The Verve party, a soft opening for Zaha, Athena’s new eclectic bar club at The Leela, had all the character that the magazine embodies – style, glamour and fun, beginning with the dishy green invite that unfolded to reveal all 25 Verve covers.

[Shekhar Kapur, Anand Mahindra, Suchitra Krishnamoorthy and Anuradha Mahindra]

The evening wasn’t only about getting high on music, wine and friendship. In one corner, bead artists threaded aesthetic artefacts and instant accessories. In another spotlit section, a caricaturist added his twist to the whole perfect picture. And, artists from a nail bar swiftly coloured manicured nails in a variety of funky designs. Amidst all the noise and revelry, a tarot card reader indulged in future speak.

This time the early birds definitely got the worm. Tom and Carol Alter, among the first to arrive, settled down comfortably in the artist’s corner to have their portrait drawn, but Tom fought shy of meeting the tarot card reader. Little did he know what he missed out on, for her predictions were quite ‘freaky’. Much later, when Sonali Kulkarni and Suchitra Krishnamoorthy (separately, of course) wanted a tête-à-tête with the futurologist, there was a long queue…. Kulkarni did manage to sit down for a personalised portrait though.

Intimate conversations mushroomed in different spots as old friends met up. Rahul Bose chatted with Gary Lawyer. Astad Deboo put aside his dancing shoes to exchange creative notes with Seema and Jaideep Mehrotra. Reena and Jitish Kallat added their artistic presence to a colourful evening. And our lensman snapped publishing tycoon, Pradeep Guha, smiling at business tycoon, Mukesh Ambani’s remarks.

Aman Verma, in spotless white, walked in alone, with his branded smile. His friends joined him a little while later, but not before he had inveigled a handshake with Shekhar Kapur.

Members of the Indian cricket team were caught (and bowled?) on a different pitch altogether. Yuvraj Singh let his hair down (before the cricket season hotted up) as did willow wizard turned actor, Ajay Jadeja (perhaps needing a chill pill prior to the release of his debut film, Khel).

Photographers all, Daboo Ratnani, David de Souza, Colston Julian, Sameer Parekh and Akash Mehta, had a snappy evening. For once, not cluttered by their precious equipment, they could chill out with friends…and former and future subjects. Zulfikar Syed, Nafisa Joseph and Sandhya Mridul did a neat step on the dance floor. As did Anushka, from the pop band Viva, who went wild to music other than her own.

Snack platters were quickly replenished, the drinks flowed till almost dawn, the music rocked the dance floor…and the guests continued to spill over to the Ballroom upstairs. As the night wove on, the Verve team, led by Anuradha Mahindra, got onto the floor and rocked. The song aptly went, "We will, we will rock you!"

Overheard: "Verve should have held this party at the Azad Maidan!"