The Bollywood and Bangles evening held in September was a great kickoff to fashion show preparations. Hosts Raj Bahri and Kavita Tankha, parents of Aliesa, grade 6, Jai, grade 4 and Mir, grade 2, welcomed guests into their spacious hillside home in Los Altos on a warm, starlit Saturday evening.
“Kudos to Kavita and Rajat for hosting one great party,” said attendee Anil Gulati (Avi, grade 4; Aaditya, grade 2), who was accompanied by his wife, Anjali. “From the smallest detail of decorations to the scrumptious food, drinks and the dancing – everything went off so well! We had a ball dancing to the favorite Bollywood tunes and the gals with the henna done all over looked really festive!”
After dropping cars with the hosted valet service, guests were greeted at the door with a smile and handshake from their hosts, then passed through the house to the beautifully landscaped garden surrounded by stretches of lawn. The whole garden was spotted with upholstered lounges and glowing white tables, tall and short, to make snacking on the delicious hors d’oeuvres and sipping the notable mojitos a most enjoyable experience.
The garden sported two bars and a half-dozen or more servers passed through the crowd of nearly 200 guests. Since the theme was Bollywood (after the Mumbai film making industry’s home) and Bangles, the women, especially, were dressed in everything from full Indian evening dress – sari and wrap – to western dress accented with colorful shawls. Men mostly stuck to dress slacks and shirts, but a number wore traditional dress, as well.
As the evening progressed, gas heaters were lit and the DJ changed the music from traditional and modern Indian music to well-known modern dance tunes with a beat and bass that carried throughout the party setting.
Along with the always-ready mojitos, the bar had a great variety of beverages, and hors d’oeuvres included curry chicken and breaded cauliflower. Around 9 p.m. a buffet opened on the lower level and guests fueled up for the rest of the evening on traditional Indian dishes.
Around 9:30, the music warmed up and couples hit the dance floor. Partiers were in full swing well into the evening and all left filled with delicious food, tasty beverages and the sense of having been to a wonderfully well-arranged event that also helped the Harker Fashion Show kick off its fundraising in style.
Harker’s advancement team was impressed by the donor’s efforts on behalf of the school. “An event of this nature takes many hours and a tremendous amount of effort to pull together so beautifully,” said Sue Prutton, fashion show liaison for the team. “We’re indebted to Kavita and Raj for their gracious support of the fashion show and of the school.”