Life lessons
Met two successful entrepreneurial businessmen on two different occasions. The rise to success always makes for a heady tale, and so it was! I found it interesting not just meeting them but being privy to their stories and being a party to the confession of some very intriguing secrets of their climb up.
One was Hemant Bakshi, already well-known as the erstwhile super boss of HLL Indonesia. He moved to OLA, joining Bhavish Aggarwal as a consultant. One of his approaches to understanding the business was to begin from scratch, so to speak. He took to the wheel and drove passengers around as a common cabby on chosen days, going on to consult the company from a position of strength born of his firsthand knowledge.
The second was 38-year-old Gaurav Choksey, who has a chain of five successful restaurants, having begun with his first at the age of 21 with no background in the specialized business but a long-time dream. His success lay in beginning by taking a cook chef as a partner and presenting memorable cuisine. Of course, the rise was predictable, and his acumen is evident in how he still picks the best chefs/cooks he knows as partners. We heard his story while enjoying truly tasty dishes at his verandah and terrace restaurant cum bar atop the Atria mall—itself an interesting story of a neglected terrace with twigs and rubble and pigeon nests transformed into a swish ambience of fountains, glass cabanas, and tall real palm trees.
And he does not take it for granted. “I visit each restaurant every day, and my workday may often be 16+ hours. I go into the kitchen, sleeves up to my elbows, and wash the dishes. I am not the boss-man; we are a team!”
That says it all!
What I learned from these encounters was that success follows a vision, passion, and unwavering commitment. You do the job, learn it from the ground up, and put in your all!
Both these conversations happened at different shores. One conversation occurred at a dinner in Singapore at a swish Sentosa seaside deck over some Malbec with Hemant and Roshni Bakshi, and the other at the VFS dinner hosted by Vinod Advani at Zerua, the rooftop restaurant at Atria owned by Gaurav Choksey. Both were deep conversations about life philosophies.
In loving memory
Life is very unpredictable, sudden, and transient, and one can never tell when someone comes suddenly to make magic in it and then leaves as suddenly. For me, Zila was that.
When I visited Tel Aviv for the first time, I was asked by Sam Pitrodia’s wife as well as my Israeli friend Aya Foegal where I’d like to shop. I told them I’d rather see the art and Roman archaeological sites. Aya leapt with joy and said that I have a twin in Israel called Zila. That was the beginning of a long friendship for some 16 years, and then—poof—she left us for other realms, giving in to the big C. She left behind a big abyss and pain in my heart and unimaginable hurt to her very handsome Don of a husband, Giora.
To commemorate her life, I hosted a private exclusive dinner with the Israeli Consul General Kobbi Shoshani, attended by some art lovers, and we released a beautiful tome chronicling her life’s collection of Art. The evening included Smita Deepak Parekh, Jalaj and Vita Dani, celebrity plastic surgeon Anil Tibrewala, Nikhil Chaturvedi, lawyer Abha Singh, actor Gautam Kapur, author Ashwin Sanghi, food aficionado Rashmi Uday Singh, Vinod Advani, and many more friends. The Israeli music and food made for a poignant but special evening.
Brunch time
Good friends Karishma and Dhruv Seth had a grand Sunday brunch with a spring theme in the middle of a Mumbai ‘winter’ if you could call it that at a grand multi level terrace garden with flowers and fruits as embellishment exemplifying the spring theme! The pyt’s dressed in mini skirts peppered the sunshine terrace and made for a colourful spring lunch juxtaposed with saffron crimson and chartreuse cocktails in many stemmed glasses and garnishes floating around on trays carried around by penguin like liveried waiters!
We took many pictures and ate the cocktail snacks served in tiny tasting portion dainty bowls – a concept I always enjoy. Karishma is a special friend who is always experimenting with new and exciting career possibilities and I enjoy her creative zeal immensely!
Birthday revelry
Evergreen and always lovely Queenie Singh’s birthday had the entire page-three brigade partying unto the wee hours of the morning at the newly opened Bastian Chinois with large French windows opening out into an open expanse, giving a kind of out-of-Mumbai experience.
I wanted to swing by for a few minutes but stayed nearly an hour because of the charm of the venue! The ceiling’s black and ecru stripes were the piece de resistance. Models from Queenie’s vintage Coleen Khqn, Reshma Bombaywala, Suzanne Pillai looked stunning in jewel coloured cocktail dresses ; while the trans models came out in super flamboyant gowns and headgear.
The ‘Bollywood wives’ Maheep, Seema, Bhavana hung together while the original blue chip Bollywood wife Gauri Khan held court! The one that out- dazzled all however was Londonwalli singer songwriter Kanika Kapoor not only by her silver outfit but her warmth and smile! She has just released ‘Sui Ve Sui’ with the Meet brothers in her typical throaty baby doll voice! Exuberant and affectionate as always – she remains a favorite with me!
Can you imagine- coincidentally, just today, Shilpa Shetty called to say, “Nish, I must take you to my all new restaurant at Peninsula Corporate Park -Bastian Chinois which has just opened -.” I’ve saved my food tasting for an outing with her – more on my future date with her soon!
Watch this space.
(Write to Nisha at nishjamwal@gmail.com)
