ul
Auden Koenig
"Donna Karan is no stranger to tragedy in her life," he said. "She's weathered through it and became a talented, responsible and generous founder and CEO during her career, so her statement simply stuns me. It's out of whack with how she's carried herself for decades." Lipton said he found it hard to believe that Karan would compromise her values to save her friendship with Harvey Weinstein, who is discussed in his book. "Nonetheless, I'm a firm believer that brands rise or fall based on the market's perception of the person behind the brand. "In other words, the behavior of the brand is the brand. Unless Donna can turn this around with expediency there will be collateral damage to the Donna Karan brand, regardless of the fact that she doesn't run or own the company anymore, and regardless of the fact she no longer has creative influence over the label."
The gap between today's best models and the data we have access to is huge: computer vision is confined to resolutions that are 10 or 100x smaller than the default resolution of pictures from your iPhone or Android--let alone the much higher resolutions available from satellites, and medical imaging. In some ways, our current vision models see the world through thick, foggy glasses--they are amazing, but they might get much better!
Pragmatically, we and other groups have observed that new methods for simply increasing the sequence length can already lead to improvements on benchmarks and applications. This has been invaluable to our work.
The hall is full of darkness, as a silhoutte is felt entering, from the main door. The person takes a few steps, and stops right there, afraid to stumble off in the lack of light. Just as the person was trying to examine the room without any success, another silhoutte enters with a fast pace, and bumps right into the first person. As if the force of one collision wasnt enough, another person came with an even faster speed, and led the other two down, who were unsuccessfully trying to get up. A row of 'uffsss' n 'ouchs' continues as the three people strangle each other in their attempts to stand up. Just then, a loud noise is heard, of the lights coming back, and within a second, the hall is lit up. The three people stop their gibbering, and have a look at each other, and the only word that escapes their mouth, with an expression full of shock on their faces.
"TUM??????????" *shock shock shock shock shock*
"Oishi, tu yahaan kya kar rahi hai?", one of the three spoke out,
"Main kya kar rahi hoon, ye chhod. Pehle ye bata ki tune mujhe dhakka kyun maara Jenny?", Oishi shouted, highly irritated. That scared off Jenny, as she replied,
"Nai Oishi, meri galti nahi hai, iski galti hai (she pointed towards the third person, who was a mute spectator of the happenings till now) yehi takrayi thi tujhse", Jessy said with a fumble.
"Zaraaa, tu?????", Oishi screamed off her lungs as she saw the third person.
"Oye! Aise mat chilla, maine kuch nahi kiya. Agar ye Jessy mere peechhe na bhaag rahi hoti, to ye sab hua hie na hota. Mujhe koi shauk nahi hai tujhse aake takraane ka. Main to sirf aur sirf ek hie insaan se takraana chahti hoon, jiske liye main sab chhod chhad ke yahaan tak aayi hoon, mera Mr Armaan Mallik, jiski main hoon Mrs Zara Mallik", saying this, Zara got up with the other two, walking lost in her dreamland, when she was pulled back by a fuming Oishi.
"Ji nahi, yahaan main aayi, sabse pehle, apne Karan ke liye, and uspe mera hak hai, sirf mera, tum door raho yahaan se, jao...", Oishi said, but was cut off in between.
"Par Oishi, Zara to Armaan ke liye aayi hai na, and tum Karan ke liye, to ladayi kis baat ki hai?", Jessy scratched her head, while the other two gave her a confused look.
"I dont believe i am saying this, but baat to Jessy ki sahi hai, hum aakhir yahaan kar kya rahe hain? Kya reason hai hamare yahaan aane ka?", Zara asked.
"Main to yahaan aayi kyunki mujhe message aaya tha ki yahaan pe mere hero KSG ki party hai, and main aaj raat ki uski special date bhi ho sakti hoon, and bas, main daudi daudi aa gayi, apni 2 inch lambi heels mein. Have to match his height na", Oishi blushed profusely at this.
"Mujhe bhi message aaya tha, but ye ki yahaan ek party hai, and that i could be the lucky date of the most special person here, and i assumed ki ye Armaan ki party hai. Oishi, sach sach bata, are you sure ki tere invite pe KSG hie likha tha?", Zara raised her eyebrows, and Oishi shifted in her place.
