Dancers in India have a special status; they are icons in their own right. Being a chief guest is not just a domain for filmstars and politicians, dancers also enjoy the privilege.
One has always seen legendary dancers being invited as chief guests and guests of honour at various festivals and events. Be it a dance festival or an educational lecture, dancers have waltzed gracefully at various occasions. There have been occasions when dancers are roped into campaigning for election purposes, because of their fan following.
Recently, I was invited as the chief guest for a unique evening. It was a wine-tasting-cum-art exhibition. Art today is not just about dancing, singing, music and painting; wine making and wine tasting is an art too. One needs specialists to do the same and every person who loves to drink cannot do this tough job.
“A great bottle of wine is considered a great work of art and wine-tasting is also considered an art,” I was told when I was called to inaugurate the exhibition.
The evening was at the Hyatt Regency in Pune, and my old college friend who is now a well-known food writer and wine enthusiast Jyotiee Balani was the organiser for this evening.
Once I got into Pune, the hotel staff welcomed me warmly; after changing I headed straight to the ballroom for the exhibition. I lit the inaugural lamp and declared the exhibition open. Food and wine stared to pour in — asparagus and tomato bruschetta, babri aloo, jalapeno and cheese peppers, achari chicken tikka, pesto fish finger and seafood spring rolls were served with Shiraz, Merlot, Chenin Blanc and Viognier wines from Four Seasons.
The fabulous ambience of the Hyatt and the pieces of art by Jogen Chowdhury, Buwa Shete, Suman Roy, Sanatan Dinda, Sudip Roy in association with Ray Art Gallery made the evening memorable. In short, the blend between art and wine was simply amazing. The best part was when I bumped into my old friend and award winning IT wiz Deepak Shikarpur, actor Abhyang Kuvalekar, and Osho commune’s very own Ma Sadhana.
Ma Sadhana invited me to an exclusive visit to the commune, a place I frequented some 20 years ago. She said that the commune was not open for visitors any more, but she would love to have me over, as she has read my column when I wrote on Osho’s way of dance as a meditation. She wanted me to revisit the commune to have a look at the new place.
Further, my Pune team — instructor and students — presented me with a unique Lord Natraj statue as a pre-Guru Purnima gift. I feel humbled getting such blessing and wishes from all. Shikarpur, who is now also the sixth district governor of the Rotary District 3131 for the year 2013-2014, and has won the Silicon Valley IT Icon award and Parvati Punyasbhushan in 2012, requested me to conduct workshops for the Rotary clubs. My dear friend, Kuvalekar, told me about his new Marathi film Houde Jarasa Ushir and how the screenplay of the film was now part of the Oscar Library as study material.
I feel proud to know such amazing people and have them as my friends. Pune is one place I always love to go, because this is the city from where I completed part of my education. Pune might be called the Oxford of the east, but according to me this is the city that has its cultural heart in the right place. The city leaves me with an enriched soul each time I go there.