Partha's Travelogue

On 30-December-2018, we celebrated Deepshree’s birthday at Vivanta by Taj, MG Road, Bangalore. In 2017, we had celebrated this day at Vivanta By Taj, Begumpet, Hyderabad. In, 2016, we were at Vivanta by Taj, Duala Kuan, New Delhi. So, it was a hattrick of celebrating Deepshree’s birthday at Taj.

In 2016, only 2 of us were present. In 2017, we were 5 of us – Deepshree, Riya, Ranoo, Bhavitha and I. This year we were a even bigger gang comprising Maa, Deepshree, Riya, Ranoo, Ujwala, Bhavitha and I.

Though I knew that Taj, MG Road was undergoing renovation work, I decided that we would go there. This is the only Taj Hotel in Bangalore that I have been to till date. Though I know that there are 4 or more Vivanta by Taj hotels in Bangalore, I prefer the MG Road hotel as this is the original and the one I have been knowing since 1975.

The usual restaurant on the Ground Floor was still under renovation and would be opened the next day on 31-Dec-2018 for the New Year celebration. So, we went to the restaurant on the first floor where they were serving Indian food.

When we entered the restaurant, there was wonderful English songs from the 1970s being sung by a lone singer. The rendition was just too good.

The restaurant was fairly well decorated.

We got our table right next to the singer.

Knowing that everyone would have different choices for food, I decided that we would join the buffet. There were 2 options – with alcohol buffet and without alcohol buffet. We opted for the without alcohol buffet for all. As Bhavitha is still a kid, Bhavitha was considered for Child buffet.

After we were all seated and some of us started finding out what the buffet contained, I went over to the counter and told the Taj official that it was Deepshree’s birthday and whether they could arrange a cake. They readily told me that it was no big deal. I further asked them whether the cake could be sugar-free. They came back after a few minutes and told me that sugar-free cake would not be possible. So, we agreed for a regular cake.

All of us got some starters. Taj had some bar-be-que as part of the buffet. They started serving those comprising chicken, prawns, mutton, etc. They also brought vegetarian options like paneer grills, hara vara kabaab, etc.

We could also order any juices and I ordered a Water Melon juice while the others ordered their choices.

Soon one of the waiters came and asked me whether he could get the cake. I told him to do so. He then asked for Deepshree’s name. I gave it to him. Soon, he brought the cake and placed it front of Deepshree. She was pleasantly surprised.

So, we all got ready for the celebration. As soon as Deepshree got ready, the musician started playing “Happy Birthday” song. This surprised Deepshree even more. Then while she was cutting the cake, the singer sang “Happy Birthday Deepshree”. This was the ultimate surprise for Deepshree.

After the cake cutting, we all went about having whatever each of us liked. Bhavitha liked the Pani Puri very much and had 3 plates of Pani Puri.

After lunch, everyone loitered around the areas of the hotel permissible for us and clicked photographs. I paid for the lunch. Taj did not charge for the cake. They packed the cake neatly and gave it to us.

Then we all came down to the lobby. But the photo session continued.

Once we were all done, I requested the valet to get our Innova. We packed ourselves inside it and returned home.