Salman Rushdie, the 56-year-old Booker Prize winner with his friend Padma Lakshmi, 32, wasted no time in indulging in some dance floor action that the cameramen were only too eager and happy to click for high society chitchat. Their dancing, with Padma Lakshmi leading Rushdie, only too willing to be led, has become the most exciting "event" for the media. "Shake a leg, Salman," said one paper.

"Even if he says it himself, Salman Rushdie is a nifty little mover in the literary department. But where he really likes to strut his stuff is on the dance floor." He did actually stun fellow guests that included Terence Conran and producer Robert Fox, with his no-holds-barred version of Dirty Dancing.

Their pictures provided the visual prove that it was not all over between the thrice-married author and the sultry India-born actress and model. They had contradicted reports that they had parted company in a letter to the Independent though the sceptics said that it was a public relations exercise.

But now with his "raunchy rumba" as one eveninger put it, Rushdie has shown that he is not only the man in Padma's life but has the ability to charm her enough to be up close and personal while taking the grip on the dance floor. (Hindustan Times)