CHENNAI: Nisha Jamwval, a Mumbai-based celebrity hosted an afternoon tea for friends in the city at Taj Connemara. Class met old-world charm amid banter and laughter over tea and delicious short eats. CE spoke to her about her love for hosting afternoon teas.
What drives you to host these afternoon tea events?
I organise various tea events to celebrate my friends and achievers.
While luxury and luxury events are part of my company’s mandate, I do it with an edge of the meaningful output of promoting and creating awareness about female achievers who are real heroes. I do it to ensure that I am a catalyst who allows them to be recognised.
Tell us about what you planned for this afternoon tea in Chennai?
I planned a very typical English afternoon tea, replete with scones and clotted cream, preserves, petit four, duck liver pate, a plethora of teas and a smorgasbord of wafer slim sandwiches with the extravagant decor to the theme of Marie Antoinette, with cakes to match.
Since afternoon tea is an English concept, when in England, what is a must-do for you?
If it’s England, then afternoon tea has always been a predictable and happy part of my itinerary. Last time, it was London and the Claridges, Ritz, the Savoy, the Shard, Brown’s Tea Tox, Rosewood, The Rotunda at the Four Seasons, the floating restaurant on the Thames... I almost always head to Stratsford-On-Avon for some Shakespearen flavour. I take a lot of pointers from there when organising them in India.
What does the city mean to you?
I did my architecture internship here and have some very dear friends here who I was very keen to celebrate with — namely Priya Selveraj, doctor and actor Rekha’s neice; columnist Minnie Menon, society maven and party host in Chennai; Lilly Malhan, social worker and woman achiever; Vimmi Deepak, famed host of Madras; Kiran Rao of a designer store; architect Kapil and Kashmira Chitale who I interned with and many others.
You interact with so many celebrities but who do you consider a ‘celebrity?’
I believe that the celebrities in today’s firmament consist of people who wear pretty frocks and carry fancy handbags and yet in my work life I meet such heroic women who are then inducted into the achievers’ forum.
