Roving Eye

Roving Eye

Star studded
Shobha De has called it quits for the time being. Not as a writer that is. She has decided to take a sabbatical from all newspapers. Which means that no more waking up to Savoir Faire ASSOCIATED PRESS in Sunday Mid-Day. Or any of her other columns. The reason? India's largest-selling writer needs some time out. "I want to enjoy all the things I've missed out on for a long time now. I want a lot of time for myself, to do things that I haven't had the time to do." For the time being, she's going to hibernate, till she thinks she's ready to pick up her pen again. Her fans will have to leaf through her latest book, Speedpost

, till the country's most popular columnist is ready to write again.

Food fiesta
But Sunday was not all about gloom. This weeks celebrity chefs at Phoenix Mills' Silly Point were Indian Express columnist Anuradha Tandon and stand-up comic and musician Ash Chandler. By the way Ash is more or less the bowling co property as hehas been signed up by The Offbeat Cafe to perform there twice a month. Anuradha cooked a Rosemary chicken and a chocolate dessert. And while the cooks would not believe her recipe -- a dash of vinegar -- they actually clapped when she had the dessert ready. Ash stuck to pasta and soup. But whatver, it was, the food seemed to really put everyone in high spirits. Ernie was on the piano all evening. Later he was joined by Ash and even Anuradha who sang `New York New York'. Listening to her were Jules Fuller (he also got up and sang), musician Sanjay Maroo with wife, Sony's Ravina Raj Kohli and Binaifer and Sanjay Kohli (producers of Family No 1).

But the couple that were the centre of attention were none other than the bowling co CEO A D Singh and his girlfriend Sabina. Or should we sat fiancee. Apparently, the perennial bachelor popped the question on the millennium eve -- and Sabina (a hostess with British Airways) accepted. For the time being she is wearing a plastic sunflowerring on her left hand -- a little bird tells us that a proper ring is on its way.