Arriving in Juhu on Sunday morning to host a yoga-themed celebration for Women&rsquo;s Day, Shilpa Shetty proved that Bastian Beach is meant for more than just binge drinking! Sun salutations and sisterhood never looked this stylish
<h2>Rooted in the mountains</h2>
Even though he is tucked away in the hills with barely enough connectivity to get through a phone conversation, chef Prateek Sadhu is making waves worldwide. Naar, his remarkable restaurant in Kasauli, currently sits just outside Asia&rsquo;s 50 Best Restaurants list at No. 66, with the next round of honours set to be announced on March 25 in Hong Kong.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/mar/Prateek-Sadhu_e.jpg" alt="Prateek Sadhu" width="1280" height="720" />Prateek Sadhu
Grateful as he is for the recognition, Sadhu&rsquo;s journey is defined less by the pursuit of accolades and more by a deliberate step away from the industry&rsquo;s conventional rat race. Kasauli and Kashmir are his great loves, and he carries them with him wherever he goes. Back in January, he served Kahwa (among many other mouth-watering treats) at a state dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu for EU leaders Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen &mdash; an understated gesture that sparked a lively exchange between von der Leyen and PM Narendra Modi about saffron.
Sadhu calls it his &ldquo;humble intent and attempt&rdquo; to reshape perceptions of what Indian food can be &mdash; and he does so with dramatic effect, one plate at a time. This month, Hong &nbsp;Kong will get a taste of exactly what he means: first over dinner (a two-day ticketed collaboration with chef Adam Catterall at Roganic) and then through a talk titled &lsquo;Rooted&rsquo; on March 24, both under the aegis of Asia&rsquo;s 50 Best. For a chef who draws inspiration from the quiet mountains, the world seems to be listening louder than ever.
<h2>Close shave for Vaughan</h2>
Making the most of his time in Mumbai currently is Michael Vaughan, England&rsquo;s 2005 Ashes-winning captain. Mornings often find him on a brisk walk around Oval Maidan, pausing to watch kids chase cricket balls with infectious energy. Our coastal city being far warmer than Yorkshire, he&rsquo;s clearly enjoying every sun-soaked step, while packing in an assortment of adventures. From Leopold Caf&eacute; to crabs at Trishna, the cricket commentator is sampling the city&rsquo;s favourites, working it off with padel, celebrating Holi, and even attending Harsha Bhogle&rsquo;s son Satchit&rsquo;s wedding. But Sunday brought his most amusing adventure yet.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/mar/Michael-Vaughan_e.jpg" alt="Michael Vaughan" width="1280" height="720" /> Michael Vaughan
Setting up shop near Mumbai&rsquo;s Gateway of India, a streetside barber would hardly have imagined having an ex-England player settle in for a shave and shoulder massage, but that&rsquo;s just what Vaughan signed up for. Dewy-faced courtesy a nondescript Dindayal, Vaughan then made a video to mark the moment &mdash; a clip that our in-house cricket nut did not miss. Alluding to Vaughan&rsquo;s travels, he proceeded to comment, &ldquo;After Vistara, it&rsquo;s vastara &mdash; that&rsquo;s what that blade is called.&rdquo; Serving up a sharp blade with a sharper sense of humour, now that&rsquo;s quintessentially Mumbai.
<h2>Colour across continents</h2>
We should be done and dusted with Holi this week, but colourful stories from the day are still trickling in. While the Princess of Wales had an Indian audience spellbound from afar with her Holi celebrations over in Leicester on March 5 (Catherine even danced barefoot at a temple), a contingent of other Brits were painting the town red in Rajasthan.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/mar/Liz-Damian_e.jpg" alt="Liz and Damian Hurley with Arun Nayar" width="1280" height="720" /> Liz and Damian Hurley with Arun Nayar
In a multi-day celebration hosted by international entrepreneur Arun Nayar, everyone from his ex-wife actor Elizabeth Hurley to television presenter Trinny Woodall took in the sights and sounds of a spectacular seasonal celebration at Raas Devigarh in Delwara. It was a relatively intimate affair &mdash; tight on numbers but full of fun, with several Mumbai mavens making the trip, Tanya Dubash and Haseena Jethmalani included. Also in attendance were Roohi Jaikishan, husband Chetan and brother Riyad Oomerbhoy, as well as famed footwear designer Patrick Cox.
Expectedly, gulab and gulal were central to the celebrations that began with colourful monogrammed welcome hampers, were followed by the flames of Holika Dahan, and ended in song, dance, and shared camaraderie. It was a weekend to remember, we&rsquo;re told &mdash; vivid, vivacious, and unapologetically fun.
<h2>Pashas and potholes</h2>
With our roads perennially under excavation, Mumbaikars have become intimately familiar with the anatomy of a pothole &mdash; and scoring A-stars for excellence in the subject are a handful suburban wards. Learning that lesson last week were Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal, who trekked to Izumi in Bandra for brunch.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/mar/Iasha_e.jpg" alt="Isha Ambani" width="1280" height="720" /> Isha Ambani
Dressed down in shorts, both Anand and Isha navigated a narrow pathway flanked by road rubble to reach the entrance. Isha&rsquo;s short journey from the car to the restaurant was particularly perilous, given that she was cradling one of her tots too. That said, we can tell you from the gazillion times we&rsquo;ve eaten there: this tiny Japanese restaurant is worth every uphill step.&nbsp;
Their shimeji mushroom and beetroot salad alone is enough to have you lacing up your boots. And until our roads are finally repaired, dodging a crater or two is just the price you pay for your cravings &mdash; no matter who you are.

For a chef who draws inspiration from the quiet mountains, the world seems to be listening louder than ever

Sonali's Society

Rooted in the mountains

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