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Rahat’s Rampur rumpus

The Rahat rumpus in India has everything to do with Rampur, says our mole in Delhi. This former princely state in central India is now known only for defunct nawabs and a highly successful Muslim entrepreneur, originally a meat exporter. This gentleman married off his daughter in great style in Delhi. It was to this wedding that our great singer and maestro Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was invited to entertain the hordes of guests, and not by the bride’s father but by the groom’s family. They say that while Indian weddings have become legendary for their lavish style and no-holds-barred spending, this wedding set new standards of extravagance. The Rampur entrepreneur’s house in a Delhi suburb is palatial and beautifully appointed. He had French chefs and butlers waiting on the guests, catering to every sort of taste. All guests, especially those who had come from out of town, and some from Pakistan, were pampered and lavished with hospitality. Out of towners were put up in hotels, and the ladies had a free and regular service of manicures, pedicures and hair styling. Rahat, on the last leg of his journey from performances at Jaipur, accepted the groom’s family’s invitation to sing at the last reception. For this Rahat was paid Pak Rs 4 million.

Interesting sightings

O ur mole also reported two other interesting sightings. For one, Mr and Mrs Mush were spotted shopping at that famous London store, John Lewis. They were looking at furnishings for their apartment, most specifically at sofas. Our mole says they finally chose a set of fabric covered sofas in neutral shades. And then there was Maulana Diesel, who was returning to Pakistan from Deoband in India. He had in his party his dear brother, of much wider girth than himself. Although the PIA crew tried hard, they simply could not get the safety belt around the younger maulana’s ample paunch.

Full stop

A Romanian journalist went to the Pakistan embassy in the capital city of Bucharest seeking a visa to Pakistan. He was fobbed off and told to enquire later. “How much later?” he asked and received no reply. He came back to the embassy the following week. Once again, he got no help. Upon asking questions, it transpired that the embassy had no email facilities, the fax was not working and finally, the information page of the Bucharest foreign mission had simply not been uploaded so that people could not apply for visas online. In his desperation, the Romanian journalist tried to make an appointment with the visa councilor. He was not prepared to meet anyone. Full stop.