BENGALURU: There are times in my life when I want to throw caution to the winds! I want to drink too much, drive too fast and eat a high-protein and carb diet. I want to lather my toast with inches of gooey butter, slop down an inch-thick layer of Chevre (goat milk cheese), guzzle a pint of chilled lager and watch Netflix all day. Sometimes I could, perhaps, move a finger and ask for a fillet mignon that I could finish with a deep gulp of champagne. But Alack! If wishes were horses then beggars would ride…
I was able to play a wee bit of this fantasy when I was invited by the inimitable AD Singh, a serial entrepreneur and social bigwig to a party. He was down from the shores of muggy Mumbai to celebrate with us, his friends and patrons of his restaurants, the opening of a new bar called ‘Siren’! I had laid low for too long, so I opened up my cupboard to sift through my dresses and wear the one that screamed ‘siren’ at me.
Since the bar is in my neck of the woods, I even dared to wear my stylish (but grossly uncomfortable) shoes. If I thought I was looking ‘sirenish’ then I was wrong by a long shot! My pretty nubile friends, both young and old, were there to give the has-been sirens a run for their money. Needless to say, the trending colour was red!
The cocktails and snacks (or small plates, as they are fashionably called now), were on point. It was also refreshing to see a lot of the OG Bangaloreans doing their stuff and the bar wasn’t spilling over (thankfully), with newbies and bellwethers and their ilk.
I had a long tête-a-tête with Nikhil Chittiappa (a partner at Siren) where we spoke about the changing trends and a new avatar this city has welcomed. Not all are necessarily good, but every growing city needs to adapt and adjust. All OG ‘ooruwallas’ were doing a gentle crib, but, with finesse!
I am going off on a rather longish holiday, so I had to decline all invitations that were more than two kilometres away! Yes, folks! I do work hard for a living (though my jealous detractors call it ‘hardly working’). I was honoured to be a speaker at the FICCI FLO Kala Bazar at the Bangalore International Centre. My interview was moderated and conducted by an old and good friend Sheetal Chhabria who knows me well enough to make sure the audience had their fill of laughter and information.
The ladies of FICCI FLO (now in their 12th year) run a myriad of social initiatives aimed at empowering women. It is a great networking module where even the members get to display their entrepreneurial skills and talents. The art displayed on different mediums, all done by the members themselves, would put any renowned artist to shame. I was admiring one particular pencil and charcoal sketch, and the artist, Lalita Goenka, walked up to me and softly said that she would like me to have that piece. Her generosity made me blink back tears. But this is who we are as women…generous, talented, and giving sirens!
(The writer’s views are personal)