This winter, rather more parties have been happening at the French ambassador's residence than anywhere else, making him among the city's more popular faces, and hosts. Over just the last few days, he has hosted an art show, a fashion event and a whisky promotion, even though you would think that a Scotch brand might be better served at the British high commission than the French embassy. Britain's diplomatic mission was once as busy, but has recently been somewhat more selective - Delhi society has been heard lamenting about absences from the sprawling lawns on which it had never thought the sun would set.
Time was when American ambassador Richard Celeste and his spouse Jacqueline Lundquist were the toast of Delhi's social circuit and entertained its bright and beautiful so often, a permanent corner of the Page Three supplements was reserved for them. Later occupants of Roosevelt House have been more circumspect, and current incumbent Nancy Powell seems to prefer talking business than doing the party rounds. Even so, her mere presence sends the paparazzi into a flashbulb frenzy, though she makes no concessions to superfluous glamour and is seen mostly in business suits.
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Some of the strangest events have been hosted by embassies that weren't ever on the radar till you happened upon them by accident of an invitation - such as a celebrity fashion show in the beautiful sprawl of the Serbian embassy, or a literary one at the Belgian embassy designed by Satish Gujral, bazaars at any of a number of Asian, African or European embassies, and now a reception for book lovers at the Polish one. The Canadian ambassador's residence does rather more formal functions, and these are impeccably hosted. The Spanish ambassador was once as busy as France's Francois Richier and we've had several memorable dinners in the sumptuous lawns, though its current occupant prefers to host more purposeful events such as auctions for charity concerns.
Till a few decades ago Delhiites scrambled for invitations for the national days of any embassy for the free wine that would be served, but having got used to better alcoholic beverages courtesy a more liberal environment, they'll only show up on the promise of quality liquor. However, there are two things about embassy parties that trip me up. Most Delhiites know instinctively when the host is the ambassador and will arrive promptly on time, or when a party is merely being hosted at the ambassador's residence, to which they'll show up a few hours late. Having never figured it out, I have been either embarrassingly early or even more embarrassingly late - once even arriving after dinner had been served. The other is, if having failed to secure the services of the family chauffeur and walked the long distance from the parking, to arrive inelegantly out of breath in what I thought were trendy, but uncomfortable, shoes, I can count on being ignored. At embassy functions, you'll find that beautiful people want to socialise only with other beautiful people. So, if you have bunions, my advice to you would be to stay at home rather than risk ostracisation by the man who counts the most - the embassy waiter who's never where you want him to be.