Indy partyThe long Independence weekend gave the city's movers and shakers a reason to party. Some went to Goa for a weekend of mayhem and madness, where Ness and Jeh Wadia were spotted really letting their hair down. The two boys probably need a break now that they are working hard for their father's business empire. But for those stuck in Mumbai, the 1900s was the place to be and since it was Jan 26th, some of their members turned up in traditional Indian clothes. Among those dancing the night away were Gautam Singhania, Anish Trivedi and Sabah Khaleli. Those who did not want to party away in desi attire opted for Copa Cabana, which was full of models that night. There was Svetlana Casper, Nina Manuel and Bipasha Basu, to name a few.Hinduja heroesLast Sunday, (not this Sunday), In-Mumbai (owned by the Hinduja family) had an awards ceremony at the Turf Club. The function was held to felicitate deserving citizens - a number of people including Nana Chudasama, were honoured. Butthe highlight of the evening was Remo singing Humma Humma while Govinda danced. Incidentally, Govinda was quite well dressed for a change, in black trousers and a black shirt. It seems that our Hero No 1 has decided to really change his look and go upmarket. Among those who decided to shake a leg to Remo's tunes were the Piramal sisters-in-law, Gita and Swati. Gita by the way is working hard on her book Business Legends which should be ready very soon.Fading glossyThere seems to be no dearth of glossies in the market. Anuradha Mahindra's new issue of Interiors India has just hit the market and Verve should be out soon. Following that will be the Society Annual. Kamlesh Shah has also come out with Folio - a design guide to interiors. Kamlesh you might remember had come out with a bi-annual fashion glossy Oomph. But after one spectacular issue this magazine vanished. We wonder if there will be a second issue or was it a one-time release. Thequestion then is: Will Folio follow the same fate?Derby niteGetting back to the week that was, the highlight of the weekend was the Derby. Attended by over 70,000 people, this year the entrance fee was hiked up to Rs 400, per head, but that certainly did not put off the crowds. The night before the Derby Vijay Mallya threw his usual bash. It was so crowded that you could not spot anyone. The compere for the evening was Sophiya Haque who could not pronounce any of the designers names including Rocky-S. (He was among the designers who had their clothes shown in a fashion walk that only a few could see.)But seriously, after her fiasco at the Miss India show we wonder why people use Sophiya as a compere. At that beauty pageant, Sophiya called cricketer Ajay Jadeja `Ajay Chaudhary'. Are we so hard up that we cannot find a decent presenter or are we so dazzled by her fabulously toned-stomach and permanently-exposed navel that we cannot see her glaring inadequacies.Anyway, the rest of theevening was also a bit of a damp squib. All the models vanished as soon as the show was over. For the star struck, that was the worst bit of news - there were no hot bods to ogle at.At least, the food compensated for the lack of celebs. Dinner was a large spread and included the entire gamut of cuisine from fondue, Thai, Chinese, Indian to Continental.The next day had a better turnout and Mumbai's usual racing crowd was out in their finery. Members could be overheard complaining about about the presence of riff-raff. What they seem to conveniently forget is how much money these lumpin earn for their closed little circle by attending the race.And finally.After the Derby it was time for a tea party organised by McDowell's. The only problem was that the host Vijay Mallya was not there. It seems that straight after the Derby he ran away in a helicopter to Goa to unwind on his yacht, Kalizma. To ensure a weekend of complete leisure, this beer baron was clear that tea parties be damned.Thesun and the surf - not turf - seemed to be his priority for those 48 hours.
