Oba threw open its doors last night to Mumbai’s swish set and rocked it up to Rishi Acharya and Raja Dhody’s legendary hospitality. Since Mumbai’s party crew are always looking for a new watering hole Oba comes as a happy addition to South Mumbai’s hotspots. The décor is a luxurious blend of African accents with inspiration from Rishi and Raja’s trips to London, the French Riviera and Monte Carlo. (Apparently Oba, meaning ‘kingly’ in Swahili. Works as half a nod to the new Mr. President Barrack Obama too no?)
Slowly but surely Mumbai’s gliteratti is venturing out again: Sameera Reddy, Chunky & Bhavna Pandey, Ronit Roy, DJ Aqeel and his wife Farah Khan, Sanjay Gupta, Aditya Kilachand, Aarti Chabbaria, Laila Mallaya, TV Host Shruti Sheth, Sonali Nagrani, Bhoomika, Rahul Nanda, Ricky & Laila Lamba, Samrat & Shalini Zaveri, Sunny & Anu Diwan, Sumit & Apeksha Chopra, Vikram Chogle, Niketan Madhok, Maheka Mirpuri and Jas Arora who flew down especially from Delhi to attend the opening. As expected the party went on till the wee hours of the morning with Mukul Deora being one of the last to leave. (The rarely spotted Raj Shroff, Parthiv Khilachand, Chirag & Tanaaz Doshi, Akshay Chudasma, Rewant Ruia, Anshuman & Radhika Ruia, Vikram & Namrata Shroff, Shonali & Shravan Shroff were there too.)
Shruti Sheth who’s back after a long vacation commented, “Its been so long since I attended such a crowded party, but my trip back is worth it!”
So the next time you’re in “town” (which is what the well-heeled all call South Mumbai FYI) make sure you say Ola to Oba!