My sojourn through the silk routes of Uzbekistan was marked with a very classy send-off (the unveiling of the Vantage – a new purring tigress in the Aston Martin stable!). The lights were dim as the creme-de-la-creme of Bengaluru’s society waited expectantly, cocktail in hand, for the new beauty to be revealed.
Call me a dreamer, but I expected to hear a familiar Irish baritone saying; ‘Bond. James Bond’. But, as I looked around at the rather ‘pudgy’ representation of men around me, I had to console myself that at the least most of them could afford to buy the beauty on display!
With a drum-roll, the covers slid off the Aston Martin and there was a wild flurry of photographs being taken while the nubile young things and the rotund gentlemen squeezed themselves into the car. Everyone wanted a ‘vantage’ point to take their pictures. Such fun! After a while the fabulous spread at The Four Seasons caught my attention, and my drooling shifted from the car to the sustenance!
The next day was an early rise for me as my girlfriends and I feverishly made last-minute plans for our holiday to Uzbekistan. A motley crew of travel enthusiasts, all on the wrong side of 50, put our aches aside and went on a gruelling trip armed with painkillers!
What a blast we had! Well-heeled women who have paid their debt to society, by being alpha moms, providers and partners, and who always put ‘family first’, were now putting themselves first for a change! Uzbekistan is a lovely quaint little country, pristine and just out of the shadow of its ‘big brother’ – the erstwhile USSR, which had a lot to show and teach us.
We learned how a people can be resilient, yet welcoming, have so little and yet be content, and how one can be so proud of one’s heritage. After being conquered and ravaged by the Mongols and the Soviets, they restored their heritage brick by brick and stone by stone. We women, bonded and revelled in each other’s company, cracked jokes and shared stories.
With all my back problems, I never once felt alone or afraid. If there was a steep incline or a step to navigate, a hand would magically appear. They say women cannot work, travel or live together. I say we do it all beautifully without the ‘help’ of the opposite gender! My mom used to say, “If the world was ruled only by women leaders there would never be any wars. If the countries didn’t see eye-to-eye, the maximum we would do is stop talking to each other’’!
I returned from my holiday to find a personalised invitation from my friend Reuben Kataria, to attend a concert by a 30-piece youth jazz orchestra, called Baden-Wurttemberg from Germany at The Ritz-Carlton. Needless to say, not attending was not an option because firstly it was an invitation from a good friend to one of my fave hotels, and secondly I grew up listening to jazz as my older brother was an aficionado.
The ballroom was filled with elegant Bengalureans and patrons who truly appreciated and understood jazz. The evening was resplendent with the sounds of appreciation and the two German music maestros (who were fantastic) led the band. The ambience, the hospitality and the never-emptied bar were all on point!
It’s wonderful to be back!
(The writer’s views are personal)