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#RajGirnThisIs50 Birthday Extravaganza Was A Night To Remember!
ANOKHI LIFE’s President & CEO Raj Girn celebrated her 50th milestone birthday with 30 of her closest friends and family in attendance, which made for an exquisite evening that brought out stories of laughter, tears and so much love. Here are some of the most memorable moments from #RajGirnThisIs50 birthday extravaganza!
**Scroll down to see the entire gallery of photos**
When you hit a milestone, celebrating it with your nearest and dearest makes it even more magical. That was the scene on March 11, when our very own President & CEO Raj Girn, rang in her 50th birthday with a super luxe sit-down dinner and rousing after party at Hotel X Toronto.
The invitation didn’t leave any doubt that the evening was going to be anything short of glamorous and her guests were all in for a celebratory evening smack dab in the middle of the week, which only Raj can pull off.
The 30 hand-picked guests (of which I was one), arrived at the Mediterranean inspired Petros82 Restaurant, greeted by the guest of honour herself. First, cocktails were in order along with mingling and photo-ops in front of a huge, commemorative media wall, followed by a prix fixe, three-course dinner, which guests enjoyed. Amongst the pomp and circumstance of an extravagant and spacious private dining room, the centre focus was a long, decadent table adorned with over 80 ivory candles, 6 vases of long stemmed florals and a fuchsia, purple and gold themed table set up. At the head of the table stood an elegant two-tiered custom designed strawberry shortcake (her favourite) birthday cake.
As guests settled into their assigned seating and socialized with their immediate clusters, there was an obvious flutter of excitement that permeated throughout the softly lit room, since each guest felt privileged to be invited to such an intimate gathering of people Raj clearly has a special relationship with. Furthermore, Raj’s Chicago-based sister Monika Bhondy-Lamba (former longtime style editor of ANOKHI Magazine when it was a print glossy), flew in that very afternoon and glided into the room to surprise her sister, which amplified the festivities further.
Each guest’s place-setting included a personalized name card with one of Raj’s motivational quotes inside: “To be powerful, you must empower others to succeed. To be relevant, you must make it about the value you give and not the status you own. To be undeniable, you must do this. Every. Single. Day. ~ Raj Girn “
There was also a custom designed folded card with a detailed menu on the back and poem authored by Raj in the centre, called “Uncomfortable on Purpose”, penned for the international best-selling book 365 Empowering Stories. There was also a gold coloured gift bag placed on the chairs for all guests, which contained three deliberate items that Raj handpicked to represent who she is: a rose candle (symbolizing self-care), a L’Oréal lipstick from their brand new 50+ Age Perfect collection (symbolizing glamour), and Lindt chocolates (symbolizing pleasure).
As is customary, Raj did the needful by cutting the cake with her family, before guests made themselves comfortable and prepared for the first course. Event organizer — media personality/professor, and one of Raj’s longtime friends Veronica Chail, opened up the speeches by delivering a heart-warming toast, punctuated with endearing details and humorous anecdotes from their decades-long friendship.
With wine flowing and friends feasting on the first course comprised of paper thin zucchini and eggplant “Pringles”, Potato Pugliese and Horiatiki Salata, the evening progressed with speeches shared by family members Rico Bhondy, Monika Bhondy-Lamba, and her son Karam Girn, who by the way, stole the evening with his insightful, mic drop speech about how inspired he was by his mum’s success and struggles. The sharing continued with words from her ex-husband Harjinder Girn, ex-sister-in-law, Arvie Dhaul, and long-time friend Sheba Charles-Funari. And following them, were toasts from her Executive Assistant Farah Khan, ANOKHI LIFE’s editor-in-chief Hina P. Ansari, and former event director Sana Tahir.
While a variety of main courses were presented to the guests including Spada Alla Griglia (grilled swordfish), New York striploin, Cornish Hen and vegan eggplant lasagna, the table opened up inviting others to share their wishes. Without missing a beat, others who joined with their respective toasts and stories, included Health & Wellness expert Sonia Jhas, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Infuse Med Spa Kavita Suri, noted fashion lawyer Anjli Patel, business executive Karim Dhalla, political consultant Mandy Maghera, and Rukus Avenue Radio’s vice-president Raoul Juneja.
While waiting for the third and final course, Raj stood up to thank her guests for sharing and attending, the sponsors and partners for supporting the event, and then shared some never before talked about moments that shaped her professional life over the past 30 years as a serial entrepreneur, emphasizing that like her poem stated, there is nothing in life that is not on purpose – the point is to find your purpose.
The loving vibe continued while coffee and two desserts followed, including the restaurant’s most well-known dessert the gluten free Sokolatina Chocolate Cake, along with the decedent birthday cake of course!
The evening didn’t end there! The birthday bash continued as an additional 80 guests flowed into Hotel X’s Falcon Skybar on the 26th floor across from the Toronto skyline and Lake Ontario, where the picturesque city lights, mylar balloons, flares and pumping music were the perfect backdrop for some post-dinner lounging, champagne popping, and big time birthday vibes.
When asked why she decided to celebrate her 50th year so publicly, Raj said: “We live in a time when ageism is still so prevalent as a perceived deterrent to being able to accomplish certain things, especially as it relates to competing in the workforce, which is further amplified if you are a woman. As a woman who has reached her 50th birthday, I feel stronger and more able today than I ever did in the past, because my insecurities as an ethnic, divorced woman and single mother are gone. My experience and resource pool is vast and my success rate at accomplishing what I set my intentions on are at an all-time high. Physically, mentally and spiritually I am an all around more complete woman today than ever I was in my younger years. I stand tall to that message and want to educate all of those women and men out there who have bought into the propaganda that growing older is growing weaker. I am one of millions that are a testament to the reality that age signifies ability, accomplishment, leadership, mentorship and strength.”
There is no doubt that Raj Girn does 50 proud!
A special “thank you” to the following people and companies who’s contribution made for an unforgettable and memorable evening:
Hotel X Toronto
Fairyal Hasham, General Manager
Madalina Panait, manager at Petros82 restaurant
Patricia Gonsalez, beverage manager at Falcon Skybar lounge
The Décor Team
Logistics by Mandy Dhiman at Khazana Creations
Napkins, charger plates, table dressings by Susan at Susan Murray International
Cake courtesy of Beenish at Cake-Olicious
The Branding Team
Event design by 4 Eyed Media
Name cards and menus printed by Priority Print Plus
Media wall printing by Rayacom Toronto
Photography and videography by Mohsen Saleem at Epic Enterprise
Raj Girn’s Look
Hair dye by Diana Vivi at DV8 Salon
Hair extensions/dye/style and makeup by Shirley Wu at The Beauty Concept
Dress from Nordstrom
Shoes courtesy of Browns Shoes
Jewellery courtesy of Banglez
Mani & Pedi by Leanne at Binh Nail & Spa
Gift Bags
Gold bags/tissues from Party City
Lipsticks courtesy of Age Perfect by L’Oréal Paris
Lindor chocolates courtesy of Lindt
Rose scented candles/sparkles from Dollarama
And an extra special “thank you” to the two women who quarterbacked the entire operations:
Farah Khan & Veronica Chail
Hina P. Ansari
Author
Hina P. Ansari is a graduate from The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Since then she has carved a successful career in Canada's national fashion-publishing world as the Entertainment/Photo Editor at FLARE Magazine, Canada's national fashion magazine. She was the first South Asian in...
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