A Celebration of Love at Shikara!

Love is in the air and it could be felt by seeing the romantic couples at the upmarket theme restaurant Shikara in Navi Mumbai. The perfect setting was made by owners Ashok Mehra, Delep Jaisinghania and Vishal Mehra of Shikara - floral decorations with heart-shaped knick-knacks. A galaxy of TV stars descended in this township, braving the traffic snarls just to be with their dear friends Manoj Biddvai and Ravee Gupta, as Ashok Mehra and Vishal Mehra of Shikara threw a party to celebrate the lovely couple's first Valentine's Day after their December wedding. Couples in love included Arjun Punj-Gurdip Kohli, Hiten Paintal-Kishwer Merchant, Manmeet Gulzar-Karishma, Pawan Shankar-Yukti, Aman Nagpal and wife, Karan Bawa-Neetu. Aparna Tilak's assymetrical pink top over denims stood out. Singles too had a good time as they soaked in the lilting ghazals and the cackling geese in the waterfalls between the houseboat-themed place. Film actress of Sur fame, Gauri Karnik looked smart in a white dress and came with her mother. Of late, Simple Kaul has been sporting spectacles. She came with her friends Sudeepa Singh of Kabhi Nazar Milao and Saumya Tandon of Aisa Des Hai Mera. The lucky guy to accompany them was Sachin Shroff and all of them preferred the baithak to the regular seating on the shikaras. Dusky Sandhya Shetty, of Kareena Modi fame in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, looked stunning in a blue dress and she came with her couturier friend Kaushik Shrimankar. People mistook Rahil Azam for a Bollywood star as he looked dashing in a white body-hugging tee. Is he going the Salman Khan way? He preferred coke to hard drinks and chatted away with Pawan Shankar. Chocolates, cakes, heart-shaped balloons and satin 'I Love You' paddings and a bouquet of red roses for every lady were the harbingers of Valentine's Day at Shikara.