5 star hotels in india - luxury business & leisure hotels- the … leela aut… · with men and...

The much-sought-after architect and interior designer is known to have

done up some of the most stylish addresses, besides being a force in the

art world. Having recently designed the interiors of restaurant Pali Thai,

he talks about his most marked characteristic and his greatest fear.

Ashiesh Shah

What are you most excited about currently?Atelier Ashiesh Shah — an extension to my

practice, a creative tank for self-expression through

industrial design.

What is your most marked characteristic?efinitely Wabi-Sabi. eauty in imperfection,

perfection in rawness.

Who is your greatest inspiration in the art world?Louise ourgeois and Lucio Fontana.

What is the biggest love of your life?Design.

What according to you is the most overrated virtue?Patience — you can’t always wait for

opportunities to come your way.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?Proportions. The fundamental of architecture and design.

What one quality should every woman have?Power.

Which one quality should every man have?Chivalry.

What one experience would you like to have?Not being an outdoorsy person, anything

adventurous would be worth the experience.

What is your greatest fear?Loss of creativity.

Which living person do you most admire?My niece, for her childlike quality. I would give

anything to think like a child.

What is your greatest extravagance?Art…and it will always be.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?It would definitely be to be more proactive.

What’s the hardest part about designing homes of Bollywood stars?I think with ollywood stars the timeline is always a

challenge, coupled with their erratic schedules which

don’t lie in their control.

What is your most treasured possession?My team.

What is your greatest regret?Not studying art history.

THE LEELA MAGAZINE | 18 | AUTUMN 2018 AUTUMN 2018 | 19 | THE LEELA MAGAZINE

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE

Pickles have been a popular form of

fermented food

A taste of bacterial goodness

From popping up in cocktails

and desserts to cranking

up the taste of dishes,

fermentation is the new

buzzword in the culinary

world. Madhulika Dash finds

out why this seven thousand

year old technique is suddenly

seeing a revival by chefs.

Many chefs are charmed nowadays by the wonders of

the seven thousand year old technique of fermentation

that defined much of the food culture back in the day.

Whether it is in making breads, cultured butters or even

in upping the taste quotient of dishes.

Seasoned bartender Yangdup Lama, Cocktails & Dreams

Speakeasy, too seems to enjoy being a “fermentation revivalist”.

Lama’s inclination towards the ancient art of preservation and flavour

enhancement is natural. “Fermented food was very much a family

food tradition. I grew up eating a lot of fermented food in terms of

preserves, chutneys and even in cured meats. I still remember how my

grandfather’s day began with a big glass of millet beer sweetened with

molasses. It was considered not only nourishing, but filling as well.

However, his approach to fermentation — the technique at least

— isn’t conventional at all. Instead Lama uses it to add more funk to the

in-house liqueurs and bitters. “Fermentation or the broader sense of it

that we understand today is a great way to manipulate flavour profiles

of ingredients, especially of the delicate ones. But the one place that

fermentation can really work wonders is sugar concentration, which

is essential for great tasting cocktails.” He uses alcohol fermentation

to create fruit concentrates that have effectively replaced most of

the commercial crushes in the bar. “Not only are they healthier, but

also transform the drink into something that is more enjoyable with

fantastic tasting notes.”

FOOD


It is this unique art of transforming ingredients without losing the

nutrients that has been one of the significant factors for the sudden

interest in this ancient technique. Says food historian Ashish Chopra,

“It’s this composition changing ability of fermentation that made it

one of the most worked on techniques in India, especially in the North

East, where the food culture was developed on the art of foraging and

fermentation.”

Fermentation was at the core of not only surviving through harsh

winters up in the north, but also the key to nomadic life. In fact, many

tribes preserved food and other ingredients before moving to a new

area and survived on these cured foods till they gained knowledge

about their new territory. This may explain why we’ve had such a wide

variety of pickles and chutneys that could survive long distances

without losing flavour. ut travel, adds Chopra, is only a factor that

contributed to the rise of fermented food in our cuisine. The main role

was, of course, the taste — and the avenues it created to use the same

food groups in different versions.

An excellent example of this is dahi and chenna. Chef Sabyasachi

Gorai of Fabrica by Saby says, “The very idea that you could use this

technique to give the same food groups a different, distinct flavour

profile and nutrient combination to make it all palatable is one of the

reasons of its wide popularity even today. Of course, what adds to the

charm is fermented food’s capacity to crank up a dish. Just a little bit

and you see a world of difference in the taste and texture of the dish. In

fact it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it is a naturally good tastemaker.”

This could be the reason that fermented foods like kimchi, soya

sauce, kombucha, cultured butter and milk kefir have been able

to effectively cross worldwide borders and have gradually earned

mainstream food status as well.

Agrees Chef Paul Kinny, Culinary Director, Bellona Hospitality.

