BlackBook–February/March 2005

Diary of a Jane of All Trades: Padma Lakshmi

Portrait by Jenny Gage and Tom Betterton

Notes from New York

November 6–Lunch with Carmen Boullosa and Hanan al Shaykh. Carmen and I discuss the play she is adapting from a Cervantes story for me to be in.

November 14–Hotel Rwanda screening w/ S. and Lou Reed. We ditch the party and go to Kai to eat. Lou and I "ooh" and"ahh" over twig and foamy green tea and exchange our steaming cups while S. rolls his eyes and orders himself a large (NOT!) hot sake. Lou tries to convince me to go back to our tai chi class. I need something which moves faster. He tells me to walk before I run. I feel...like a grasshopper.

November 17–I am speaking at a U.N. conference for Violence Against Women. S. comes to clap. Manu takes photos. I feel excited. A little like high school graduation. Spoke of my experience in New Delhi at a Unifem shelter.

November 18–Decide to get cracking on the new cookbook. Invite Santé (D'Orazio) + others over. I make a smashing 7 recipes in one night including corn bread w/ chorizo and Lychee Granita. We eat the granita for days. Delicious!

November 19–I shoot for Harper's Bazaar in Brooklyn. I like the designers. I like the home. I wonder if there are any creative people (of my generation at least) left in Manhattan. Even Chinatown has become Park Avenue-fied. I know how mom must have felt in those days when we moved from Queens.

November 24–I meet DJ Rekha at Soho House. I want her to DJ the PEN gala next year and the committee has allowed me to choose the music. We got to basement bhangra at SOB's and we have fun in spite of the fact that S. is cut in on while dancing with me by young Sikh boys. I tell him to the let them cut in anymore and he laughs. I make him take me to Bungalow to see Amy and we hang with Harper Simon and Sean Lennon. S. and I pile into a taxi very late. We hold hands all the way.

November 25–Thanksgiving at Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt's house in Brooklyn.

November 29–Got the swatches for my Bespoke suit. Yay!