JOIN USIn the midst of a bazaar
A cool evening in July with a hint of rain and the Olive Beach was soon transformed its white Mediterranean interiors into a blaze of colour and pageantry by recreating the souks of Marrakesh and Damascus.
Bazaars are places that come alive with colourful goods that spill over into little alleys and bylanes while buyers haggle their way through with wily merchants.
With a fair amount or rearranging of furniture and creative space allocation, there were makeshift stalls set up in and around the periphery of the dining areas decked with gauzy yashmaks and sequinned belly dancer accessories. This was close enough to the urban interpretation of a bazaar minus the haggling and the wily merchants.
Celebrity DJ Iggy rocked the house with his special mix of underground, electro jazz, ambient and slo-mo disco and the night market stalls set up with an eclectic array of contemporary clothing and accessories, fun jewellery, home decor and gift items there was plenty of interest and flavour in the air to keep the diners occupied with some well-defined retail therapy.
What was on offer at the different stalls were Amanda Bachalli's range of smart casuals and formals for men and women, Ants the NGO from Orissa with their specialised black pottery, clothes, home furnishings and jewellery from the North East, The Glashopper's stained glass creations which included Tiffany style lamps and dangling sun catchers, Sara Idiculla's selection of handmade jewellery, Psybaba’s psychedelic hippy chic with clothes and accessories, Myeisha’s clothes for women, and PAWS, the pet store, with goodies for cats and dogs. As people drifted in and out, browsed through the stalls and settled on their buys, there was an air of frivolous fun and relaxed socialising perfect to break up the monotony of the week with a lively Thursday night.
“Unfortunately, all the good music goes to waste with this bizarre no-dancing rule in place so one has to resort to shopping instead,” said Shonali, a visitor from Delhi who was out to sample some of the City's restrained night life.