BENGALURU: Namma ooru doesn’t give you small-town vibes anymore.
Oh sure! The traffic situation and the infrastructure suck, but my ooru always manages to raise her pretty head and remain the centre of attraction. If you don’t believe me, try visiting the other metros.
In ‘Dehhhlee’ one can’t breathe because of the rotten air quality, in Kolkata the people, traffic and heat engulf you, Mumbai is an ultimate city and one doesn’t mind the constant trickle of sweat on one’s neck because that city works, while Chennai, is hot and aloof.
Bangalore is welcoming, and friendly (barring a few auto-wallas) and the climate… is heavenly despite the ‘men-in-white’ who cannot give a hoot. Tell me where else do we find such a large contingent of non-locals (white, brown and polka-dotted), who have made our city their home? In fact, it’s quite difficult to get rid of them!
Meanwhile, I turned my ‘Bangalore-bred’ nose upwards and carried on regardless! As I grow older and hopefully wiser, I learned that I don’t have to go above and beyond for others. I definitely don’t have to always be the bigger person and for sure don’t have to show up for those who don’t show up for me!
Riyaaz Amlani, founder of Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality, and serial restaurateur, launched a new menu at The Drawing Room By Smoke House Deli, where the food and cocktails have always been outstanding. I was curious to find out how he could improve the victuals when it was already top-notch. I was pleasantly surprised to see how they have added new dishes and cocktails and are still serving up the old favourites. With a band playing, great food and cocktails and some guests even giving each other a twirl on the dance floor, the vibe was that of ‘Bangalore of yore’!
A lot of big and fancy names of restaurants and chefs have been periodically popping up in Namma ooru. This time all eyes were on JW Marriott which is in my neck of the woods. Vaibhav Bahl, the young co-founder of the ‘make friends over food’ platform called Conosh, brought down Chef Hyungkyu Jun, who helmed the 7-course luxurious meal from Osteria, the Gucci restaurant from Seoul, South Korea.
I looked around the plush environs of the JW Marriott and it soon dawned on me that the evening was sold-out. Young people… dressed in their prettiest best were nonchalantly eating an astronomical-priced meal! Namma-ooru has come of age. Everyone was young, happening and relevant, from the young chef to the co-founder of Conosh, Vaibhav to his uber-efficient team. A good friend once commented: “They may be the millennials, but we are the perennials!”
Old is gold especially when one is dealing with hospitality and viands. The erstwhile Olive-Beach turned 19 in a blink of an eye. Owner/Restaurateur, the charismatic AD Singh threw a ‘come-in-all-white’ brunch at the restaurant with his signature cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and finger foods. The air was festive, (AD sure knows how to throw a party), and a band played while the bar-tenders whipped up cocktails at the speed of light. The service was spot-on and all of us, the old regulars met up and made merry in the sun-speckled afternoon. I left early (compared to the others) but I believe the ‘brunch’ continued till ‘drunch’!
Viva Bangalore! Your small-town mask has fallen off…
(The writer’s views are personal)