BENGALURU: Some weeks pass by in a blur of non-activity which keeps me content, as my usually overactive ‘brain-chatter’ is silent. Bengaluru has changed. Sometimes I feel for the better but, mostly for the worse. I must make a disclaimer that this is my POV.
No, I haven’t turned geriatric (I wonder if that is a politically correct term to use now!) and I do think that change is a constant and is vital to replenishing and refurbishing a society. But a certain attitude has infiltrated into all rungs of relationships and conversations that seem to insinuate that there is some ulterior motive in one’s actions. Despite these little bumps I proceeded to have a capital time secure in the knowledge ‘Je sais qui je suis’ loosely translated from my fave language French, which says: I know who I am!
Riyaaz Amlani, CEO of Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality has been a dear friend for ages, so when they opened up his pet project, ‘The Drawing Room’ above the present Smoke-House Deli in Indiranagar, I hot-footed it there with my other half. Beautifully done up in a lazily languid style, The Drawing Room boasted some fabulous and innovative cocktails with Riyaaz’s signature style of serving good food with the choicest ambrosia. The gathering was intimate and discerning. A good mix of hospitality with the right people is slowly becoming a judicious style of hosting soirees in Bengaluru.
Yusuf Arakkal, the multiple award-winning artist was loved and respected in the auld-Bangalore circuit. Arakkal’s paintings were singularly expressionistic in style and showed his deep concern for a materialistic-driven society that marginalised ordinary people. His stark works epitomised by brooding faces with largely empty expanses, mesmerised us for years. His son Shibu, was magnanimous enough to let us get a ‘dekko’ of some of the master’s works from his private collection.
Virender Razdan, another ‘auld’ Bangalorean put together a small soiree followed by a stupendous lunch at Falak, at The Leela Bharitya City. The afternoon turned out to be perfect yet again, as friends from way back when and collectors of Arakkal’s art, traded stories and conversations with Shibu and Arakkal’s wife Sara as the sun set majestically over the Nandi hills. Viru and Sheeba were perfect hosts and my friend Viru lived up to his fond nomenclature of being our local Aishwarya Rai with nary a hair out of place!
Sometimes I feel blessed at the amount of friends I have with no agendas (like using each other) on their minds. We have worked long and hard at our careers and are successful in our own right. My young friend Nikhil Agarwal from Mumbai, is a case in point. A sommelier and CEO of ‘All Things Nice’, he brought down some fantastic wines from the warmer regions of Spain and paired it with some exceptional Franco-Italian cuisine at the premiere dining spot in namma-ooru, Le Cirque, Leela Palace.
Again the ambiance was subtle and elegant. Well-informed paying diners dotted the room and paid rapt attention to the charming Spaniard, Ivan Aquino, who animatedly tutored us on the various vintages of the wine served. I love that namma Ooru is changing. We have to be cautious that we shall be judged by what we finish, not what we start.
(The writers’ views are their own )