Roving Eye

Jose's HourUnlike most citizens of Delhi's stratosphere, the city's diplomatic corps has some normal people who can let their hair down whe...

Jose8217;s Hour
Unlike most citizens of Delhi8217;s stratosphere, the city8217;s diplomatic corps has some normal people who can let their hair down whenever the occasion demands it. One, of course, is Jose P. Del Rosario, Jr, Ambassador of the Philippines, who8217;s been featured in these columns earlier. He8217;s had a busy year, what with his country celebrating 100 years of its Declaration of Independence and electing a charismatic new president. For Rosario, the impeccable host that he is, all this is an excuse for one unending party, and each do is an opportunity for him to ask his cook to take leave so that he can do what he does best 8212; cook lip-smacking stuff.

We got to taste a lot of it at the ambassador8217;s birthday bash on June 7, accompanied by an endless supply of Algerian wine courtesy his old pal, Ambassador Abdul Hamid Bereksi and very Latin-sounding, Ricky Martinish Filipino music. There was more of music and dance at the June 12 centenary bash, the difference this time being that the dance troupe put together and trained by the ambassador an accomplished dancer himself got to perform before Vice-President Krishan Kant.

It was a bamboo dance from southern Philippines that got everybody to stop chattering, and there8217;s a lovely story behind it. Apparently, a princess has to master the intricate steps before she can become a queen. That got the Veep telling the ambassador: 8220;I wouldn8217;t like to be born into royalty in your country.8221; The ambassador8217;s only regret was that he couldn8217;t ask the kitchen staff at Le Meridien to go on leave, otherwise he would8217;ve made the chicken adobo himself. He also had a piece of advice for those who make the mistake of underestimating the famed Tanduai rum of the Philippines. 8220;Have it with Coke,8221; says the ambassador, 8220;or have little of it.8221;Austria8217;s Man, India8217;s Envoy
If Rosario has people literally eating out of his hands, Herbert Traxl, Vienna8217;s man in New Delhi also known as Mr Shovana Narayanan, can easily double as India8217;s cultural ambassador in the Capital. Traxl and his Kathak danseuse wife, with some help from the flamboyant dance critic Sunil Kothari, have added badly-needed variety to the city8217;s cultural life.

Not long ago, they organised an evening of Rabindra and Nazrul sangeet, and it gladdened the heart of a card-carrying Bong to see Delhi8217;s butter chicken-and-bhangra glitterati applauding furiously at the end of each song rendered soulfully by the dazzlingly attractive Reba Som, a.k.a. wife of ICCR Director-General Himachal Som. And just as one was congratulating Traxl on his diplomatic masterstroke, he was quick to point out that the credit went entirely to his wife 8212; all he did was come home at 6 p.m., the deadline set by Shovana, and change over to an elegant, all-white bha-dralok-style kurta-pajama. 8220;Now, you can give me credit for this,8221; he said, pointing proudly at his outfit. MEA should seriously consider using Traxl8217;s services. It8217;ll do India8217;s image a world of good. Shovana Narayanan, meanwhile, has got busy planning an evening of Kathak dance featuring Rina Dhaka outfits inspired by Mughal miniatures.

Drago Can8217;t Go!
Like Traxl, Drago Stambuk is an ambassador the MEA would do well to hire we need some good ambassadors, given the way some of them performed on television in the aftermath of Pokharan II. The bad news, though, is that the hepatologist-poet-diplomat is leaving town on July 5 to take up another assignment. We last met him at Rosario8217;s birthday do, looking very South Asian in an Odel T-shirt Odel, by the way, is Colombo8217;s trendy fashion store and doing a namaste to everyone who would extend a hand to be shaken the namaste, he insists, is so much more convenient than shaking hands. Stambuk8217;s big regret is that he hasn8217;t been able to visit Orissa, but he8217;s sure he8217;ll be coming back, because, as he expresses it poetically, 8220;I carry India in my heart.8221; Well, it sure breaks our heart to see a friend getting ready to pack up and go.

Soccer Mania
Calcutta, move over, Delhi8217;s gone bananas over soccer! And why not, if you have the amiable French Ambassador, Claude Blanchemaison, inviting the whole of Delhi to partake of his legendary Bordeaux-powered hospitality, or his Brazilian counterpart, L. F. Demacedo Soares, literally kicking off the World Cup bash at Le Meridien.

The handsome Latino from the land of Romario obviously knows his soccer, going by the way he positioned himself sideways before shooting the ball straight into the net. Yet, through the evening of cocktails and canapes, the whisper doing the rounds was that the French ambassador was coming for the kick-off. The Brazilian, though, was the right choice, considering his country played the first match. And so what if a self-goal by the Scots saw them through!

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Birthday Baby
In this flurry of diplomacy, one anniversary that didn8217;t go unnoticed was PVR Anupam8217;s first b8217;day. And how could it, given that the multiplex is fast replacing even Priya as Delhi8217;s most happening place? Ajjay Bijli, the groovy owner of both, naturally, decided to make it an affair to remember with a special screening of the Richard Gere-starrer Red Corner. And there was plenty of popcorn and Pepsi going around, even as Vinod Khanna, who8217;d just released a good eating guide8217;, cut the cake with advocate-wife Kavita in tow. One wonders how the Khannas will deliver their promise of making Gurdaspur India8217;s Paris, if their social commitments keep multiplying at this rate!

Well, the Khannas didn8217;t stay for long 8212; maybe, they had another obligatory appearance to make or, did Rajiv Ru Ba Ru Shukla, who was seen chatting them up, entice the most-televised first-time MP to appear yet again on his widely-viewed programme?. But the usual suspects 8212; Marut Sikka and his cute fiancee Anusuiya, with Rohit Gandhi giving company 8212; stayed around for some fun. Missing from action: Rohit Bal. Has he, too, joined the summer caravan from Delhi headed for cooler climes?