Ordinarily, you would never find a kimchi fried rice or a miso soup,

but not today. You find fermented foods are either sneaking in

as tastemakers or as an additional component to make the dish

wholesome, flavour-wise.

Case in point: Chef Gresham Fernandes’ bacon kimchi fried rice.

While fried rice has its own unique flavours, in this case kimchi,

which is an otherwise acquired taste, helps add a certain acidity to

the fried rice which is different from soy sauce that pairs brilliantly

with the fat of bacon, creating that wholesome mouthfeel that is hard

to define but delicious.

The acidity manipulation is one of the many reasons that has

nudged chefs to experiment with fermentation even more. For

Chef Glyston Gracias, fermentation is used more in his marination

and batters. I used milk kefir as a base marination for my chicken

to give it that tenderness and richness of taste. While in my batter,

fermentation helps create a light, airy feel that adds to the taste of the

dish immensely.”

Chef Vikas Seth, Culinary Director of Embassy Leisure &

Entertainment, feels fermentation works more towards balancing the

dish. “Not just taste-wise, but health-wise too. In fact, traditionally, the

role of fermented food is to balance the dish rather than just taste,” he

says. “It adds freshness and sweetness that becomes a perfect palate

cleanser between two bites.”

This basic understanding of fermented food has encouraged

chefs like Chef Anurag Barthwal, Executive Pastry Chef, The Leela

Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences and Chef Mir Zafar Ali, The

Leela Palace Bengaluru to use the technique in dessert making as well.

“Lacto fermentation,” says Chef Ali, “works beautifully at releasing

the acidic side of fruits, especially berries, and helps incorporating

Sriracha Dim Sums are seen on many menus

il efir marinated chicken stew served with appams

Fermentation is increasingly used

in desserts

Dish Sheep Grazing captures the sensory brilliance of the hills through fermentation


Fermented foods

like kimchi, soya

sauce, kombucha,

cultured butter

and mil efir

have been able to

effectively cross

worldwide borders

and have gradually

earned mainstream

food status

I don’t like dropping names, he reluctantly says. One of the virtues

of my art is that your clientele drop by the studio expecting utter

discretion and privacy. ollywood director James Gray is said to have

been decked by the man.

Suits that stand outWhat exactly does a fitting at the salon entail eeping up with

English tradition, it would mean beginning with a piping hot cup of

tea, with an assortment of biscuits on the side. What actually draws

Jheeta’s loyal customers to his address, time and time again, is his

superlative house style. Every establishment at Savile Row has a

signature design statement that sets them apart. Jheeta’s design

involves a cutting skill of a single-breasted acket, one button

fastening even on a two-button or double-breasted acket,creating a

very prominent straight shoulder line with long lines of peak lapels

to enhance the chest and slim-line the waist. While the ackets are

created to fit you like a glove, they are complemented by smart, slim

and close-cut trousers for a good finish.

Jheeta doesn’t have an Indian outpost as yet, a conscious

choice because of what it means to be part of the Savile Row

pedigree. owever, the et-setting designer’s fittings do keep

him globetrotting when his clients can’t fly down to see him, he

flies to where they are. And even though the designer has his

bedrock in Savile Row, the prodigal son was always clear that

he wanted to have a wide presence in India. “It is only recently

that the Indian aesthetic has honed enough to appreciate the effort

of investing in a bespoke suit. Then there’s the rise of the new

Asian man who can afford and aspire to dress in a classic Savile ow

bespoke suit.

What advice does Jheeta have for the Indian man on’t

try too hard to keep up with every trend, he says. ot every

fad may suit you. Knowing what does and doesn’t work for you is

key to dressing dapper. The Indian male is traditionally habituated

to wearing lots of colour. However, western formals work best

when neutral tones are accentuated by a muted colour palette,

he concludes.

If I weren’t a men’s designer: I’d be a pilot.

Other than a Paul Jheeta bespoke suit I’d wear:

olce & Gabbana or Versace.

I last vacationed in: Nice, Cannes.

I unwind by: playing cricket. I’m on the Chiltern League

I would never leave home without: A

Paul Jheeta jacket, a brolly (umbrella) and a pair of Tom Ford aviators.

Celebrities I’d love to style but haven’t: Bradley Cooper and Ranveer Singh.

Paul Jheeta deconstructed

paul heeta s bespo e suits

Th L La aGa n | | auTu n auTu n | 43 | Th L La aGa n

STYLE

Digraj Singh Shahpura’s designs bring across an aesthetic and regal tapestry of the fineries of a asthan that reflect the heritage

and craft of the Indian state.

