Date: 18th – 19th November 2017
Venue: The Magnolia, DLF5

Urdu poetry recited by Murad Ali – champagne in flute glasses – Awadhi cuisine in open air. This is what winter dreams are made of. DLF5, the super cool new luxury address on Golf Course Road, Gurgaon recently brought this dream to life over last weekend. They organised two cultural events at this property that covered art, poetry and dinner.

We attended the event on the first evening and this was a star studded affair. Paintings by the Delhi based artist Arshi Ahmed were displayed at the beautiful Magnolia Ball Room. Heavy sarees and flowing kurtas upped the oomph in the beautiful venue The multi-faceted film maker cum fashion designer Muzaffar Ali introduced the evening, and through his excellent oratory, had the house in all attention. Murad next took the stage and with the accompaniment of sarangi, he recited one well known Urdu couplet after another. True to the name of the event Yaad-e-Raftagaan, the timeless pieces had the audience recite along. The verses had attained cult status when set to music as songs and no wonder the house wanted more. Hence, on encore, Murad recited the ghazal – “Aaj jaane ki zid na karo“.

Meanwhile a lavish dinner, curated by Maashra, was laid out on the sprawling lawn outside. Fairy lights had transformed the garden into a dream land. This was a private dining experience by Meera and Muzaffar Ali. The Awadhi spread comprising of salads, main course and desserts greeted the diners. Soft kebabs, not over powered with chilli powder, but enhanced by aromatic spices, went beautifully with the Yakhni Polao and mildly sweet sheermal bread. In fact, balance seemed to be the order that evening. The beet-root halwa, gourd halwa and jalebis/rabri were moderately sweet, just the way we like, and left lingering taste in the mouth. The post dinner tea helped to settle the food.

Gurgaon is a concrete jungle they say. Post Epicentre, the culture scene in Gurgaon does not have much future they say. DLF5’s initiative is a befitting response to such depressing view. The event was a beautiful harbinger to the bouyant culture scene during winter in Delhi NCR. Delhi-Fun-Dos team is happy to be part of Yaad-e-Raftagaan, a lovely Fun-Do, in Gurgaon.