I have to still work out what time to arrive at a party without embarrassing the hostess or myself. For instance the other evening, Sangeeta Chopra the well known fashion impresario invited me to a party at 8 pm. Ms Meher Moos, who writes a society column and attends all sorts of parties, told me: "You must go. All the Miss Indias and Miss Worlds, past and present, will be at her party. You can also take your photographer along, so that you can have your picture with them." "Fine," I said. "What I would like to know is what time I should go?" "If it is cocktails and dinner, then don't go before 9.30 pm," Ms Moos said. "Ninety minutes late!" I said. "You must b joking. All the Miss Worlds would have come and gone by then." However to double check, I talked to Ms Bacchi Karkaria, who is also very familiar with party timings. "If the invitation is for 8, you don't go before 10.30 pm. And eat something and go. These are not Bawajis, they are Sindhis. They will give you potato tikki and masala papad. " "Ten-thirty would be too late" I said. I thought another opinion would be in order. So I asked Ms Rashmi Uday Singh, who is both a party-goer and a gourmet. "How can you go to these parties! They just don't start. Listen my dear, if you have to go, take a nice long nap first. Get up around 11.30 pm and be there by mid-night." "I know people come late for these parties, but nobody goes at midnight," I said. I rang up Ms Devika Bhojwani who not only attends these parties but also hosts them. "Rashmi told you mid-night! What does Rashmi know about parties! You don't go there before 1 am and at 1 am also you may be among the first to arrive," Ms Bhojwani said. I asked Ms Meenakshi Raja, who is very much into party etiquette. "Look here," she said, "in Dhaka we used to have these diplomatic parties at various people's houses, pot-luck sort of thing, and they never used to start before 2 pm, and then go on." "That's diplomats, this is just our little Sangeeta Chopra," I said. Cyrus Merchant said to me: "Why don't you ask Meher?" "Who's Meher?" I said. "Meher Jesia," Mr Merchant said, looking as if I had asked who is Mother Teresa. I rang up Ms Jesia. Her mother told me she was sleeping. She had just returned home from a party which started at 4 am and finished the next afternoon. So I used my own judgement and arrived at the Chopra flat a little after 10 pm for the 8 pm invitation. Sangeeta's brother, with whom I am not acquainted, opened the door, took one look at me and called inside the house: "Mother, the ice-man has come." Mrs Chopra answered from inside: "Why has he come so early? There's hours and hours for the party to start, the ice will melt."
Roland Francis 416-453-3371