When Women’s Day Becomes a Season
Mumbai has a curious way of celebrating occasions where we don’t stop at a day. Women's day was stretched generously into and has joined that expanding calendar of celebrations.
Panels, award evenings, conferences and conversations about women’s empowerment took over the social circuit. The discussions are often more than ceremonial gestures.
Perfect Woman Group and Brite Outdoor Media’s Women’s Day gathering were a lively reminder of how far the discussion around women’s work has evolved. Among those shaping the discussion were Dr Madhu Chopra, Dr Neetika Modi, producer Binaifer Kohli, and I enjoyed participating in these serious conversations about leadership, money, influence and power.
We explored the influence of artificial intelligence and social media on working women. Technology, as we all know, is reshaping everything — from how women build businesses to how they create personal brands and networks of influence.
Dr Madhu Chopra — actor Priyanka Chopra’s mother — along with Dr Neetika Modi, television producer Binaifer Kohli of the wildly popular sitcom Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hai, Meenakshi Agarwal, politician Anand Dubey and I discussed how women must understand their financial autonomy — a subject long neglected in polite conversation.
I found the conversations swift and candid . Women today are not only seeking a seat at the table; they are increasingly designing the table. The evening was moderated by founding editor Dr Khooshi Thakker, with designer Palash Dutta hosting the red-carpet segment.
Meanwhile, around the serious discussions, another familiar social tableau unfolded. A flotilla of glamorous young attendees — contouring, couture and camera-ready pouts — hovered expectantly for some paps to notice them - something I’ve noticed at most events in Mumbai these days . The crowd waited impatiently for the entertainment segment — empowerment evidently works best with a little glamour.
Weddings: India’s Grand Theatre
If awards are plentiful in Mumbai, weddings are the true preoccupation of India. This country has become the global capital of luxury weddings. Entire economies now orbit around them — designers, decorators, choreographers, stylists, destination planners and chefs , and a new thing called Shadows- one valet butler type who carries handbags and sundries and walks around with the bride and her family- one ‘shadow’ per person!
This season saw two particularly talked-about celebrations unfolding almost simultaneously.
One was the wedding of Arjun Tendulkar, son of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. The other was the grand wedding of Mudit Dani — son of Asian Paints chairman Jalaj Dani and Vita Dani — to Ananya Dewanji.
Both weddings attracted the usual constellation of celebrities, business leaders and society regulars. Yet each had its own defining moment.
At the Tendulkar celebration, Shah Rukh Khan’s arrival created the inevitable ripple of excitement. Few entrances in India can still command a room the way Shah Rukh’s does — the aura of stardom remains unmistakable.
At the Dani wedding, however, the most widely discussed presence was that of Nita Ambani. Watching Nita Ambani greet guests explains her popularity to me, it’s not about scale or spectacle. There is a genuine warmth and attentiveness she brings to social occasions — an instinctive hospitality that I feel from her.
The Jio Convention Centre, is now the perfect Mumbai celebration space— vast, meticulously run, and designed for this kind of large-scale wedding theatre.
If one needed proof that Indian weddings have become an industry these two celebrations provided it.
Birthdays and the Art of the Sing-Song
Birthdays are definitely more fun and less performance oriented than weddings! Manjula Nanawati — author and contributor at The Acropolitan magazine — hosted a birthday party that was so special in that there were just few select friends she cares for and something increasingly rare: a party where people actually sing.
Not karaoke. Not background music. Real singing. The evening quickly transformed into what we used to affectionately call a “sing-song.” One classic followed another as friends took turns entertaining the room.
Ronnie Screwvala began the musical relay, followed by Anu Bose — sister of actor Rahul Bose — and the surprise talent was Naval Agarwal who was brilliant in his rendition of the ‘The Great Dictator’. The show-stealer was singer Nitin Kurien Chandy from Goa, who moved effortlessly from classic Hindi to popular English numbers.
There is something nostalgic about evenings like this. In a city increasingly dominated by DJs and playlists, spontaneous singing is almost old-fashioned — and special.
Manjula’s daughter Trishya Screwvala arrived with her husband, sports commentator Suhail Chandok, but left early. I lingered longer — and even managed to croon Speak Softly Love for the birthday girl.
Terraces, Tele-Stars and Juhu Evenings
Another birthday celebration unfolded at the terrace home of NGO educationist Ameesha Khanna.
Terrace parties in Mumbai have their own distinct charm especially when the terrace is an unending sea view and a full moon sky. Above the city’s traffic and humidity, the sea breeze drifting through, the surprisingly intimate atmosphere was magical and I stayed longer than I’d planned!
It was a lively mix of television personalities and Juhu regulars. Many of her friends come from her neighbourhood, which perhaps explains the strong television contingent. I had traipsed all the way from Nariman Point — a journey that in Mumbai terms sometimes feels like crossing continents. And yet her special attention, friends i was meeting after a hiatus and the terrace breeze made the expedition worthwhile.
An Afternoon That Refused to End
Eve, a relatively new restaurant with a library theme interior- seems to be the new kid on the block for celebrations! Seema Chopra’s birthday celebration at Eve in Santacruz buzzed with swarming women taking selfies and dancing joyously! This rambunctious gathering began as a lunch and delightfully morphed into an afternoon dance marathon.
The DJ, whoever he was, clearly understood his audience. Within minutes the dance floor was filled with what must have been close to a hundred women — all determined to dance off all the calories of the week - and clear that birthdays are best celebrated on one’s feet. Song after song followed, and the energy did not dip. By the time the restaurant staff began gently signalling closing time, the dance floor still showed no sign of emptying.
Few cities celebrate birthdays with quite the same enthusiasm as Mumbai.
Mumbai Never Pauses
Driving home close to midnight, I realised once again on this city’s peculiar rhythm.
Mumbai never truly pauses.
Even as headlines around the world grow increasingly tense — talk of geopolitical uncertainty, financial tremors and political anxieties — the city continues its relentless forward motion.
Dinner invitations are sent, parties planned, discussions held, weddings celebrated.
Perhaps that is Mumbai’s quiet resilience. The city does not ignore the world’s worries. It simply refuses to surrender its appetite for life.
And so the music plays, the dance floors fill, the conversations continue — and the city, as always, carries on.
(Write to Nisha JamVwal at Indiaphenix@gmail.com)
