Bengaluru’s flower energy and festive vibes

Additionally it is the season of Raksha Bandhan so all of the outlets in my space are lined with Rakhi bracelets alternating with Indian flags due to the demand for them as lapel pins on Independence Day. I like this time of yr in Bangalore. The air is cool, the skies cloudy, rain sprinkles on rose bushes always of day and night time. One of the best ways to see all that is to experience the Bangalore Metro which is sprouting new strains, and from which you’ll be able to see the obligatory march-past practices that occur in colleges and military grounds.

August 15 can be a time when new issues linked to India’s historical past and heritage take form. To my delight, a lot of textile occasions are taking place. Wish to study Banaras weaves? Head to the Bangalore Worldwide Centre the place textile revivalist, Chandra Jain is curating an exhibition of Banaras brocades. Working from August 14-20, the exhibit has guided walks to showcase this intricate weave that’s born within the pit looms of Kashi. Chandra Jain is likely one of the textile doyennes of Bangalore, talking with information and instinct about use and luxuriate in our weaves.

One other current exhibit that was path-breaking was put collectively by The Registry of Sarees on the Risha, an higher garment worn and woven in Tripura. Founder Ahalya Mathan organised talks and walk-throughs for folks like me who didn’t even know that such a garment existed. I noticed it and longed for it. It makes extra sense than the tight blouses that all of us these days put on with sarees, a Colonial hangover that must be forgotten.

Bappaditya Biswas, founding father of the beloved textile model, Bailou was in dialog with dance-choreographer Madhu Natraj (on whose board I serve) about Weftscapes, an exhibition sponsored by Ambara, a stunning retailer in Bangalore, strolling distance from the place I stay.

The exhibit showcased indigo-dyed jamdani kimonos. I walked in carrying my Neelambari jamdani saree and was engrossed for an hour of dialog between two maestros about motion in dance and textiles.

Motion was the main focus of an exhibition of stone sculptures held at Panchavati, Sir CV Raman’s red-oxide tiled dwelling in Malleshwaram with its in depth stunning grounds. Fortunately, its inheritors haven’t determined to tear down the home and make it a high-rise, not like the close by Villa Pottipatti, which was a stunning bungalow till its homeowners tore it down. Right here at Panchavati, you possibly can nonetheless stroll the grounds. This week, there was an exhibition of stone sculptures commissioned by Stonex, a Delhi-based model. In case you are utilizing artwork to advertise your organization’s identify, extra energy to you. The exhibition is gorgeous and it has moved throughout completely different cities. It has extra male artists than feminine, which is absolutely my drawback with it. Wouldn’t it’s superb to have an all-women forged of feminine sculptors work with this historic medium? That requires getting out of our gender and cultural hangovers.

One explicit hangover that Bengaluru appears to have shed is the fascination with European cooks. There was a time when all of the meals pop-ups that occurred in five-star accommodations have been by French and Italian cooks. In the present day, that very same house has been taken over by native cooks and eating places. Lately, Nara Thai of Mumbai did a pop-up in Idyll, a stand-alone restaurant within the buzzy twelfth Essential Highway, Indiranagar. JW Marriott invited Goa’s Fireback Thai restaurant for 2 days. Bengalureans apparently love Thai meals, greater than pizza or Italian. A part of it’s as a result of it’s lighter and spicier on the palate when in comparison with European meals. The opposite half is that it affords a extra fairly priced expertise than importing a European chef. I feel a part of the reason being that Thai meals goes properly with Bengaluru rains.

Alcohol manufacturers have all the cash so each week, there are a number of bar takeovers. Most start late so I don’t go, however lately, Stephano Bussi of The Aubrey in Hong Kong (named quantity 10 within the World’s high 50 bars) was right here, introduced for a pop-up at Loya restaurant on the Taj West Finish. Cocktail making is about showmanship and Bussi didn’t disappoint, though I’ve seen far more whirling and throwing amongst our younger and bold Indian bartenders.

Which brings us again to the monsoon. I consider Mira Nair’s film, Monsoon Wedding ceremony and its track, “Rabba Rabba Meh Varsa” and its poetic depiction of the monsoon. I’m wondering if Mira’s son, Zohran Mamdani, presently New York’s Mayoral candidate, has skilled the Indian monsoon. If not, he ought to come to Bengaluru.

(Shoba Narayan is Bengaluru-based award-winning writer. She can be a contract contributor who writes about artwork, meals, trend and journey for a variety of publications.)