"Um wo na, Zara, mere invite pe likha tha ki Karan ki party hai, and obviously, mujhe koi Karan ki party per tabhi invite karega, when it is my future-patidev's party", Oishi tried to hide the blush that crept up her face.
They shared a confused look, when suddenly both turned to face Jessy, who had bee quite all the while. Jessy gulped seeing both of them turning towards her, with questions visible on their faces.
"Guys, main yahaan aayi, becoz i was following Zara. You know na jab Zara mujhse gussa hoti hai, to i dont like it. Bas, isliye, i was trying to manaofy her, but ye to mujhse door door door bhaag rahi thi", she gave a nervous smile.
Oishi and Zara looked at each other for a while, and then all three of them started laughing together. Just then they heard some footsteps, and they immediately straightened up themselves. They were all dressed beautifully for the party, and looked their best. Their eyes raised up expectantly towards the direction from where the sound of footsteps grew louder, and they all gasped when they saw the person who had entered. It was Jessy who recovered her voice sabse pehle, and spoke,
"Riddhan? Tu yahaan kya kar raha hai?"
"Wahi jo tum log kar rahe ho", Riddhan said, and moved towards where they all were standing. He was dressed in a casual t-shirt and jeans, and his hands were full of a big box, and his neck was decorated with numerous of colourful streamers.
"Kya? Tum kiske peechhe aaye ho? KSG ke ya phir Armaan ke, huh?", Oishi asked with a glare.
Riddhan gave a confused look to them as he saw them dressed up so heavily.
"Guys, wo chhodo, pehle ye batao ki tum logon ko kya hua hai. Tum itni jaldi kyun ready ho gaye. Party to 12 baje shuru hogi, n abhi to sirf 9 baje hain", he spoke.
"KYA??? Pehle kyun nai bataya, ab itni garmi mein itna dress up hoke hum kaise rahenge, tum message mein nahi bata sakte they ki party ki timings kya hain?", Zara frowned.
Riddhan did not know what to answer. He was actually baffled up by their replies.
"Areh! Maine clearly likha tha ki Karan ki bday party hai, 12 baje, tum log jaldi aa jana mujhe last minute preparations mein help karne ke liye. But tum log to...", he was cut off in between.
"Oye Riddhan, Karan ka bday 23rd february ko hota hai, mere bday wale din. Tujhe itna bhi nai pata. Advance mein itni tayaariyaan kar raha hai kya?", Oishi said fuming.
"Guys guys guys, tum log kya bol rahe ho. Aaj date kya hai, bhool gayye ho kya. Its 10th september, n kal 11th september hai, Karan ka bday, Karan Singh Grover ka nahi, hamare pyaare Karan ka, aaya kuch yaad", Riddhan said finally, and noticed the guilt on the faces of the other three.
"OMG, ye Karan ki party ki baat thi (she smacked her head), i dont know why i didnt see it. I mean can you believe it, just hafta pehle we all went for shopping, and bought so many gifts (after getting a nudge from Jessy) i mean, almost the whole shop, for Karan, to give it to him on his bday. But then KSG ke D3 ke role ki itni news aayi, ki we all thought ki ye usi se related party hai. Thankfully we have the sense to carry off all those gifts in the car with us, wherever we go, verna aaj kya khali haath Karan ko wish karte", Zara said in a go.
"But i dont get one thing, tumne message mein ye kyun likha ki we could be his special date for tonight, coz let me tell you one thing, i am very much loyal to my Karan. Ye Karan to mere chhote bhai jaisa hai, n i am his bhabhi u know", Oishi said.
Now it was Riddhan's turn to look guilty. He smacked his head with the box, and spoke,
"Um guys... I think ki ye meri galti hai, maybe, u know, like jo messages maine tumhe kiye, wo kisi aur ko bhejne they, and jo unhe kar diye, wo tumhare liye they"
"Just for curiousity sake Riddhan, hamare messages kiske saath mix-up huye?", Jenny asked suspiciously.
"Wo, um... Katrina, Priyanka, Kareena, aur Deepika ke saath", Riddhan said it in one go, while the others gaped at him.
"Tumne, matlab tumne in sab celebrities ko message kiya ki ye yahaan aake tumhari help karein?????", Zara asked in a loud voice, and after this, all three of them started laughing at their highest volume.
