BENGALURU: Every day that we deem important enough to celebrate, comes with its own set of learnings. As one grows older (and hopefully, wiser), one relies on epiphanies and... new-age gurus! If the gurus don fashionable robes and drive roaring Harley Davidsons then their credibility and relatability soar. Fashion-conscious wise-men who talk today’s lingo, travel in their private jets, ride their snazzy bikes and talk freely on a range of subjects are deemed. ‘super kosher’. As Indians, we are still terribly self-conscious talking about a taboo subject like ‘sex’ (never mind if our population is burgeoning at an astounding 1.6 billion) and, if a guru talks about it in the presence of elders, then he immediately gets the tag of ‘uber-cool’!
Well, I have been listening intently to a ‘guru’ (on the insistence of my best friend) and I was pleasantly surprised to get many small breakthroughs from his lectures. The primary breakthrough was that we are all responsible for our own happiness and health. Being human, we thrive on misnomers like other people give us happiness. NAG (acronym for ‘new-age guru’) says a big NO! Happiness is our responsibility and we must choose to be with someone who adds to it. And ditto as far as our health and well-being goes too. Doctors, friends and lovers are facilitators to one’s own happiness! Quod Erat Demonstrandum (QED). Quite eloquently done!
A newly-enlightened person is an enthusiastic person and I am no different. I keenly hung onto every word of what my ‘NAG’ says. Amidst all the guru gobble-de-gook, he said, “People will treat you exactly the way you treat yourself.” Very simple but succinct! I was averse to the Deepak Chopraesque ‘love yourself’ jargon because quite simply...I didn’t know how to. Well, my NAG was way cooler (lit). I decided to treat myself better. (Putting one first comes very reluctantly to an average Indian mother and wife!)
Firstly, I decided to accept my good friend Manas Krishnamoorthy’s invitation to spend my birthday weekend at the ITC Windsor (it pays to have dear friends in the right places). The red, blue and gold carpet was rolled out. The hotel has an old-world charm and of course the service and the food were impeccable. But, it’s the people who make the hotel. Every single time we ate at one of their iconic restaurants, the chef- de- cuisine would come out, meet us and generally be talking and laughing with us.
Manas invited the family to a ‘royal repast’ (his words not mine) along with another good friend Sachin Maheshwari and my family. Needless to say, we got drunk on the food, whose courses were hand-picked. Many times I would glance over at my young friends, seated to the right and left of me, and feel special at their solicitous attention and see them having a raucous time with my children too! The world was treating me like I was treating myself...special!
Just to walk on thin ice, the very next day I phoned my favourite brand and spoke to my personal-shopper. I had shortlisted three handbags and I asked them to send it to my suite (I was on the roll you see!). And lo and behold they did! Their liveried and gloved personnel brought my choices to the hotel where I chose a particular piece and then told them to gift wrap and bring it back on the next day...my birthday! They did with much fanfare and with all the flowers and presents I received, I loved every minute of it.
On the last staycation night we tried to have a simple soup/sandwich type dinner, but after much stage whispering, the pastry chefs brought out a fabulous cake in the shape of a red shoe. My dream birthday was done. I felt like Princess Cinderella and the shoe fit!
Rubi Chakravarti
Writer, actor and funny girl