A fashionable heritage

Shahpura gathered a lot of knowledge in the world of fashion by living

and travelling abroad. Thereafter he started his own brand by the name of

Digraj Singh Shahpura in 2015 and is dedicated towards bringing a new

revolution in Indian fashion and putting it on to the international fashion

map by bringing out designs that reflect his a asthani roots — Jodhpuri,

Bandhgala, Achkan, which are his strengths. Furthermore, his designs

bring across an aesthetic and regal tapestry of the fineries of a asthan

that reflect the heritage and craft of the Indian state. The brand started

with men and women’s haute couture with Shahpura soon expanding his

portfolio to include other businesses ranging from jewellery design to

consulting. The collections are inspired by old-word elegance and charm,

and his attires have a characteristic softness, creativity and genius colour

combinations. Known for resurrecting fashion styles of a bygone era,

his designs are iconic and fashionable, besides keeping intact the rich

heritage of Rajasthan.

Flagship store: D-257, Devi Marg, Banipark, Jaipur.

Web: www.digrajsinghshahpura.com

P romoting Indian heritage and culture through exclusively

designed ethnic Indian apparel, CEO and Creative

Director Digraj Singh Shahpura is known for doing some

unique and innovative work in the field of fashion. Although his

work is diverse, he has made a mark with his classic tailored cut

Indian wear. He has also collaborated and done trunk shows with

prestigious fashion houses abroad and in India like Burberry,

Berluti, Tods and Dior.

The collections are inspired by old-word elegance and charm and his attires have a characteristic softness creativity and

genius colour combinations

S.H. Raza, Bindu Naad, 1995, acrylic on canvas. Image courtesy: Piramal Museum of Art

An artistic legacyNot only was SH Raza one of India’s greatest masters, but also one of the most recognised artists internationally.

As a new exhibition Traversing Terrains’ celebrates five decades of his work, co-curator Ashvin Rajagopalan

takes Sandhya Menon on a journey of Raza’s life, from the evolution of his famed Bindu series, his friendship

with legendary photographer enri Cartier- resson to the creative influence of another artistic great, othko.

As you take your time and walk through Traversing Terrains’,

an S aza retrospective the first ma or exhibition of the

artist since his death in 2016), your viewing ends at a

massive canvas taking up an entire wall of a black dot with

concentric grey circles radiating from the centre. ut as you look at it,

preferably in silence, you find yourself not going outwards but being

drawn within — towards its core, to the heart of darkness perhaps, if

the walk through the paintings has moved you enough, to your very

own beginning. This is aza’s indu’. And its significance is not so

much the painting itself, but the fact that the simple, geometric form

tells the story of how Raza, who started out painting the beautiful

chaos and order of landscapes, ended up at the simple discipline of

what can be seen as the heart of all creation.

orn in , to a forest officer father and a homemaker mother,

aza’s passing two years ago possibly marked the end of an era of

artists who, in spirit and effort, understood the meaning of anarchy,

ART


and how it was possibly the only thing that propelled an artist to go

beyond what they knew or were taught. One of the founders of the

Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG), along with FN Souza, KH Ara, HA Gade,

F usain and S aker, aza, it would seem, was constantly in an

anarchic state of seeking. Whether it was a home he sought or a sense

of belonging, it is hard to tell but ‘Traversing Terrains’ establishes

Raza’s astonishing journey.

To trace how he arrived at the ‘Bindu’ is really to chart the course

of his artistic evolution. Having been formally trained at the Nagpur

School of Art and, later, the JJ School of Art in Mumbai, Raza began

as an expressionist painter of landscapes. As his involvement with

the PAG grew, the spirit of wanting to paint with complete freedom

— a part of the PAG credo — he soon found himself moving away

from expressionism towards Western modernism. It was his moving

to France (in 1950) that propelled this movement and what we see

today as rapid evolution, decade after decade, to arrive at the distilled

quality that his later work carried.

A belonging in FranceIn any form of exploration of Raza’s life, romantic stories of his

influences and moments that catalysed his work abound. From his

school teacher asking him to focus on a single dot in order to calm

his seeking, resting mind to the legend of him having chosen to stay

back in India while his family moved to akistan during the artition)

because of once having heard Gandhi speak, aza’s life seemed like

it had transformational brushes with change regularly. “The story of

his school teacher training him to look at a simple dot on the board

becoming the inspiration for the ‘Bindu’ series seems, to my mind, a

bit of an overreach. It might have been too early in his career for that

to have had any significant impact in relation with the indu’, says

Ashvin a agopalan, irector, iramal useum of Art, and a co-curator

of the exhibition.

