KNOTTY AFFAIR: Prince Charles with his wife, Camilla

Marriage at last... to each other

Prince Charles and his new wife, Camilla, ought to be worried. The latest issue of Hello! has devoted no fewer than 60 pages to their wedding. Incidentally, this rather explodes the theory that there was little public interest in the marriage ceremony. If the whole event was genuinely unpopular, the magazine would not undertake this circulation-boosting exercise.

The pictures are attractive and the consensus is that Camilla did look nice on her wedding day.

Charles and Camilla may not be superstitious but they are rather inviting ?the curse of Hello!?

The problem is that, according to legend, any newly-married couple who invites the cameras in heads, sooner or later, for the divorce courts.

Of course, in this case Charles and Camilla did not sell the pictures, as usually happens when people achieve the twin goals of getting a lot of money and much-needed publicity in one go. As far as I can make out, the Queen and Camilla are sometimes in the same picture but they never seem to be together or talking to each other.

It is left to the satirical magazine, Private Eye, to sum up the wedding with a cover picture of the queen with Charles and Diana.

?We?re married at last?? Charles is saying. ??and to each other,? the Queen is responding.

TIme for Ash

Since I have been criticised by colleagues allegedly for writing too sympathetically about Aishwarya Rai, I won?t mention her again for at least another week.

But is it my fault that the very issue of Hello!, which has pictures of Charles and the future Queen of England , also has a picture of the Queen of Bollywood? There is a lovely photograph of Ash, credited to Farrokh Chothia, wearing a Longines watch, on page three of Hello! With such an accurate watch, she now has no excuse for being late for anything.

SECOND CHANCE: Liz Hurley with Arun Nayar INDIAN Flavour: Madhur Jaffrey

No better half

Word has reached London that Arun Nayar, Liz Hurley?s boyfriend, has filed a 22-page petition in the Bombay High Court, alleging that his estranged wife, Valentina Pedroni, treated him ?in a most cruel manner, torturing him mentally, by making wild allegations and harassing him?.

Nayar has insisted that he tried to be a good husband but her ?extravagant lifestyle and constant demand for money? led to a life of ?constant anxiety?. He went so far as to suggest that it would be ?dangerous to life and limb to continue with the marriage? and claims he dreaded going home to his ?constantly nagging wife?.

Nayar may have been badly advised even though his wife is probably being difficult about a divorce. He comes across now as a wimp. And one day some tabloid or the other will secure an interview with Valentina, in which she will probably cast Hurley as a Camilla-like figure who stole her husband.

Home cooking

What do top Indian chefs cook at home? When I once interviewed the top 10 Indian chefs in London ? most were children of the Taj in Mumbai ? they described the elaborate dishes they made for their appreciative English clientele.

But at home, perhaps as a reaction to the complicated recipes they cooked up at work, my top 10 tended to be happy with just ?roti with a little dahi?.

Now, The Telegraph Magazine has gone into the domestic kitchens of 50 of the world?s top chefs, among them Madhur Jaffrey, Vineet Bhatia and Atul Kocchar.

Vineet and Atul have moved on from Zaika and the Tamarind, which were the first two Indian restaurants to win the coveted Michelin stars under their leadership. Today, they run their own establishments, the Rasoi and the Benares in London respectively.

Vineet is into masala scrambled eggs while Atul has provided a recipe for Hari manchi ? John Dory with mint and coriander.

Madhur Jaffrey is more of an actress but won fame when she presented The Flavours of India on BBC television. Although she would not claim to be a top chef she makes a prettier photograph in her magenta salwar kameez than any of the men. At her home in New York, she makes potatoes with ginger.

The culture of England has changed so much that home cooking with pride is now almost regarded as a male preserve. I exaggerate but not much. My great ambition is to learn to make a chapati that is circular. It?s a lot more difficult than it looks.

English pride

One of the more unattractive features of the election campaign under way is that the former home secretary, David Blunkett, intends to play a prominent role in the expectation of being given a cabinet post should Tony Blair be returned to power.

Blunkett wants people to be ?more English? and recently wrote an article, ?Let?s be proud to be English?.

On the face of it, who can object to such a message? However, it is the sub-text that is all important. It is subtly aimed at non-white immigrants. If a politician in India were to say, ?Let?s be proud to be Indian? in the run-up to a general election or, say, ?Let?s be proud to be Hindu?, some of us would feel a trifle uneasy.

In his attempt to beat off the extremist parties, such as the BNP (British National party), Blunkett wants Labour to behave a little like them. ?Seeing off Right-wing extremists is easier if people have the confidence to celebrate their own sense of identity and we are able to welcome others to contribute to what Daniel Defoe described all those years ago as ?from a mixture all kinds began, that heterogeneous thing an Englishman?.?

Patriotism is often the last refuge of the politician desperate to get back into office. It would be best for Blunkett and for the nation if he were to retire from political life. He does not strike me as being particularly ?English?.

Tittle tattle

Will Swraj Paul really be made British high commissioner to India?

I have no idea but there are some political insiders who say that if Paul Boateng, a black politician who was financial secretary to the treasury, can be appointed British high commissioner-designate to South Africa, there is no reason why Lord Paul should not be sent to Delhi.

The problem is that Lord Paul, 74, is already a ?roving ambassador? at large for Britain. Also, he needs to spend time in London looking after the affairs of the Caparo steel group though his three sons are in day-to-day charge. On his visits to India, Swraj has stayed at the high commissioner?s residence in Delhi, where he has also hosted a party to mark his youngest son?s wedding last year.

I do not know if Swraj even wants the job but for Tony Blair to send an Indian to India as British high commissioner (if that is what the Prime Minister has in mind) would be the last revenge of the Raj.