Hop, Stop & Groove

Delhi socialite Ramona Vadhera’s schedule also reads like the roster of an airline employee. She follows the same party schedule as Khosla, but with a slight variation. ‘‘I make sure I’m in the city a day or a couple of hours before the event,’’ she says. She’s also got more hand luggage than Khosla—day and night creams, sunscreen, a hair dryer and Evian mineral water always go with her.

‘‘I do it all the time,’’ says Vadhera. After VJM’s birthday bash, she began packing for a close friend’s do in Singapore. ‘‘I’m travelling for parties about thrice a month,’’ she says.

Khosla says he’s picky about the parties he jet sets to. Mallya’s birthday and Gautam Singhania’s 40th were bashes he didn’t miss. ‘‘I’ve luckily always picked parties that have been fun,’’ he says.

For most intercity party hoppers, exclusivity is the key to an enjoyable hop. Designer and party animal Malini Ramani’s done the air hustle only a couple of times this year. ‘‘I play it by ear. When I have a day off I go to a party if it’s someone close to me,’’ she says.

Khosla agrees: ‘‘I won’t just aimlessly go to a big do. It has to be a special occasion for a close friend.’’

Another picky party buff is ad man Suhel Seth. The Taj Mahal Hotel’s centenary celebrations in Mumbai two years ago was the last event he stepped onto a plane for. ‘‘Luckily I happened to be in Mumbai for the Moulin Rouge performance. If not, I would have definitely travelled for that,’’ he says. His criteria for a party that warrants an air ticket: ‘‘The guest list has to be controlled, and one doesn’t have to jostle with Bollywood types.’’

Ramani’s woken up to the health hazards of party hopping. ‘‘I had to choose between Vijay’s birthday and a week-long stint at Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Bangalore ashram. I took care of my health and chose the latter. No smoking, drinking and caffeine, combined with meditating was very detoxifying,’’ she says.

Vadhera copes by catching naps on flights and getting enough sleep the night before. But a few hours of shut-eye is all Khosla needs before packing in six hours at work, the next day. ‘‘It’s the mindset more than anything else. In Mumbai, it takes you two hours to get from one end of the city to the other. I take the same time to get from one city to another,’’ he says.