"Jo ho gaya, so ho gaya, ab please chalke meri help kardo na, thodi der mein party shuru ho jayegi. Humne sab kar liya hai, bas decorations are the only things left to do", Riddhan pleaded,
"Huh? Riddhan, would you mind specifying ki ye tumhare 'humne' ka kya matlab hai?", Oishi raised her brows.
"Ohoo Devi ji, itna mat socho. Bhale hie ye party itne bade venue pe hai, but yahaan invited people bohut kam hain. I've only invited the most special people in Karan's life, other than his family, offcourse. As in, his closest friends, you guys, me, and her", saying this Riddhan pointed to a person who had just come in, dressed in an oversize t-shirt with a worn out jeans, holding a laptop in hands. Looked like the person was still working, because the laptom seemed to be switched on.
"Awww, Sue, its been so long, missed you so much yaar", Zara said, and the girls moved forward to hug her. Sue was overtaken by surprise due to the sudden act.
"Oh people, i know i've been busy, but we talk regularly, to ye itna pyaar. Kahin koi saazish to nahi hai na? Because agar hai, then i might have to think about going back to my virtual world of music and videos", Jenny hit Sue on her hand and all of them started laughing at this.
"Achha guys jokes apart, tum log jaake decorations mein halp karo, i still have some pending work, after that, i'll join you guys", Sue said.
"Kyun? Why are you not helping us abhi, dodging work hmmm?", Oishi winked.
"Tumhara dimaag hamesha wrong track pakdega, haina? Riddhan, lagta hai inhe preparations ka thoda demo to dena hie padega", Sue said with a smirk. Riddhan also smiled, and switched off the lights. What followed this left the girls totally in awe. They were dazzled by the beautiful view they'd witnessed. After few minutes, the lights came back in the hall.
"Wow, i mean, that was sooo...", Oishi said dreamily, and Sue knew she'd done her work perfect to the t. After this, the others walked off with Riddhan, to help him set up the hall.
They spent the entire time on decorating the hall, with balloons in blue, silver and white colour. After a while, Sue also was seen around with them. When they were done with the final touches, all five of them sprangled on the couches nearby. They were extremely tired, and were covered with sweat, the result of their hardwork. So much for their exhaustion, that they didnt hear the footsteps that were closing them.
They were all ready to drift to their dreamland, when a loud sound woke them up. They immediately got up to see Karan standing there with a look of shock crowding his face. Apparently, it was Karan's can of coke (supposedly full), that fell down and made the noise.
"Karan, tu... tu itni jaldi kyun aaya, you were supposed to come here at 11:45, right?", Riddhan fumbled.
"Haan, aur as always main time pe hie aaya hoon. I mean dude, its already 11:55. Tujhe apni neend se fursat ho to time dekhega na. Par wo sab chhod, ye bata ki ye chaaro yahaan kya kar rahi hain. I thought it was supposed to be our boy's night out today?", Karan cocked his eyebrows at the four messed up girls standing there.
"Karan, tu bhi na. Kya fark padta hai agar ye log bhi aa gaye to, huh? Infact jitne zaada log honge, utna hie maza aayega na. Chal tu, wahaan kyun khada hai. Andar aaja, and ye, ye kya pehna hai tune, ye t-shirt to wahi hai na jo tune kal bhi pehni thi???", Riddhan spoke.
"Oye darr mat, nahaya hoon main aaj, and ye t-shirt bhi dhoyi hui hai, bas mom ko iron karne ka time nai diya maine, mom already itna time le rahi thi dhone mein, aur kitni der shirtless ghoomta main. So you know..." Karan gave his lopsided grin, whereas the others just clicked their tongues. As he moved forward, the lights suddenly went off, and in the darkness, some sounds were heard.
"Guys! Tum log yehi ho na? Ye lights ko kya hua?", Karan spoke,
"Kyun Karan ji, aapko darr lag raha hai kya?", a voice chuckled.
