W.B YEATS SAYS...
"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper."

XII | January 21, 2021

THE EDITOR'S NOTE

Another week, another Portmanteau! 

The twelveth edition of Portmanteau brings with it stories of human endeavors and will. Our feature covers the spirit of the Oberoi Group and Mr Mohan Singh Oberoi's vision to bring luxury stays to India during a time where such a concept was inconceivable. We talk about the sheer determination it takes to sail around the world solo, an improbable passion that only a handful of people have achieved.  

Our Elysian for the month features the immaculate Geoffrey Bawa, one of Southeast Asia's most celebrated architects. And we have a twist this time in one of our sections! A simple take on how the world took to making booze at home when there was none outside, along with some guidelines. 

The Travel Record for this edition is a playlist by The Cape hotel, to get you into the mood for a coastal adventure. This edition's Reel features literary works from some of the greatest minds that have been turned into movies. I wonder what our Owl has to say about that...

We hope you enjoy the twelveth edition of Portmanteau. As always, we welcome feedback and suggestions from all our readers. 

Sharing the mutual love for travel!

Ashish

01 Stories That Matter

A deep dive into a story that's arcane, thoughtful, and sometimes humorous!

oberoi

The Oberoi Story In India

Life comes a full circle with opportunities seized, luxury redefined, once fleeing from and once running toward a tragedy.

Mohan Singh Oberoi was propitiously born on August 15 1898, sharing the date with the birth of a nation that he almost single-handedly helped redefine. 

Born in erstwhile undivided Punjab, now in Pakistan, Mohan Singh Oberoi lost his father early on and had anything but a pampered childhood leading him to become fiercely independent at a young age. Understanding the value of education, he enrolled in a Rawalpindi College for the BA program.

Upon successfully completing it, fled Rawalpindi fearing the plague that was raging in the city. He decided to seek his fortunes at the summer capital of the British, Shimla. Perhaps the temporary agoraphobia brought on by the plague ravishing cities or the appeal of mountains, the serendipity is legendary, for Mohan Singh Oberoi and the rest of us for whom he blazed the path of luxury travel and hospitality for.

Penniless and desperate, yet fortune favoured Mohan Singh Oberoi giving him a break as a Desk Clerk at the Cecil Hotel in Shimla. Here he was taken under the wings by Mr Grove and later by Mr Clarke, impressed by his diligence, enthusiasm and intelligence. Mohan Singh Oberoi on his part shouldered more than his job description, endearing himself to all, so much so that when Mr Clarke bought a hotel in Shimla, he hired Mohan Singh Oberoi as his Man Friday. This is where Mohan Singh Oberoi learnt all the ropes of luxury hospitality pleasing the English guests.

In 1934, when Mr Clarke decided to retire, selling the hotel, Mohan Singh Oberoi jumped to seize the opportunity, mortgaging his wife’s jewels to buy The Clarke’s Hotel. As they say, rest is history. Five years later, another opportunity presented itself, this time the cholera epidemic ravaged Calcutta was the setting. Instead of running away from the suffering city, Mohan Singh Oberoi decided to run to it. He signed the lease to take over the 500 room Grand Hotel in Calcutta, transforming it into the epitome of luxury hotels. Thus was born Oberoi Hotels, the single defining feature of travel and tourism that transformed India for the entire world.

With his characteristic flair and panache, Mohan Singh Oberoi went on to set up many more hotels and transform old, dilapidated palaces that dotted the Indian landscapes, restoring them to their past glory and then some. All these put India firmly on the global travel map, making Oberoi a household name in India, aspirational and comforting and familiar brand for the travellers of the world.

Recognizing his contribution, the British bestowed upon him the title of Rai Bahadur and a tsunami of accolades and titles washed over his person and the Oberoi Hotels he lovingly created. Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi presented India on a platter to the world, to explore and indulge in.

Today, with over 35 hotels, two luxury river cruises on the Nile and Kerala across many countries, Oberoi Hotels is the benchmark of luxury travel and hospitality creating experiences and indulgences tempered by a degree of customization and personalization that have elicited uncountable smiles and innumerable joyful memories.


