A Capital Upstage

Having spent the past week in New Delhi, I got a distinct feeling that Delhites are using the creeping acquisition route to upstage Mumbai in the society sweepstakes. Djinns, the watering hole at the Hyatt, is just smelting with `hot bods' that look as if they just worked out at the gym upstairs, swam a few laps at the pool, had a fitness pep juice at the juice bar, and popped in for a night cap, not to mention a casual display of `oh so' toned bodies.

Gone are the days when puppies (Punjab yuppie to you & me) ruled the roost with their loud behaviour and an alcoholics not so anonymous downing of pint whisky. Now, the chic men and women have spritzers and cocktails, only to raise an elevated eyebrow if anyone displays even a shade of inebriation. The music at Djinn's is a live band and the flag-sized dance floor is a sardine can packed with bodies that ensure that even a silver of sand couldn't find its way down to the floor.

Move away from the five-star hotels -- and their array of Chinese, Thai Continental and Japanese fare and you have restaurants like Raja Dhody's Imperial Garden which is buzzing all week long with the cozy warmth of happening people from coast to coast. Even a take-away from Bengali Market could have you standing by the famous son or daughter of an even more famous political leader, with the food being authentic, mouth watering Punjabi fare.

The farm houses Delhi boasts relegates most of our across the gateway getaways to second best. As Delhi has a seasonal change of temperature in winters, the open fires and food cooking on tandoors -- with gut warming cocktails make for heady nights. This weekend, Mumbai's most successful Badshah of events, Gautam Singhania, threw a bash at his Friend's Colony home, to which half of Mumbai's hot set flew out to attend. Held to celebrate the nuptials of Apu Sharma, the model, it was preceded by a grand party thrown by society hostess Vandana Mohan, at MP Kamal Nath's home at 1, Tuglaq Road, where the guests danced and tripped the light fantastic till breakfast.

Rekha and Aroon Purie, my hosts one evening, prepared me in advance to keep the 20th of December blocked as they were to host the 25th Anniversary of India Today, in a grand bash of proud heritage. Now! you get my drift about Delhi having usurped the crown of city that never sleeps. With night owls that give our very own Mumbai peacocks a lively run for their money.

Anil Nanda, the Escorts honcho, hosted a Diwali party, which (despite my best efforts) I couldn't make it to, Delhi was abuzz with the happening evening even this past week. No such recent Mumbai `Do', except the Bombay Times party survives memory in the same league. The change in Delhi is palpable ask any young turk, or ramp model about the wonderful time they have had in Delhi recently, and it will make you green that Mumbai's Fire and Ice has shut down and so has the original watering hole 1900's.

I can vouch that all the dizzy Capitals of the world are far more in the loop than Mumbai, with Bollywood and more than an equal share of heavy duty surnames, old money and new sit cheek by jowl. So what Mumbai needs is an awakening.

Sure the invitations have been pouring in for events in Mumbai, but when Dr Subirami Reddy sends you a personal letter accompanied by a formal invitation to a dinner on the 8th of November to meet Mr Prabhat Kumar IAS, the outgoing cabinet secretary and Mr T R Prasad IAS, the incoming cabinet secretary, it proves that the Capital of India is coming out of the secrecy of an era gone by and is in the serious business of networking, as a social mantra.

Come on Mumbai get into power dressing mode and let's prove -- even if only to ourselves -- that we have what it takes in the social stakes. The Delhi shuttle on Jet Airways is the obvious other choice, let's stand up and be counted.