A sensory experience
What a whirlwind week it’s been – from Europe to Breach Candy Hospital I’ve done it all. From a delightful hiatus in Switzerland to my mother’s healing stay recovering from a stomach bug at Breach Candy – the hospital with a heart — I feel like I’ve run a marathon.
And, in the middle of it all, I moderated and brought out the subtle nuances of Nandita Chaudhary’s paintings and sculptures at her art show. We discussed how she unravels human relationships, the transience of things and behavioural patterns through her works.
Very much like her paintings, her poems also present graphic images through words — where we see the same metaphors present introspective images from real-life experiences she’s had or observed around her.
The recurring images of safety pins, wings, coins, and planet-like spheres depicted by Nandita on holograms, sculpture, installations, canvas and poetry created a unique multilayered sensory experience for me which I tried to explore through our fireside chat for guests at the preview.
Birthday bash
A close friend’s birthday cannot be missed- whether we meet regularly or not this is one time it matters that we celebrate our long-standing bonds of affection. Actor Tannaz Irani celebrated her birthday with aplomb with friends from the television fraternity with whom even I’ve had some close bonds. Apart from them, there was also a smattering of Bollywood and the social regulars who collected in cliques of their own familiarity around the bar even as Tannaz happily preoccupied herself, posing and preening for the paps. Ayub Khan danced up a storm doing the shuffle and I was happy to see my friends Sara Arfeen Khan, Kashmira Shah, Nisha Rawal, and Vahbiz there, greeting me with the warmth of long-lost acquaintances as we met. I must remark that Tannaz has a very presentable young son who was extending courteous hospitality on her behalf.
A warm surprise
My friend Sharmila Talreja hosted a large gathering of our common friends for her birthday. So, I was delightedly surprised when she brought out another cake with aplomb, for my birthday as we moved to cut her cake, bringing in the celebratory mood days ahead of May the second, which is my actual date. This ensued with another one or two such predated celebratory evenings. It's a warm feeling when friends pamper you, transporting one into a warm feeling of those who care.
Rush hour
It’s been a week of birthdays. My friend Krutika Raheja also celebrated hers at a glitzy, bling-bling dance party splat bang in the middle of a working week with the hospital stint. I dashed there at the hospital lunch hour to wish her with a hug and came dashing back just in time to cut a cake on the seventh floor ward at Breach Candy Hospital with the Florence Nightingalesque nurses and doctors. Hoping to be home soon with my mom and fill you in with more stories in and around Mumbai.