“By 1965, he had already been in France for 15 years and you

could see the influence of his surroundings in his work. It was in ,

however, that he started to feel what I now suspect was a restlessness

for home and started to look at Indian miniature paintings. is work

from this decade has several elements of this style — clear cut borders,

inscriptions, among other things. asically, his work from this time

Facing page: S.H. Raza, Surya Namaskar, 1993, acrylic on canvas.Image courtesy: Piramal Museum of Art

Above: Raza in Galerie Lara Vincy, ParisImage courtesy: Galerie Lara Vincy Archives, Paris

To trace how

he arrived at

the ‘Bindu’ is

really to chart

the course

of his artistic

evolution


rovenance seems to be getting a better response, though. The ew Yorker cards and our

elgian and French chocolates are flying off the shelves, he claims. aving multiple brands

has helped generate more of an interest and it’s also helped us manage our supply issues. For

instance, when we import chocolates or cakes, we need to make sure it comes in, in a timely

manner, and the temperature is maintained through transit — that was really hard when we had

ust one brand, but now with multiple brands, and increased quantities, it’s become easier and

more economical to manage.

While the lack of direct competition means the profits are all theirs to en oy, it has also

created challenges of a different kind. eing first movers in the field, we have no benefit of

experience and the onus of proving the merit of the business lies on us, while others can learn

from our mistakes, says Gadhok. ot having enough direct competition also means we have

to compete with fashion and food & beverage brands, which have the distinct advantage of

being specialised, and therefore, having to invest in ust one direction. ut over the last couple

of years, the competition has definitely increased with a lot more players coming in. Things are

now starting to get interesting

The store keeps unusual postcards from The New Yorker

Goodies galore

THE LEELA MAGAZINE | 60 | AUTUMN 2018

“The New Yorker cards and our

Belgian and French chocolates are

ying off the shelves

PhotograPhy

Wonders of the world

Laura DalyDuntulm, Isle of Skye, Scotland

“on our last night on the Isle of Skye, we ventured just five minutes from our accommodation to Duntulm Castle at sunset. Sharing the hillside with the midges and the sheep, we launched the drone, knowing the ruins were best seen from above. I chose to include the bright blue water of the ocean as it perfectly complemented the lush green grass, especially with the soft sunset light catching the walls of the castle. the view from above captures the beauty and lure of Skye, both natural and man-made.”

the LeeLa MagazIne | 62 | autuMn 2018

From the dramatic and stormy

waters of the Baltic Sea to

the magnificent Icelandic

valley of Thor, ’Outdoor

Photographer of the Year:

Portfolio III’ is a collection

of 150 photographs from

one of the most respected

photography competitions in

the world. We take a look at

some of the most captivating

entries, with an explanation

from each photographer on

how they captured these

magical moments.

Photographs courtesy

Ammonite Press

Witold ZiomekThórsmörk (the valley of Thor), Iceland

“After a morning full of drama, during which we almost ‘drowned’ our car in a river — and then pulled out a young Frenchman who had — we reached Thórsmörk, in the south of celand e wal ed up to a viewpoint where we could see...exactly nothing, due to the fog e waited and eventually the fog started to lift, but I still needed to wait a lot longer for a car to appear in the perfect position to add a sense of scale to the mountain landscape.”

‘Outdoor Photographer of the Year: Portfolio III’ is published by Ammonite Press, RRP £25.


T he grand entrance of The Leela Palace Bengaluru leads

to an extravagant lobby designed in a very traditional

palatial style. The Royal Entrance, known as the Peacock

Lounge, has its close adaptation taken from the Durbar Hall of

the Mysore Palace. It is a symmetrically designed pillared hall

carved in pink sandstone with ornate and intricate detailing.

The entrance pillars are adorned with life-size figures of Yali,

a hippogriff or a giant mythical creature. The magnificent chandeliers,

the rich settees & chesterfields, the handsome dark furniture

and the stunning marbled courtyard has enchanted millions of

visitors and tourists, while giving an idea of the exuberant lifestyle

of the royals.

A palatial entrance

SNAPSHOT

Cuban nightsare here!

The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi

unveiled its much-awaited Cuban-themed

lounge Club Cuba recently. The launch saw

the who’s who of the city in attendance, with several

top socialites and renowned names from the world of

lifestyle and real estate.

Representing a thriving culture coupled with a

glamorous lifestyle, Club Cuba is a reflection of the

pulse of Cuba. The candle-lit interiors with a stunning

view of the pool form a spectacular setting, with Club

Cuba blending luxury with artistic Cuban detailing.

The trendy lounge offers an extravagant selection

of the finest beverages along with a banquet of the

most-loved specialties from Cuba. You’ll also find

an amalgamation of Cuban and Indian food, as well

as some fusion delicacies. The highlights are their

flaming drinks and simply scrumptious finger food.

With a great selection of music, cozy ambience,

and sumptuous food and drinks, Club Cuba is the

picture-perfect place to be!

Get set to party at Club Cuba, the Cuban-themed lounge at The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi.

The trendy lounge offers an extravagant selection of the finest beverages along with a banquet of the most-loved specialties from Cuba

LaunChpadLaunChpad


5 star hotels in india - luxury business & leisure hotels- the … leela aut… · with men and...

Documents