Spotted: Oscar nominee Obaid-Chinoy at Xander’s Cafe with her Polly&Me shoulder bag
There you see Sharmeen with a friend, a day ahead of her session at KLF
This weekend was quite hectic, with the Karachi Literature Festival taking place and great films releases in the cinema. But between two different genres of art, one did have to catch a quick bite. Where else to go other than Clifton’s favourite new cafe, Xander’s, which is all the more popular for the cheerful and bright ambience and the fact that Xander’s always has a surprise or two on it’s menu. If you haven’t yet tried, I would go for the new fire-oven baked thin crust pizza margheritas and the Eton mess, which will be around for as long as strawberries are.
Anyway, the cherry on the pie is always bumping into ‘interesting’ people at Xander’s whether Nimra Buccha and Mohammad Hanif at 8am, Sherry Rehman with her family on a crowded Sunday, Sonya Jehan whenever she’s in Karachi and this weekend, Oscar nominee Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. It was heartening to see that the ‘public’ – usually averse to recognizing stars – was openly appreciating and congratulating her on her Oscar nomination. She was in town between Oscar-related activities in LA and said she would be flying back for the main ceremony very soon. I think she must have left by now, considering the Oscars are just around the corner. We wish her the best; she’s a star already!
Ps. Sharmeen’s bag caught my eye – Polly&Me bags are made in Chitral by a London based brand – and I must add that they are available at Labels in Karachi whereas an inspired local version by the name of Krizmah is available at Ensemble.
