IT is that time of the year when Sunita Kumar, Calcutta's most graceful hostess, and her sauve and dashing husband Naresh, a former tennis champion, get ready to spend the festive season with their children and grandchildren. The lovely and charming couple are never happier than when doing this. And it is not as if they lack company. On the contrary, the Kumars are among the most hospitable people in Calcutta. Almost everybody who is somebody has been to their palatial home off Park Street for a formal sit-down dinner. They've been in Calcutta since 1957, and their guest list for parties has grown since then to include such names of eminence as Lord Jeffrey Archer, M. F. Husain, Pataudi and Sharmila, and Russy Modi, who is family and with whom they have done all the best restaurants in Europe.

While Naresh is reticent, and comes into his own on and off the tennis courts at Wimbledon, Flushing Meadows and Roland Garros, Sunita is more often in the public eye. That, perhaps, is because of her long association with Mother Teresa, and because she holds painting exhibitions in Delhi, Calcutta, London, Florence and other places. Yes, Sunita paints, and she's done a beautifully expressive series on Mother Teresa recently. Painting's also brought her close to M. F. Husain and his paintings adorn the walls of her tastefully decorated home. But much before all this, Sunita's heart and soul were engaged by Mother Teresa.

This did not hamper her lifestyle. "Mother Teresa always said, lead a normal life, look after your home and family, then if you have time, come to me," she explains.

And Sunita made the time. She handled all the press relations for the Missionaries of Charity right until Mother Teresa's death. In fact, it was Sunita who came out of Mother House in Calcutta to inform the world's press that Mother Teresa had passed away. "I worked for her for 36, 37 years, and I'm still involved," she says, and produces a wonderful coffee table book on Calcutta's Saint of The Gutters that she wrote herself. But Sunita also found time to travel all over the world and be with Naresh when he was playing tennis. Was he like the tennis idols of today, forever beseiged by women fans? "Yes," she admits, "but I was never worried, I had him forever!"

Now, in the gentle evening of their lives, the Kumars spend more time at home, and love to have people over. They entertain often, holding exclusive dinners at least twice a month, at which she keeps a good table. The catering's done at home, very seldom do they get food from out, and Sunita is an experimental cook whose inspiration comes from the legendary master chefs Anton Mosimann and Gordon Ramsey. She serves Italian and French food, and she serves the food in colourful, designer crockery that's been made by the celebrated painter Anjolie Ela Menon. Otherwise, she always has her Rosenthal set to fall back upon.

She mentions the people who have partied at their home. "I remember a New Year's party that was open house, about 150 people came and went, and I remember the time Mick Jagger and his daughter called. Then there's been Prince Philippe, Prince Michael of Greece, the poet Stephen Spender, the cricketer Ted Dexter, almost all the cricketers of Australia, tennis and polo players, yes, Ivan Lendl, artists, and at one party Amjad Ali and Stan Getz, the jazz expert, jammed together." Her idea of a perfect evening, now, is getting together with close friends to enjoy good food, good music, and good gossip! In the festive season, the Kumars socialise practically every night, says Sunita. "Sometimes, thrice in one night!"

But they're not really addicted to parties, and are happy to be at home with their children, Gita, Preah and Arjun, and grandchildren, Pandit, Ranjit, Devin, Narang and Jessima. There's still time for that to happen, this year, and before that, Sunita goes to London to launch an exhibition of sarees for the French fashion house Hermes. "I'm a special adviser to them," she says. "I will design sarees with their prints, tell them what to use with what colours."