by Gunit Kaur and arty packaging of lifestyle products by Delhi-based entrepreneur Abhay Beriwal— and organise sales around them. Mehrotra is counting on her clientele from the embassies to bring in more guests during the Games. Marketing for the events have begun on various websites. “I am organizing the first sale in September,just ahead of the Games. Once the games are under way,the buzz will set in and hopefully we will get more walk-in clientele,” says Mehrotra.

July onwards,an alternative narration of the Games will be visible on the walls outside schools,shops and a few Delhi homes. But these are not the usual angry graffiti. The paintings would spring from photographs taken by artists Goutam Ghosh and Amitabh Kumar and Iram Ghufran who has conceptualized the project The Delhi Commons that would go on till February. “The paintings will respond to the immediate changes that are taking place during the Games,” says Ghufran,from the Sarai Media Lab. She will also be designing thought-provoking postcards—as souvenirs for Games tourists— which would be distributed in dense parts of the city. “For paintings we would target concentrated areas,with higher tourist traffic to generate more interest,” says Ghufran. Intrepid tourists can mix a dose of activism with entertainment at Cafe Morrison in South Extension. Delhi-based rapper Taru Dalmia of the BASSFoundation will croon about the displacement of the poor,and labour violations during the run-up to the Games,to the gimlet-eyed crowd. Join the party.

(Inputs from Debesh Banerjee)