BENGALURU: I’ve had friends visiting from different parts of India and they love our ooru’s weather. But, they hate the traffic snarls, the lack of utilities, the water stagnation (in fact two of them were here to support family members infected by dengue), and the abysmal state of our civic services. I tried to put up a brave front and bluster away what was the stark truth, but in vain. Unfortunately for us ooruians, the hot tea and pakoras have to be at home; that too if your basement isn’t flooded!
But one has to be resilient. Both my kids have flown the coop. That leaves us, the ‘married too long’ couple on our own-some. Luckily our social calendar was packed, so we traversed over hill and dale (read Whitefield), wearing our dancing shoes (as ordered) to celebrate dear friend Biren Ghose’s birthday. This gregarious country head of Technicolor in India is an irrepressible singer, performer and dancer. A popular and fun-loving individual, he is a favourite with his friends who were all there to celebrate with him and his family. We spent the night catching up with old friends, bogeying drinking and eating. Ah! My kind of party!
When my friend Kanchan Achpal or ‘Cookie’, (a nickname that epitomises her sweet nature) calls, I respond. As a young and dynamic CMO, she was instrumental in the opening of Cumulus, a new upmarket restaurant on the rooftop of the breathtaking Museum of Art and Photography. A beautiful space and venue where first, one may take a leisurely stroll viewing the scintillating artefacts and paintings and ultimately settling down at the rooftop-rendezvous to enjoy a glass of wine and some great repast. I love it when projects are thought through and this one sure is! Everything about Cumulus had an avant-garde vibe.
I was invited to The Taj West-End to hear my absolutely favourite author/historian, Amitav Ghosh, in conversation with the ‘champagne-leftist’ (as he likes to refer to himself), Raghu Karnad. I was over the moon as I sat with a small group of book aficionados hanging on with rapt attention at his every word! His fascination with the ‘redflower’, the deceptively pretty poppy and his explication of its impact on civilisation, history and its people is beyond exhilarating. Sometimes it’s a blessing to feed the soul and cerebral cortex!
I’ve noticed that sometimes friends that I bump into on a regular basis have gingerly started inquiring after my diabetes usually at dinner! I don’t blame them because when good friend Sachin Maheshwari, GM of Grand Mercure called to have a Kashmiri dinner with him…how could I refuse? Needless to say the dinner was a ‘greet and eat’ affair, as we heartily dove into the delectable Wazwan meal. The simple chefs (especially flown down for this occasion) delighted on enlightening us about the nuances of this cuisine. I was overcome with an achingly familiar taste and smell of the ‘valley of flowers’.
Toast & Tonic has always been a fave watering hole with some ‘gourmet pub-grub’. They have now introduced gourmet burgers and small bowls of ‘crunchy-munchies’ that go very well with their signature cocktails. We found ourselves sipping cocktails and sharing burgers with an eclectic group of mostly young, hep and trendy people.
And I felt completely at home!