Most Stylish Hostess - Kalyani Chawla

Founder And CEO, Rezon Luxury Silverware

- Sangeeta Wadhwani

FORMATIVE HOSTING EXPERIENCES…

“I grew up in a joint family in Kolkata, where there was a constant flow of guests. Nobody as a rule, comes into a Bengali household and leaves without at least some mishti (sweet savouries). Food and entertaining in a formal and informal manner was a regular phenomenon. My paternal grandfather, a pioneer in his industry, had international business associates frequenting our home for dinners. They were Japanese mostly at that time, but also some Australians, (mainly my aunt’s friends who lived in Sydney) and some of my father’s college mates and my Godfather, who were Germans. With each house guest, we adapted, making sure they felt at home away from home. Food was primary as was every evening during their stay, as we invited a select few to join us for dinner and meet our guests. The criteria was to foster great conversations.”

A GOOD PARTY CENTRES AROUND CONVERSATIONS AND FLAVOURS…

“My inner blueprint for a good dinner party, predates to what made those early evenings so memorable. Our parties were always sit-down dinners, not buffets and definitely we had no professional caterers. My mom would be in the kitchen with our chef, my grandmom would be overlooking all the preparations. She would be cooking, tasting, experimenting. Once the guests arrived, we would take our places along this long, elegantly carved wooden dining table. And soon enough, a lot of fascinating conversations would follow. It was a very wholesome kind of entertaining. But I learnt from my grandmother, to be sensitive when assembling guests. The group should have people who will find each other interesting. Our evenings often ended with poetry reading and Rabindra Sangeet, along with dessert!”

HOME… WHEN HOSTING MET WITH POLITICAL MOVEMENTS