Date: 17 June 2018
Venue: Fabindia, Vasant Kunj

Dads in Delhi NCR finally had a glam moment last Sunday. LBB and Fabindia had collaborated for a Fab brunch at Fabcafe, Local Market Complex, Vasant Kunj to celebrate Father’s Day. We were invited to this attend this event with our father.

Between both of us, I was available to attend the event. But I had lost my father more than a decade back. It was a little sad till I had a spark – my eureka moment. My neighbourhood uncle Dr. Pranab Ghosh is defacto father to me in Gurgaon. I call him Kaku. He checks on me regularly and is concerned when my car is not parked early in the morning. This was my opportunity to express my gratitude for all the affection and numerous slices of cooked fish he has bestowed on me. The best thing was when I extended the event invite to Kaku – he agreed.

It was a moderately sunny last Sunday when Kaku and I reached the Fabindia store at about 11:15 a.m. We were ushered to the designated area where invited guests were waiting with their fathers for the event. Gauri Awasthi from Fabindia explained the proceedings. It was fairly simple. They started with “Style your Dad” session. We had to select clothes from the men’s section for our fathers. They would then have to change into these items and then take photographs at the Father’s Day standee on the floor. This was to be followed by brunch at their café one level up.

Kaku is a simple man – an old school academician with no particular interest in sartorial matters. Yet, living up to the spirit of the event, he humoured me and we landed up selecting a bespoke Indigo print shirt – something bright but not gaudy.

Fabindia also carries a wide stock of short kurtas. Short kurta is called ‘fotua’ in Bengal and is considered home wear. I see Kaku wearing fotuas almost always. Hence, I selected a short kurta for him – a step up from the super modest fotuas he wears otherwise. He looked so cool in this! But since the Indigo print shirt was the dressier one, Kaku changed into that for the mandatory photo session. We could see a lot of energy in the air as children chose and sometimes imposed pieces of clothes on their reluctant fathers. But while getting clicked, everybody was beaming; such was the happy vibes at the place.

After most participants were done, we were called to Fabcafe. A very healthy but sumptuous looking spread was awaiting us. The brunch menu had a host of salads, cereal based dishes, juices, cold coffee, buns, cake et cetera. We filled our plates from the buffet and I loved the quinoa pulao with jack fruit pieces. It was a very interesting take on the somewhat bland quinoa. The salads with the generous usage of beetroot looked and tasted great. But for me the star was the pan dish that had poached eggs cooked on a vegetable base. This was a complete meal, and look wise, Instagrammer’s delight. Kaku liked the Aam Panna the best and he began and ended his meal with that.

The simple event was coming to an end. While I was missing my father a little bit, I felt blessed that providence had given me this opportunity of celebrating through the fantastic new connects that I had made in the course of life.

On our way out, Gauri handed Kaku a hamper box with beautiful Indigo print and Father’s Day prominently printed in gold. The box contained toiletry products and Kaku seemed touched at this gesture. But wait there was more! Priya from LBB was waiting in at the checkout counter with a Fabindia bag. The bag contained those pieces of clothes that I had selected for Kaku during the “Style your Dad” session. This was indeed a huge surprise and a thoughtful one too.

And this got us thinking. Truth be told, this was a promotional activity. As bloggers, we keep attending such events. However, the good thought behind the Father’s Day program made it more than a publicity project and we were never so moved by an event. The event had a soul that touched and tied all the fathers and their wards who had assembled there that afternoon. Fabindia celebrates India they say. The way they adopted the foreign Father’s Day celebration and gave it an Indian twist was a fit response to any parochial puritanism. We are glad that LBB and Fabindia thought of such a poignant celebration and had us over.