The launch of the book of erotic verse, Leela, written by Alka Pande saw the likes of Sheetal Mafatlal, Parvez Damania, Pheroza Godrej, Vikram Bawa and Siddharth Kannan turn up at the midtown gallery where the event was held. Pritish Nandy released the book and read out a couple of poems from the compilation, which includes writers from Amrita Pritam to even himself. One of the three poems that was read aloud turned out to be  bolder than the audience expected and pin-drops silence followed. So was it appreciation or were the listeners simply taken aback? Says photographer Vikram Bawa who was present on the occasion and whose works are included in the book, “Socially the evening  was a great success for me because I chanced upon old friends — some that I hadn’t met in the last 20 years.”

Art matters: Bose Krishnamachari and Pheroza Godrej