The Pataudi Palace is all lit up, decorated with blue and white balloons. The guests have arrived from Delhi and Mumbai and the cake has been cut. It may be Taimur Ali Khan’s first birthday today, but his birthday celebrations began two days ago, when parents Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan made their way from the bustling city of Mumbai to the quiet palace in North India along with their family. And it doesn’t look like the party is going to end tonight.
“The plans are to have a week-long birthday for Taimur,” reveals Soha Ali Khan Pataudi, who has decided to stay back to take care of her three-month old daughter, Inaaya. We’ve already seen pictures of the birthday boy sitting atop a horse and a tractor along with his family, and Soha tells us that there’s more to come. “They’re keeping him well-entertained. There’s going to be a magic show, and there were some plans for a toy train,” she says enthusiastically. The aunt has already planned her birthday gift for the chhote nawab: “I asked Saif what he would like for Taimur and he suggested getting some hippie clothes,” she divulges, which is interesting considering that Taimur has been wearing designer clothes from the likes of Raghavendra Rathore. “I’ve been amassing a collection for him — a bunch of customised clothes — T-shirts with tassels on it with a cowboy theme, some hippie clothes, shirts that say “peace” and “love”. I’ve even got him some yoga pants as well,” she laughs.
Though the actress and author, who has just released her first book The Perils Of Being Moderately Famous, is envious that she is missing out on her nephew’s first birthday party, she plans to make a visit in December. “Pataudi Palace is a beautiful escape from Mumbai. Living in this city, we always crave for open spaces with lush green gardens where children can play. Saif and I have grown up there, and we keep going back every couple of months or so,” she says. The palace is equipped with a badminton court, a swimming pool, a gym, and is huge enough for you to take long rides on tractors, as Saif proved. “We have four dogs that we love, and we have a chef who can whip up some delectable dishes from the freshly-grown organic produce. We’ve celebrated everything in Pataudi — whether it’s Christmas, Eid or Diwali — and for Christmas, we always put up a tree with gifts under it. It’s a time for the whole family to come together,” she says.
Soha, who is currently working on her movie Saheb Biwi Gangster 3, is quite happy with the response her book has received — Amazon gave it a bestseller tag on the day it released. “I thought people might enjoy reading about the family that I belong to. I’m not completely anonymous, yet not in the league of superstars. I’m somewhere in the middle. So “moderate” seemed to be the right term for my book’s title — and sometimes, moderation is healthy.”
See all the pictures from Tamur’s first birthday party:
