Visiting French representatives of France's myriad regions and the top brass of Paris Tourism Board were treated to a spectacular soirée at the end of their exhaustive 'India week', which took them racing through three metro cities. Verve, whose bonding with all things French, gets stronger by the day, had masterminded a relaxed evening out, with a gentle ethnic touch. In the serene, poolside environs of the Leela Kempinski, guests were greeted with garlands and tilaks, after which the women were lured by the craftsmanship of an on-the-spot, make-to-size, bangle maker, while the men, enticed by a turbanwalla, all flaunted colourful, bandhini pagdis throughout the evening! Flavoured Smirnoff vodka and the choicest wines from Sula Vineyards flowed from the 6 Degrees Bar as everyone settled at specially laid tables bursting with mini platters of chicken liver parfait with pickled dates and Vietnamese summer rolls. Head chef, Frank Müller of the Leela, had outdone himself - the Malabari prawn starters were to die for - with an innovative menu that had the world's best known connoisseurs relishing and raving about the Alleppey fish curry, tandoori spring leg of lamb in rum and raisin sauce, the paneer strudel and more. Perched on the smooth, white tablecloths, under waving palm fronds, were more than a dozen deliciously wicked desserts, all crème de la crème, seductively garnished with fresh fruits, chocolate slivers and crunchy nuts. Viveka Babajee, former Miss Mauritius and top model, switched from rapid-fire French to English when a local television network trained its camera on her, even as anchor, Nina Manuel captured insightful sound bytes from Frederic Meyer, director south-east Asia and India of Maison de la France and Ria Kolembusova of Nice Tourism. The Verve team's special Indian guests of designers, photographers and journalists, were pleasantly surprised by a spontaneous, live performance by the inimitable Pascal 'of Bollywood.' The ebullient, diminutive Frenchman - India lover and Hindi music fan - belted out Zindagi ek safar hai suhana and An Evening in Paris to the whistles and applause of all present. Une nuit magnifique?
But, of course!