A cause celebre
It was a night of merriment at the Grand Ballroom of Leela Kempinsky on Thursday as Alert-India, a volunteer organisation committed to the cause of leprosy control, celebrated 30 years of hard work. And what is an event without some soul-stirring music obligingly provided by Shaan and Penaz Mesani. The night also celebrated a fashion show that launched Jackie Shroff’s new line of clothing called Khadi-Desi Cool (although the man himself was MIA). And upping the glam quotient of the night was chief guest Priyanka Chopra who inaugurated a documentary film about leprosy. Others at the event included Dolly Thakore, TV stars Rohit Roy and Ayub Khan, DJ Akbar Sami and ex-Municipal Commissioner V Ranganathan.

Bummer Sorry to disappoint you, Ms Chopra, but the beehive hairdo went out with Grease in the 70s

Doing Dior
In Delhi, Christian Dior and its pretty India rep, Kalyani Chawla, hosted its annual soiree at the Taj hotel’s spectacular new bar, called The Blue Bar. Dior’s fabulous Winter 2009 collection was presented for showstopper Priyanka Chopra (a white chiffon and antique silver gown) and die-hard CD lovers, like Natasha and Adar Poonawala, Komal and Rajiv Wazir, Atal Punj, Bindu Vadhera, Chintrangada and Vikram Singh of Kashmir, Ritu Beri, Sunjay Kapur and the gorgeous Niamat Bakshi and brother Mozez Singh, who dressed in Dior Homme entirely.

Showstopper The runway turned into a long seating space where guests indulged in grilled bratwurst with Pommery mustard, gratinated oysters, camembert, olive and mariani brochettes and ceps in lemongrass. Kalyani promises another party for Mumbai soon.

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