BENGALURU: People often ask me why I go ‘underground’. Underground is a loose term for becoming ‘invisible’ in the mad social whirl of brainless chatter and pointless conversations. In all fairness not everything or everyone is like that, but sometimes when one is squirming in an uncomfortable pair of shoes and a tight dress then banality becomes combatable! Is that a rather harsh observation? Maybe, but not entirely untrue…
I have seen them all. The users, misusers, the FOMO royalty, the blatant-yet-brave equivocators (I am directly related to the Queen of Sheeba variety) and the ones desperately seeking inroads into the ‘caviar dreams and champagne wishes’ swish set. No harm in habouring any of the above ambitions, except that one must be careful as to how many pedicured toes were stepped on.Because…the ‘swish-set’ never forget!
So Bengaluru is still reeling with mega openings, launches and pop-ups with quasi and wanna-be socialites gently inquiring on how to get invited or whether invitations have been forthcoming by the PR machinery of hotels, stores and brands. All of them are wading in the same pool of hopefuls or the ‘usual suspects’ as they are fondly called. Sometimes just for pure jollification, I like to disconnect and be a fly on the wall, watching the mad scramble of activity unfolding below.
My friend, the original maverick, the inventor of some really crazy food concoctions, a punster and a born rebel against all rules, Suresh Hinduja is a man of many words. A passionate cook, he is curating a nouvelle Sindhi food pop-up at the Grand Mercure, with an indulgent GM Sachin Maheshwari giving him the space to re-create his cuisine. A close group of Suresh’s friends partook in his tasting menu meal of interesting titbits. The menu boasted of moringa soup, sai-bhaji tempura and some delicious chicken and mutton preparations with a unique yet quintessential Sindhi flavour. It was so much fun as we ate, drank his famous ‘Shiela-Ginwani’ cocktails, shared stories and humorous anecdotes and generally had a merry time. Way better than sitting at some stuffy event, with other ‘vapidos’ sharing inauthentic smiles and conversations!
Meeting up with close friend Simran Chandok at Smoke-House-Deli to share some simply out-of-the-world pizzas, made for another highlight this week. Mohit Balachandran and my dear friend Riyaaz Amlani of Impresario Hand-made Restaurants insisted I try their new range of pizzas by chef Saurabh Arora. Imagine soft dough baked to perfection topped with fabulous house-made cheeses and sauces. Their Neo-Neapolitan, panuzzo and naked pizzas (pizzas made sans sauce) had us begging for more. In between generous gulps of muddled strawberry-gin and negroni cocktails, our conversation and laughter flowed as we valiantly promised we would make this a monthly ‘must-do’ date.
The highlight of my week was the house-warming party thrown by my soul-friend, danseuse Madhu Natraj. Her home was overflowing with fellow artistes, writers, performers and old friends. The ambiance was warm and inviting, the conversation scintillating and interesting, and the fabulous cocktails (especially the ‘Madhutini’) mixed by the star bartender were flowing and plentiful. Madhu makes for a gracious hostess and friend and I was just so glad I had traded another ‘party-sharty’ at another star hotel to attend her bash.Where you start isn’t important, it’s where you finish that counts.
(The writers’ views are their own)
Rubi Chakravarti
Writer, actor and funny girl