panini with citrus & asparagus salad @aqua

  

poolside cabanas in the soft glow of candles @ the Aqua

 

Our guest the golden voiced Ram Nagraj with Chef Saha @ The Park

Cool Aqua

An outdoor lounge that's decidedly glamorous - Aqua by the pool at The Park is the place that can
turn a meal into something special. Chef Abhijit Saha , who is now also the Director - Food and Services, is rated amongst the top 10 chefs in the country. the menu has gourmet choices including succulent grills, while sensuous music makes for much langour.

sacred games

am deep into ' sacred games' - vikram chandra's 3rd book.

i found his 'love and longing in bombay', which good ol' prof loaned me, v readable. last week, the author and his wife, melanie (on the left, allen in his brown jacket is in the pix with them) were down for the launch that was like a movie release - right down to the press kit: ' are you ready for the games to begin' or something like that, the book cover on a picture post card et al.

not surprising, given his filmi lineage. his sister tanuja chandra is an offbeat film-maker and he himself has co-written the script for 'mission kashmir'

anita nair was sitting next to me and just before the launch, she introduced me to vikram and i told him i appreciated the razzle-dazzle for a book launch. unless writers crow about themselves, no one will buy their books.

chandra is of modest height and looked a little shy at all the hype. he didn't read v well and i found it hard to concentrate on the story. but i found them both to be very likeable and charming.

i started reading the book on monday night and i've been finding it hard to put it down. when i do sleep, my dreams are full of police chases! 'sacred games' says nothing new but says it exceedingly well.

chandra has spent nine years writing this book and am sure nine years in which he has done a lot of growing up himself. how else would he have obtained the sensitivity he reveals ?

as for the story itself, at times i feel it is one of the bollywood films, perhaps 'satya', made in to a book; all that mumbaiyya dialogue and tapori stuff. am sure, chandra will make a lot more money than the huge advance he's received from his publishers when one of the new breed of film makers grabs sacred games and gives it celluloid shape. - sandhya mendonca

victor has worked his magic on my portuguese style house in goa  

gaga over goa

my modest portugeuse -style house in velim in all its new glory 

the velim house with the previous occupant and victor the architect 

the house in velim, goa when i bought it 

go goa

hi,

goa is a slow happy smile, starting from the heart, reaching to the mouth and lighting up the eyes.

it is an escape from crushing deadlines, P3Ps and deathly pressure of wannabe big citiness that is the mood of namma bengaluru.

goa is where hair gets frizzy, yes but skin clears up. one eats too much and drinks far too much but heck, no ever gets hungover in goa.

last year, i gave in to whimsy and bought an old house in south goa. everyone was aghast.
our son said: "ugh, it looks like it will fall down"
sisters said: " how are you going to maintain a house so far away?"
others said:" why in the south? north is the most happening"

owww, i don't go to goa to be happening. i go there to reconnect with myself.

victor, a national award winning artist, has a passion for restoring goan homes and i trusted him instinctively. but it's been a long 12 months since victor took up the restoration. i agonised over the money that seemed to seep away, fought bitterly with victor who refused to
compromise his artistic sensibilities. several times, i mentally christened it 'sandy's folly'.
but hey, this story has a happy ending.

i went there last week and found it like this: picture book pretty, adorable and welcoming.