BENGALURU: I have resorted to smiling sweetly and folding my hands in a demure Namaste like one of those old sepia photographs one comes across in a doctor’s waiting room.
I could easily be a rather large-sized advertisement for some old airline urging one to fly to some exotic locations. I see random people stretching out their arms and then their cheeks and getting a little taken aback when I deftly side-step them to say a ‘Hi’ or fold my hands in a ‘Namaste’. Of course, with friends, we hug each other involuntarily and then I hastily step back saying ‘I’m still recovering from that dastardly flu.’
My first public outing (baby’s day-out) was for the launch of my favourite ‘Pret a Manger (ready to eat), borrowed loosely from the French ‘Pret a Porter’ (ready to wear), a London-style eatery that one finds every 20 yards or so in that city and is famous for its Barista-style coffees, handcrafted teas, lemonades, sandwiches, wraps, basically anything one can pick up on the go. I just love them and when I was invited, I made the trek to Mall of Asia to slurp on their coffees (my staple fare on my trips to London).
It was great to be out and about and meet up with friends with whom I share an uber-strong bonhomie. A pleasant surprise was meeting up with Raghava KK, the celebrated avant-garde artist/sculptor/cartoonist after a long time. I acted with his father (who himself is a celebrated writer) and eventually, Raghava and I became bum-chums!
I was very excited to learn that the Korean chef Jun Lee whose restaurant Soigné was awarded the second Michelin star would be weaving his magic at Le Cirque, Leela Palace over the weekend.
Both my ‘other half’ and I headed there for a date night (at our age we bond over food), and the dinner was nothing short of spectacular. Super fresh ingredients were coaxed into a work of art! This surely is a soul-uplifting occurrence for a cognoscente to experience. A near-perfect ambience with Wedgewood china, Baccarat crystal, fine wines and finer food with attentive service staff, did make it a near celestial experience!
One day has to be reserved for family and I’m a sucker for family time. So we decided to brave the infamous Bengaluru traffic snarl and trudge to Leela Bharitya City to partake in Chef Roberto Appa’s famous Italian ‘cibo faamichevole e felicentastico’! It was well worth the trudge as we were greeted with a table groaning under the weight of the finest Italian formagio, superlative cold cuts, insalata de pasta and exceptional Italian wines. It was wonderful to see the restaurant, Quattro, packed to the gills with happy diners, music playing and a general atmosphere of amichevole e felice!
I felt happy and good that I was on my feet again and returning to my normal work and activities. Then out of the blue, I got the news that a dear friend, a journalist I’ve known, partied with and had endless conversations with, was desperately ill and on a life-support system. A bright intelligent and loving woman bid us adieu. I was shell-shocked. We both battled the same deadly virus and I survived. I shall never take life for granted again…
Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.
(The writer’s views are personal)