Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
ALIVE and kicking
|
ADITI DE caught Bangalore Live at the dizzy heights of Zero G
|
Round-the-clock, Zero G pulses to a different beat — Photo: K. Murali Kumar
THERE'S something strange about Zero Gravity, the rooftop resto-bar that's Bangalore's most happening spot. Round-the-clock, it pulses to a different beat. Whether corporate events or jazz, it's always alive. And that's what's been drawing the city's best to its dizzy heights since June last year.
Recently, the crowds under its overlapping, white parachute-cloth panels — that keep the rain out and the stars almost in — were treated to another scintillating evening of Bangalore Live. In one of the Sunday music events curated by brilliant guitarist-composer Amit Heri, the Gerard Machado Network launched into sparring, rolling jazz rhythms, with a little help from a friend — the throaty, bluesy talent of Arati Rao Shetty.
The funky feel, the riveting riffs, suggested the club, rather than the pub. The cocktails and beer, the chicken kebabs and fish fingers, flowed by the split-level floors, sans the claustrophobic, smoky ambience of most drinking dens. That's just the way Ankush Bhatia of Zero G would want it. So would Heri.
On yet another Sunday, over 500 people at Zero G swung spontaneously to salsa, induced by Kolkata's Orient Express. Is Brazil the mood of the moment in Bangalore? But there was more in store. Chennai's Oikyotan whizzed in with folk and world music, followed by contemporary jazz by Interplay, featuring renowned bassist Karl Peters, drummer-composer Adrian D'Souza, and keyboard whiz Harmeet Manseta... The rapturous reception so far should spur Heri towards an annual event schedule. That's Bangalore Live and rocking.
Bhatia, who arrived in Bangalore four years ago to set up Megabowl, is on a hot trail. "I'm a businessman," he says, "so I left it to Amit to find the right musicians. What do I know about that?" But he does understand the commerce of entertainment, judging by the 1,500-plus people who jammed his space on New Year's Day. Or his brilliant Hutch launch. Or the fun-laced, in-house training spaces at The Summit, overlooking the mind-boggling cityscape, that he offers corporate houses, including Arvind Mills. How come? Because Bhatia was an international event manager, who ran a Delhi disco, before Bangalore beckoned.
Back to Bangalore Live. "I've played at New York's jazz clubs," says soft-spoken, Berklee-trained Heri. "Zero G is such a nice, open place. I wanted to set it up like a music or jazz club. A concert is one way to listen to music, while a club offers a different experience. Too many of the younger generation are so boxed in, listening only to TV stuff. I'd like to open their minds to original music."
What of Monday to Saturday? On Wednesdays, it's Zero G's Bollywood Ishtyle — perhaps with a Gabbar Singh mood, followed by variations aplenty. And if the night seems young after 11.30, you can dance away your high spirits at Insanity, the disco with mad décor and music to match, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
You could be surprised by a sombrero-topped waiter, selling shots of tequila. Or plan a Raindance in the sparkling pool that invites the outdoors in.
Or even try the open kitchen at Ooomph, the Continental restaurant with impeccable glassware and starched linen — where the chef tosses up lobster a la mode or a personalised steak, just the way you like it.
That's what makes Bhatia's entrepreneurial expertise exceptional. Far from a teeny-bopper scene with DJs, Zero G appeals equally to kid-studded families out for a jazz experience, or a chicks-only party, or a woman executive entertaining corporate visitors.
Its alternate entertainment included February's international Attakkalari Biennial of dance, taking off from its slanted roof spaces and the snazzily-lit bar.
Zero G morphs into difference experiences, each customized to please. The gravity-defying décor, the sharp conceptual intelligence, may lighten your pockets considerably. But there's no denying that Bhatia's rooftop is heady from the moment the psychedelically painted lift zooms you to your destination.
(Zero G is on the 10th floor of Prestige Towers, Residency Road. Call 22079014 for more information.)
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
|
