Either Gauri Elena has a great read on the play, or she has readTittleTattle.
‘The poor girl has done such a great job of driving her brand. She should get all the credit; she deserves it.’
The poor girl.I lean back in my seat and exhale.
‘This property deal was done well before the engagement,’ I say, looking at my ring. ‘I thought it would be great for business, given the number of tourists Ranibagh attracts.’
Vedveer, who is seated on the same side of the table as me, turns in my direction. ‘I don’t think we should bother about someone else’s opinion, especially a gossip column.’
Gauri Elena is right that, in a sense, this is how the patriarchy sways.TittleTattlehad spelt it out. They will always see it as me fumbling and Vedveer rescuing me.
‘That’s all very well, Vedveer,’ she says, looking at her son. ‘You should’ve warned her as soon as you knew. You have a great business brain. People are going to talk, and it is unfair to Ahdheeeta.’
Vedveer’s breakfast arrives, and he takes a sip of his orange juice. ‘Aaditha’s store has a great location,’ he says, his voicefirm. ‘If people think we are funding it, people are dumb. She has opened stores across the country. This is not her first rodeo.’
Gauri Elena smiles and nods. ‘You are right about that!’
I take a sip of my coffee.
‘No one can control how people think, Mom,’ he adds. His tone is resigned.
Vedveer also calls his mother ‘mom’.
He is looking at me now and, after a whole minute, pushes the iPad back at me.
‘Besides, if anything, Aaditha’s association with Ranibagh will power the COFFEE Before Books & Bras brand,’ he says. ‘It’s a good thing that the store is located so close to the palace. It can feed off Ranibagh.’
TittleTattle
Gupshup Column
Jaipur: His Café, Her Coffee
Curious so-and-so,
We held our collective breath as Aaditha Prathap’s COFFEE Before Books & Bras café in Jaipur raced the clock to be launch-ready by the weekend, and what a race it was.
As TT first reported, the space, perched just outside the grand gates of Ranibagh Palace, resembled a construction site mere days ago. But enter Prince Vedveer, flexing royal muscle in support of the Princess-to-be’s venture, and suddenly, the narrative shifted. The one-time nepo baby, now being rebranded as an award-winning entrepreneur, is in full flight.
In true Rathore fashion, when the stakes are high, the impossible gets done. Overnight crews worked round the clock – painting walls, installing fixtures, unpacking furniture and completing restrooms that, days earlier, didn’t exist. The place was practically conjured out of plaster dust and plywood.
TT was present for Friday’s launch – yes, we made the cut – and were greeted with a full spread. The café opened its doors to the public (no velvet ropes here), serving up its entire menu to what looked like a thousand-strong crowd. The coffee? Excellent. The food? Surprisingly delightful.
Guests floated in and out freely. Some lingered, sipping iced lattes and working their angles for Instagram. Theinteriors were an aesthetic dream, right down to the staff uniforms, which were clearly styled to spotlight Rajasthani craftsmanship. We wouldn’t be surprised if Maharaj Gaurav Rathore Singh had a hand in that – arts patron, after all.
As for Aaditha? Sources say she spent most of the day behind the scenes, presumably in the manager’s room, phone in hand, tracking the café’s sudden rise on social media.
She emerged briefly when Prince Vedveer arrived, flanked by his sister, HRH Navya Mrinalini, and staff. The trio vanished into the back rooms soon after and didn’t resurface until much later in the evening.
Vedveer then reportedly drove Aaditha to the airport himself, where she boarded the BBJ 787 – yes, the one with the Rathore insignia – back to Bengaluru.
Logistics, darlings. Royal ones.
17.
Vedveer
That Upside-Down Cake
