BENGALURU: It has been a week of introspection and quiet time, finding my groove and mojo again, and healing my mind, body, and soul. All the very things that my logical and practical brain told me were hogwash! Many years ago, a very sceptical ‘me’ went through a book by the author Louise Hay (which everyone and their grandfather were reading in those days) called You Can Heal Your Life. Of course, I thought it was all ‘balderdash’! I did a spate of courses like the off-shoot of the EST programme, and though it undeniably helped me (mostly to get off my high horse), I cannot say I was bowled over!
But of late, I must admit that my injuries have given me time to ‘look within’ and take a good hard long look at myself. There was a tad too much of feeling sorry and victimised and I realised that over-explaining myself didn’t necessarily mean I would be understood better. I really got in touch with how blessed and fortunate I was. I had emotionally crippled myself to a point where my body went ‘whoa’!
Whatever it was, it needed to stop! I lost two really good friends and their death anniversaries came up. My best friend from school was admitted into ICU because she had a brain bleed and her son found her unresponsive on the floor. And the only thing I could think of was; ‘ I can’t lose more friends… why is this happening to me?’ All this self-serving pity for myself stopped when a dear friend simply said ‘Rubi, this isn’t about you. This is about them.’ Never a truer word spoken.
So I firmly decided to get my head and body in order. My trustworthy physiotherapist and acupuncturist worked on my battered body while my friends, my therapist and I worked on my overwrought emotions. And voila! I was dancing with a dear friend over a dinner that I hosted at the newest hot spot KOKO! People of good standing, the bigwigs of the city, sat on a long table which seated all 15 of us while we ate, quaffed some amazing cocktails and indulged in some scintillating conversations.
The private dining room at KOKO rang with the sound of laughter, tinkling crystal and people who were ‘high’ on good food! I was grateful to my friends, most of them who were senior GMs and CEOs of major hospitality brands in Bengaluru and South India who arrived with one phone call from me!
Of course, the array of one of the best South East Asian cuisines served by the legendary Tham brothers; Ryan and Keenan, was the proverbial cherry on the cake. The biggest compliment was that all the attending guests, who boasted of serving some awesome SE Asian cuisines in their hotels themselves were blown away by KOKO’s cuisine!
My next stop was a cosy table restaurant, Crackle, run by the maverick chef Vivek Salunkhe who cooks experimental dishes with the produce and the catch of the day. This new omakase-style restaurant in Bengaluru serves up the chef’s childhood memories as Salunkhe rapturously entertains us with his wonderful stories. Kudos to more chefs like him whose food represents their personality, passion and love rather than the ‘assembly-line’ newer chefs who impress by digressing from their main purpose.
Remember: don’t chase what’s not chasing you.
(The writer’s views are personal)