Say wine ‘n’ cheese, it’s party time

What else can explain the profusion of such dos in Pune since the past few months with every hotel worth its stars having hosted one such evening-be it for a glass painting by Rusi Ratnakar and attended by the likes of Shobha De or a live canvas painting by M F Husain. The invites simply say-come to a wine and cheese party. Words that look good, sound good and above all spell Class with a capital C. Add to that the fact that this class comes wrapped in a most economical package and the immense popularity of the trend sure begins to make sense.

“Wine and cheese go together very well. And when it’s hosted for an event like an art exhibition preview and you are simply putting together things that more or less require the same kind of people. Not everyone can understand art and the same goes for wine and cheese. You need to have a certain kind of background to appreciate it all. So in a way wine and cheese dos are also a status statement, more so in India where the two are just about beginning to make a presence felt,” explains Sohrab Chinoy of ABC farms who finds his vast variety of cheeses very much in demand suddenly by the elite of the city. “As far as I am concerned it’s a very good trend and I sure hope it catches on,” he grins.

“It is quite definitely a very elitist thing,”confirms Anurag Aggarwal of Buzz Productions who has put a few of such evenings together. “The mere consumption of the two items-wine and cheese-shows a certain class. However, perhaps an even more relevant thing is the need of cutting down costs at an event. The recession is universal and rather than compromising on the quality of the event and its production value its much better to trim down on the food. Everyone has realised that buffets are elaborate, wasteful and boring. The concept of standing in long queues waiting for the food with a plate in hand never really went well with the glitterati. On the other hand this idea is both convenient and interactive whereby you move around with a glass of wine with the snacks being served to you. Also the cost comes to less than half of what it would if you hold a full-fledged dinner or even a cocktail with hard drinks anda plethora of snacks. If a buffet is Rs 200 a head, the maximum you can go with a wine andcheese evening is Rs 100 a head.”

According to Aggarwal wine ‘n’ cheese has special relevance at dos where the event doesn’t require the crowds undivided attention.“Like an art auction or book release. Also there is a conscious trend nowadays of de-focussing on the food and emphasising on the event. The thrust is more on entertaining the crowd rather than feeding them. It’s true that people have got to the idea of being stuffed with heavy food even if they have come for a musical evening, but then I think it’s time we weaned them away from all this and make them used to the idea of things like wine and cheese,”insists Aggarwal adding though its all obviously easier said than done, especially in the context of the Indian pallets not exactly used to feeling contended on just wine and cheese.

“For this, timing is important, you can only do it if your event winds up by say by 9.30 p.m.at the latest. Let it extend by an hour and you sure-as-hell are going to need to supply parathas with the wine and cheese,” he smiles. “So far, I have given cheese from our farm for four to five occasions at places like Le Meridien, Holiday Inn the Royal Connaught Boat Club. The very first one was about a couple of years ago for a select gathering at Mohini Mahal,”reveals Chinoy.

Select. Exclusive. Upper Class stuff. That’s what it all probably boils down to when you talk of wine ‘n’ cheese. “It’s certainly not for your local bewada,”reiterates Chinoy. “But even amongst the elite the concept is still at the acceptance stage.”

“But what I am scared of now is everyone jumping onto the wine and cheese wagon without discriminating between either the event or the invitees. Basically, it’s the concept that should be incorporated – of light snacks, it can be cheese or cutlets or croissants. Then, wine not only goes with light eating but also keeps you more alert and able to enjoy an evening as compared to hard drinks. The idea is great, the implementation may need thoughtful innovation from time to time. So far at least though I have never had a guest come up and complain about there being just cheese variations for snacks or crib about going hungry.”

Obviously he was missed by one socialite who has not quite fallen for the trend.“How many of those cheese chunks can you eat?,” she asks just a little peeved after she returned half famished from one such do she had stilletoed to. “And with what? Instead of just all kinds of breads, they should have a few more filling snacks with cheese- like cheese toast or cheese burgers.! Then ,a wine and cheese party is okay.”

Given the irrepressible Indian pallets the idea is really not half as far fetched as it sounds! So look carefully at the next invite you get for such a do. It might just say -Come for a wine and cheese rolls party!

More for Kargil

The students of Sucheta Chapekar’s Kalavardhini have put together a group dance presentation `Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya’, that comprises a colourful collage of four different ideas and situations from our past like the Aryan-Dravidian fusion and the victory of good over evil as symbolised by the emergence of Dasha avatara, all of which reflect the qualities Indians are known for-tolerance, resilience and tenacity. Directed by Chapekar, the dance is based on classical music but with is contemporary in technique.

Then there is Mythili Raghavan’s Academy of Indian Dances that will put up Man Mohini, that takes one through the human emotions of peace, love, happiness, pain and suffering. Finally, Meenakshi Venkatraman of the Nritya Jyoti Academy of Dance and Music completes the trilogy with her disciples displaying emotions a person undergoes when caught between two opposing section fighting for their rights. “Dance transcends all barriers and thus we thought this is the best way to pay tribute to the oneness of our nation.

The artists are all from the age group of eight to twenty eight and the children especially are enthusiastic about doing something for our soldiers,” adds Lakshmi Iyer, another trustee.

With the three leading dance teachers of the city contributing their mite for the cause, keeping aside their own identities to merge into the oneness of the purpose, surely there can be few better ways of saying `We Care’.