No ladies, please!
It's a stag kitty
Stag kitties can be as, if not more, gossipy and noisy as female kitties. The main difference here is that the talk revolves around pegs, legs and eggs (read as whisky, women and non-vegetarian food). The gup-shup also features the latest cars and real estate prices, writes Chetna Banerjee

Dressing up men in 2001
by Jaskiran
With the advent of the new year, it's time for the men folk to refurbish their wardrobes. New year, new look—that's the best way to make a style statement.

The other side:
Female & couple kitties
All-woman kitties doing the rounds in the city are of various kinds and the stakes of varying enormity, depending on affluence of the members. Innovations of the original concept exist. For, instance, in sponsored kitties, members don't get hard cash back. Rather, a winning member has to buy gold ornaments from the sponsoring jeweller, equivalent to the total prize amount. In other cases, members win linen

No ladies, please!
It's a stag kitty

A kitty circuit with a difference is flourishing in the city where no women in the latest ensembles, carefully coiffured hair and manicured hands loaded with jewels play cards or sip cola, or even a spiked cola — laced with, Bacardi, gin or vodka. No games of tambola are played in airconditioned banquet halls of hotels during the afternoon. Discussions, or rather boasts, about the achievements of their sons or daughter are not the done thing while no hints, subtle or open, are dropped about the hubby's stack of money.

A kitty circuit without the jewels, gold, cards and unabashed display of hubbies' wealth? Parties without the fairer sex? How boring! Not at all. Even though this circuit involves no women and only men, these gatherings are far from being dull or dreary.

These all-male kitties are, in refined language, called the bachelors or stag kitties. The married guys are also welcome, but, of course, without their wives. Usually each kitty group has people from varied backgrounds but there are also exclusive groups of traders or yuppies or just the older generation of businessmen or officials.

Probably these monthly get-togethers are more noisy and boisterous than the all-woman gatherings. Discussions, admit regulars, revolve around pegs, legs and eggs (read that as whisky, women and non-vegetarian food, respectively). The order of discussion may not be the same.

And no bets on knowing which type of kitty can be more gossipy as men are also known to indulge in gossip and enjoy it. Probably this is the only remote similarity with the female kitties. The men, or the ‘‘bachelors ’’, meet during the night — or late evening as some prefer to call it. No one drinks colas or spiked drinks. Everybody has “it” with soda or water, because it's the women who have ‘it ’ with cola. No one plays rummy (cards) and housie is not even on the minds of any of the members.

To break the monotony and pep up the get-together a few games are thrown in. In a particular all-male kitty — this has businessmen between the age group of 40 to 55 — some of the members give expression to their musical inclinations and pass off as singers. But that's only after the drinks start. Interestingly, guys are media shy when it comes to discussing their kitty groups, revealed a Sector 18 young businessman, who also participates in organising the shows.

A Sector 34 shopkeeper, Mr Vaneet Sawal, who is in one of the kitties having primarily bachelors, says the meetings are fun and says he gets to know more and more young people. The kitty group meets either on the 10th or the second Saturday of each month. The gathering is usually held in a banquet hall of a hotel, where liquor and food is in abundance and the expenses are shared, says a Sector 32 shopkeeper, who is also member of the same group.

Any guess for what the other hot topics of discussion are? It's obviously the latest on the automobile front. Notes are exchanged on the merits and demerits of the latest cars. Knowledge about terms like brake horse power (bhp), cylinders, broad tyres, music systems and car accessories can come in handy.

Mobikes and, of course, girls don't escape mention either. While cine stars and beauty queens—from Aishwarya Rai to Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra—are subjects of open discussion, girlfriends are mentioned discreetly, in hushed tones. In kitties with older members, the talk usually centres around real estate—which properties are hot, which are not. “The gup-shup is so varied and usually stretches over two to three hours,” says Mr P. P. S.Thapar, who is into software business.

The kitties have evolved from the ‘‘committee’’ system prevalent since ages. Each member pools in an equal share of money. For example, if the total sum works out to be Rs 1 lakh, a needy member picks up the money by bidding for more. The excess is then divided among the other members, explained a Sector 21 businessman running a unit in Industrial Area phase II.

Though women are known (or are rather 'infamous') for whiling away time at kitty parties, men, too, frolic a while, but with a difference!



 

Dressing up men in 2001
by Jaskiran

With the advent of the new year, it's time for the men folk to refurbish their wardrobes. New year, new look—that's the best way to make a style statement.

There are a host of fabrics, imported and Indian, to choose from.

Designer three-piece suits, costing between 8800 and 9600 are much in demand, says a leading men's showroom owner. The new favourite are the Japanese and Italian crepes, costing Rs 900-1600 per metre. The new sandwash fabric also has a good market even at Rs 1253 per metre. For the label-conscious men, Harris tweed, pure Scottish wool, a lone jacket worth Rs 11,000 with leather buttons is the wear of the day. Imported non-crease polyester fabrics, imitations of Japanese and Italian crepes rate high on popularity. Brands like x-posed, Bruno Sante are selling fast, with around 8-10 orders entertained daily, says Anuj Sundra proprietor of a Sector 17 showroom.

To give a cosy touch in the chilly weather, three-ply knit shirts made from fine Suprino cotton are available in a riot of colours.The ' guru suit ', available in rare superfine australian wool, continues to be hot favourite this year, too. The jacket comes with concealed buttons and a visible button at the collar. Fashion accessories are no longer a female prerogative. A mind-boggling choice of men's accessories—ranging from Italian silk woven ties to socks and cravats from Scottish labels are up for grabs. Single-button jackets complemented with Tissot’s big dials, Rado’s watches and branded belts are the much-in-demand accessories.



 

The other side:

Female & couple kitties

All-woman kitties doing the rounds in the city are of various kinds and the stakes of varying enormity, depending on affluence of the members. Innovations of the original concept exist. For, instance, in sponsored kitties, members don't get hard cash back. Rather, a winning member has to buy gold ornaments from the sponsoring jeweller, equivalent to the total prize amount. In other cases, members win linen items or designer dresses from the sponsoring women entrepreneurs or boutique, again of the value of the total kitty amount. members can, of course, invest more money and buy costlier stuff.

All play, no work: Though housie continues to be the favourite pastime at kitties, other games are also thrown in. For instance, members may be asked to suck corn kennels or chana dal with as straw. The one who sucks the maximum number of corns in a minute, is the winner. Or participants take a shot at throwing coins into a bowl kept in a bucket full of water.

Costume parties: The members are expected to come in fancy dress. A man may come dressed up as a woman. Or a housewife may turn up as a schoolboy. Imagination is the key to novelty as couples come disguised as anyone from a witch to sapera.

Govinda & Karisma: This is an offshoot of the costume theme ,where men and women come dressed in garish Govinda colours —fluorescent yellows or greens —and the women come sexily clad in Karisma-type skimpy tops or micro minis.

Colour themes: Kitty members are often asked to come dressed in specific colours, like black and white or black and gold or black and silver. The variations are many.

Fusion: At these parties, participants have to combine western dressing with Oriental drapes. For instance, cholis are teamed up with long skirts. The fusion also extends to cuisine, with continental food rubbing shoulders with Thai and Indonesian dishes. 

—  CB