Mauja hi Mauja

I really, really like people with 'dum'. Which is why I went to Rahul Bajaj's 70th Birthday Party, which in keeping with his spirits was packed with a show ( an injured Shiamak Daver, soldiering on bravely), which saw a lot of unlikely people shaking a leg energetically with the dancers. Rock and Roll Soniye, can and does get the party going. Of course, there were the usual murmurs about how 'inappropriate' it was to mark a 70th birthday with such naach gaana and band bajaana. But what the hell, a man's got to do what a man's got to do! Why have Amjad Ali or a Bhimsen Joshi when there are sexy dancers grooving to Bollywood hits??

Hamara Bajaj did not miss te opportunity to indulge in some smart promotion for the brand he has created, when he got the troupe to wheel in Bajaj bikes and scooters for the rousing finale. Nothing like a well timed plug, given the calibre of the guests... and a captive audience! Smart move, Rahul!

But the person who captivated me totally was someone I wanted to meet for a long time - Sapna Bhavnani - a woman after my own heart. Gorgeous, talented, fearless - and herself! She's the one who transforms Dhoni each time he's having a bad hair day! Her salon Mad -O- Wot? in Bandra, attracts celebs from every field. But that don't impress her much. She grabbed my attention when I started reading her feisty, cheerful columns. Here's someone writing in an original voice, I said to myself, and promptly alerted my own publishers. Well, the good news is that Penguin has signed her on. I am so looking forward to what she has to say. At 37, thrice divorced and completely covered with colourful tatoos, Sapna gets my vote all the way!