BENGALURU: It’s amazing how some weeks can whizz past full of froth and flounce and some weeks have enough gravitas to last out the month. As expected, whenever big things are about to happen in my life…
I hurt myself!
Ah well! One can’t have everything in life now can they? But, I am truly grateful for all the love, affection and experiences that come my way. I was thrilled to be invited to the buzzing pub/restaurant Alchemy, to meet celebrity chef Hari Nayak, a partner and chef at Sona,
Priyanka Chopra’s Indian restaurant in NYC. I remember hearing about the $12 samosas being served at the swish NY address and being even more intrigued to meet him in namma ooru. His self-effacing charm surprised me (he is a local Udipi boy at heart) and he let his innovative menu curated for Alchemy do all the talking. Now Alchemy serves the best brews with a dollop of fine-dining too!
My foodie-friend Aslam Gafoor hosts the most elegant soirees. This time around it was the Renaissance Hotel on Race Course road. As promised, his guests were well informed and friendly people with corporate backgrounds and from different parts of the world. This made for scintillating conversations with much laughter as well as serious inputs from his cognizant guests. The sit-down dinner was curated perfectly with the wines and the cuisine had an international flair that was thoroughly enjoyed by us all.
My dinner companions Miron Thomas, VP Volvo-Penta and Limor Bletter, Deputy Consul General of Israel were a coruscating kaleidoscope of different narratives. I was satiated with food for the mind and body!
When noted Sahitya Akademi winning author and historian Vikram Sampath invited me for the launch of his latest book Braveheart’s of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History, where he would be in discussion with stalwart Sudha Murthy, and the erudite young
Maharaja of Mysore, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Wadiyar, I all but jumped with joy! This is auld Bangalore where being connected to ones’ roots is a virtue. The book discussion headed by the effervescent Vasanthi Hariprakash was informative and there were many eye-opening moments for me.
The young Maharaja blew me away with his perfect grasp of his family history and he was succinct, engaging and very impressive. I adore Sudha Murthy and her easy charm, with a vast knowledge of Indian history had the audience spellbound. Vikram was his erudite self and the way he intelligently dealt with sticky questions was wonderful to watch and hear. History is factual and a learning tool for the future. Political jingoism and distortion will only dilute the rich canvas of the past. Vikram made sure that came out very clearly and kudos to him for doing so.
There is a very uncomfortable trend where certain undesirables have penetrated the fabric of our genteel city. Their exterior seems polished enough but a tipple or two will release the demons. They are rude, opportunistic and transactional. They invent themselves to pass off as ‘kosher’ and are self-styled culture and food Nazis. Bengaluru is waking up to say ‘Nuff is Nuff’!
The past is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift…that’s why it’s called a ‘present’!
(The writer’s views are her own)