"Chup reh Zara ki bachi! You know tum chaaro ki aisi haalat dekh ke to ab mujhe sachi andhere se darr lag raha hai. I am too young to die, right?", he laughed, while he could imagine the four girls fume as he heard the air flare out of their nostrils. Just then, the lights came back, and Karan looked around to see everyone in their original places. It felt as if no one had moved at all, but now that he saw clearly, he saw the changes. How had he missed the balloon that hung directly above his head, a little too ahead, maybe, and the table that now stood in front of him, laid with a deliciously dark brown chocolate truffles cake, with a border on all sides. He bent down a little, and saw that the so called border had pictures of scenes from DMG all over. The cake read, 'Appie Budday Sweety, it aint the day to be Salty even a single bit...', and a smile crossed his face as soon as he read that.
He saw the other five coming closer as he stood straight, with big smiles adorning their faces, and he himself gave one of his biggest and largest genuine smile. All of them heard some footsteps, and Karan turned to see who it was. The others also came across the table, to stand next to him. Everyone was shocked to see the new entrants. All the four new people came in, as if following a queue, and stood next to each other. The first one was Katrina (Kaif), followed by Kareena (Kapoor), inturn followed by Deepika (Padukone), and lastly Priyanka (Chopra). It was Kareena who spoke first.
"Hi Guys! I am Kareena, i mean obviously you know me, and these are my friends, from the industry as well, maybe you might know them too...", she continued, but was cut off in between.
"I think we are done away with the introductions, right girls? (She looked at the other two, who nodded, while Kareena glared) We've come here for a party, as in we've been invited for a party, a birthday party i believe, Karan's party", Deepika said.
"Its a birthday party alright Deepika, we could make out this much from the messages. I already hate the person who sent those mixed up messages to us, something about helping out in decorations and stuff. (Riddhan shifted uncomfortably in his place) But lets not spoil our mood because of that, we have a party to keep up with. So...", Katrina spoke, and stopped suddenly, as if letting the others speak.
"So would you guys mind showing us the way where the actual party is about to happen. Whoever's birthday party it is, because just once when we reach their, our managers would also come along with the media", it was Priyanka who spoke now.
"You mean to say ki the media would be there to cover the party, right?", Jessy asked happily.
"Like yeah, obviously, but we need to know the venue of the party, we need to be there soon. The media is getting impatient", Kareena spoke.
"Areh I'll tell you na. The party is right here...", Oishi tried to speak, but was immediately cut off by another voice.
"Oishi ji, let me do the talking. So keep quite for a while, how much ever difficult it may be. (Then turning to the four actresses) So ladies, i think someone has dared to play a very, very, and trust me, really very dirty prank. Because as you can see, there's no party here. And whoever that Karan and his birthday party it might be, we all have no clue. See the cake, (they all raised their toes to see the cake from sides) its my birthday today, Sweety's birthday. So am sorry to have you all disappointed, but you all may leave now", Karan said with a devilish smirk.
"Are you sure your name is Sweety?", Deepika spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"As much as i ever could be, ma'am. Now before i feel the need to call up any security and get you all thrown out for tresspassing on my property, i would love if you leave in peace", Karan gave a sarcastic smile now.
"You actually think we'll be scared of your so called security, which i am so sure doesnt exist", Katrina said fiercely.
"Oh hello, you actually think all you barbie dolls have a chance against us six throwing you out. And i am so sure you dont want me to click some good pics of what all happened here, and pass it on to the 'impatient media', now do you?", saying this, Karan moved a step ahead, and before he kept his foot down, he saw the unwanted guests vanish into the thin air. When he turned to face his friends with a grin on his face, he saw theirs covered with pure shock instead. He threw his hands in the air, sideways.
"What guys? Whats up with all of your faces?", he smirked.
"Oishi, ye jo maine abhi dekha, ye sab ka sab, like, did it actually happen, sachi mein? I mean pinch me if its true", Zara spoke, with dreamy eyes. And soon, she shouted in an ear screeching voice, but along with Oishi screaming next to her, and both of them looked at Jessy and Sue, who had a cute innocent smile.
"Guys, tum dono itne shock mein they, we thought why not help you guys out of it", Jessy said, and laughed, giving Sue a high-five. Riddhan went and stood next to Karan.
"Ye sab kya tha Karan? You know maine unhe kitni mushkil se yahaan bulaya tha, and tune unhe ek hie jhatke mein bhaga diya? So what if..."
Boy! Karan saw Riddhan was furious, but he was no less.
