Society / The Seen

Royal Arts of India Turn This Black-Tie MFAH Preview Into a Show Stopper: Magical Night Even Has a Decked Out Rolls-Royce

BY // 03.12.18
photography Jenny Antill Clifton, Wilson Parish

Celebratory evenings launching exceptional exhibitions are standard procedure for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. But few, if any, could match the grandeur of the black-tie preview and dinner saluting the exhibition Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India.

The colorful, ornate elements of the lavish exhibition worked in exquisite tandem with the visual reminiscenes of Jodhpur as envisioned by lead underwriters Nidhika and Pershant Mehta and interpreted by Richard Flowers and The Events Company.

After touring the eye-popping exhibition of 250 items (sumptuous jewels, a monumental 17th-century court tent, intricately carved furnishings and an elaborately dressed out Rolls-Royce), guests moved on to dinner amid a recreation of a wedding procession complete with a fully-decorated life-sized elephant and horses.

“Our intention was to honor His Highness the Maharajah of Jodhpur and the lovely princess Shivranjani . . .It seemed so magical in every way,” Nidhika Mehta said.

The Maharaja GajSingh II of Marwar-Jodhpur and his daughter, Baijilal Shivranjani Rajye were special guests on the evening that coincided with India’s festival of colors, the Holi. After remarks to the gathering of MFAH trustees, exhibition funders and art world guests, the royal guest bestowed, in the spirit of Holi, a ceremonial red tilaka on the forehead of MFAH director Gary Tinterow.

Adding to the night’s authenticity was  a performance by Musicians from the Desert, the court’s private musicians brought in by the maharaja for the celebration.

Set your Easter Table with Bering's

Swipe
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024

While many among the 270 guests dressed in shimmering traditional Indian attire, the Mehtas were standouts as they wore costumes and jewelry typical of the maharaja’s region of Jodhpur.

As Nidhika described her incredible ensemble created by a Delhi based duo, Rimple and Harpreet Narula, “They designed for the controversial Bollywood movie Padmavati. What I wore was from one of the many outfits that the main lead, Deepika Padukone, wore! It had peacocks and miniature paintings hand embroidered on the skirt.”

Who: Jaleh and Bruce Sallee, Manmeet and Paul Likhari, Lynne and Joe Hudson, Sushila and Dr. Durga D. Agrawal, Pinder and Jag Gill, Katie and AJ Brass, Monjula and Ravi Chidambaram, Stephanie and Ernie Cockrell, Francoise and Ed Djerejian, Sultana Mangalji, Nancy and Rich Kinder, Elise and Russell Joseph, Sima and Masoud Ladjevardian, Gail and Louis Adler, Liz and Tom Glanville, and Kathy and Marty Goossen.

Visit Dallas' premier open-air shopping and dining destination.

Highland Park Village Shop Now

Curated Collection

Swipe
X
X