Sweet beginnings by the beach

I was totally immersed in wedding festivities this week, as my sister Rochelle Rao tied the knot with long time beau Keith Sequeira. The intimate beachside ceremony at Mahabalipuram was picture perfect, with the couple exchanging vows surrounded by those closest to them. I won’t go into the details but it’s safe to say that there was hardly a dry eye in the house. As Maid of Honour,  I took my duties very seriously, although in all honesty, the bride was pretty chilled out, enjoying every moment of her big day. And I must say, she looked stunning in a sweeping gown by Gavin Miguel — classic and elegant but with a playful twist. 

The evening included several toasts — from the mushy to the hilarious, with our Emcee for the evening VJ Yudi, keeping us in splits (not always intentionally). Lots of dancing followed, more bubbly, and a few surprise performances from guests as well. One of the highlights included the ‘bouquet toss’ with the single ladies gleefully lining up for the big moment.Us married girls may not have been able to take 
part but we had just as much fun cheering them from the sidelines.

Meanwhile, back in the city, it was a mixed bag on offer. Sunday saw theatre buffs sitting on the edges of their seats at the Museum Theatre, completely engrossed in Shaan Katari Libby’s directorial debut for The Madras Players. Dial M for Murder, a cloak and dagger (well, scissors in this case) play, had some of the city ’s best talent on stage like Gibran Osman, Yohan Chacko, PC Ramakrishna and Shaan’s mother Tehzeeb Katari. Debutante Niloufer Seth Siddarth had everyone rooting for her even as her character was that of a whimsical damsel in distress. The next stop was at Varija Gallery, Dakshina Chitra for Infinity, an art exhibition by Reji Joseph. It was an impressive gathering of actors, celebrated artists, gallery owners and art connoisseurs with veteran actor Siva Kumar as chief guest. On the other end of the city, at the YouTube FanFest in Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao concert hall, fans were sinking in a live musical performance by Agam along with some laughter therapy by Put Chutney.