"So what if they insulted the supposed person who sent them messages, right? Well! Guess i actually dont care. Mujhe to jin celebrities ke saath apna birthday manana hai, they all are here, to kyun faltu bheed badhaoon. You know i am not so fond of crowds, right. To kyun tension leta hai. (He put his arm around Riddhan's shoulder) Ye sab chhod, chal, party shuru karte hain, cake kaatke, nai to mera bechara cake meri yaad mein pighal pighal ke icing bahayega", Karan said dramatically, and Riddhan smiled, joining the girls, who smiled at their gem of a friend.
Riddhan pressed a switch, and the lights went off leaving everyone in the dark, except for the lights coming from the candles on the cake. Just when Karan was about to comment on it, he saw the walls of the hall lighten up with a dim silverish light. He felt an immediate pulse in his body, which made him go towards the wall nearest to him. Just as he neared the wall, an image flashed upon suddenly, that of his favourite people in the world, a huge image of Karan Singh Grover and Jennifer Winget smiling warmly directly at him. He saw the image that shone due to that silver lightning effect, and his hand involuntarily went ahead to touch them. Just as he was about to touch, the image changed, the next one taking his heart away. His Jennifer in a breath taking pose. And this was followed by a series of images one by one. Now that he came out of his trance, he heard the soft music that complimented the atmosphere, and the immense joy his heart felt. He looked around to see that all the walls played the different images. Just when he thought it couldnt get any better, he saw the images being changed, with clips. Video clips played on the walls, one clip at one wall, with the perfect music to suit them, while the other walls still showed the pictures. Karan felt the nostalgia as he saw all his favourite scenes being played away, in a much better manner. He walked off to his friends.
"I have no words, seriously, all this, is purely ethereal, so enchanting. I feel totally out of the world. Thank you so much guys, this is the best party i could ever have", Karan said, and the ambience changed into an emotional one.
"Oye Karan, mehnat saari maine ki, and thank you sabko (Riddhan coughed a bit). Haan, i mean bhale hie idea Riddhan ka tha, but ye sab kiya to maine hai na. In chit-chat boxes ko itna bhaav dene ki koi zarurat nahi hai. Inko sirf decorations ka credit dena hai to do, baaki to mere genius mind ki growth hai ji", Sue said, and all laughed at this.
Finally Karan blew the candles, and made a wish. He cut the cake, and fed all of them, along with his face eating most part of the cake. When the girls went in to clean themselves up, Riddhan cornered Karan, who stood near the window, gazing at the beautiful clear night sky.
"You knew it, didnt you?", Riddhan asked.
"Like yeah, obviously dude. You dont think i would shout up and down all around my place since weeks before that i wanted this, i wanted that, for my birthday, and forget it right on the actual night, do you?", Karan smiled.
"Then what was all that shocking looks and stuff...", Riddhan spoke in a confused tone.
"You arent serious. I couldnt've killed the mood, when you all looked so tired and worn up, still that pride of a setting up a surprise party glowered on your faces. So i just played along with the situation, but i must tell you, all those actresses, they actually added lots of fun. I'll never forget this day, thanks to you guys. (He felt a lump in his throat, and a tear threatning to fall, when he suddenly spoke) But tumhe kaise pata chala ki mujhe pata tha?", he said. Riddhan gave his victory smile.
"I knew you loved that t-shirt, and planned to wear it on your birthday. I was actually surprised to see you wear it yesterday, because i knew you would wear it for the party, but then, you turned up here, wearing the same t-shirt, looking all fresh. I knew then it was useless to keep a surprise for you", Riddhan finished.
"Hehehe, so my favourite t-shirt gave me huh! Well yeah, i was wearing it day before yesterday, and couldnt change yesterday, because i had that assignment to submit, and i was sprawled in a friend's house since the last two days, as i supervised that he made the assignment properly. I had to submit it today, last day tha na (he grinned at this, while Riddhan gave a you-are-impossible look). Bas, i asked mom to wash it today, so that i could wear it again", Karan smiled innocently, while Riddhan just shook his head.
"Anyways, tune kya maanga, apne birthday cake se?", he asked.
"Maine (he paused for a while), maine ye maanga (pointed to the words written on his t-shirt, while Riddhan read them) I wish for..."