02 What You Found When Grounded

When you’re stuck home and the wine shops are closed, what do you do?  

Homebrewed Alcohol

Become your own distiller. Just be careful while you're at it.   No one anticipated that 2020 would see most of us grounded in our own spaces, sans warning. With everyone shutting shop, we were starved of one non essential commodity that might just have lifted our spirits (no pun intended) during lock-down

The lack of alcoholic beverages meant that people had to turn over a new leaf and switch to a healthier lifestyle, which did wonders. But for those that had the time, inclination and a lot of sugar, another possibility emerged: If you can’t buy it, make it!


Alcohol is essentially an ethanol based concoction. When yeast is added to sugary water, the yeast snacks on the sugar and breaks it down, releasing the component that makes us tipsy. Of course, there is a lot of nuance and finer detail into making the perfect drink which is why a good bottle costs so much. But at its core, a simple alcoholic beverage can definitely be made with no more than sugar, water and flavoring agents. However, there are key points to remember when brewing up your own batch: 
 
    Safety And Legality: There is no other way to go about this: Alcohol can be injurious to health if not consumed responsibly. And homemade alcohol also has the added risk of being made in unsanitized conditions. Make sure every single component being used in the process, from bottles to vessels to caps, are properly sanitized.   There is also (understandably) a legal restriction on brewing alcohol at home in some parts of the world, so check with local laws before you scurry off to buy ingredients. 

    Quality: As with anything great, it takes time and patience to develop a good bottle of beer or wine. And don’t expect craft level quality from the very first batch!  

    Investment:
    Home brewing can be as inexpensive or exorbitant as you want, depending on what you are going for. Brewing simple beverages like ginger beer cost next to nothing, but brewing craft beers require specialized airlocks, fermenting tanks and good quality grain and yeast.
With these out of the way, we recommend that you start with low-alcohol beverages first like ginger beer or Tepache, a traditional fermented beverage from Mexico. The more adventurous can try out kilju, a low-quality-but-high-alcohol content beverage from Finland. And as we’ve said before, enjoy responsibly! 


03 Let's Get Comical

How prepared are you for your travels? 

04 The Reel

The great literary works that we love and cherish have also come to life on the big screen!

Every child with a sweet tooth will have heard of this classic. A young boy from a poor background wins the ticket of a lifetime: To visit a chocolate factory for an entire day!

Roald Dahl’s writing comes alive in this hilarious and slightly dark film about 5 competition winners who get what they deserve. 4 brats of the highest order who rightfully deserve the mess they get themselves into eventually, and Charlie, the innocent lad who lands the biggest prize of them all.

One of Johnny Depp’s most amusing roles (you can barely tell it’s him!) with some heartwarming moments along with addictive songs, Charlie And The Chocolate factory is a worthy adaptation of the novel.



You all probably knew this was on the list, didn’t you? If you haven’t seen Mario Puzo’s classic tale of the Italian mafia of America come to life, now is probably the best time.

Watch the long but intense story of how the Corleone crime family goes from a seemingly harmless vice of gambling and union related crime into drugs and other more potent acts thanks to mafia politics. Along with the rise of Michael Corleone as the new head of the family, the film is a beautiful portrayal of a hesitant son’s entry into a completely different life.

With star performances from Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, the Godfather has every reason to be #2 on the IMDB Top 250. A serious watch, but a gripping one. 



Scott Fitzgerald’s novel about extravagance, parties and mystery come to life thanks to the stellar performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Debicki.

In 1922, the golden age of America, Nick, a young Wall Street stockbroker moves to Long Island, next to a millionaire with a flair for the dramatic and a single name: Gatsby. Soon, he receives an invitation to attend Gatsby’s party, an over the top affair where he is the only one to ever receive an actual invitation and the rest of the attendees just show up unannounced. From there, Nick becomes friends with Gatsby, and the story takes a very different turn as Nick becomes responsible for reuniting Gatsby with the love of his life.

The Great Gatsby was a hallmark novel in America despite initially negative reviews, and the movie does every justice to this wonderful book.

05 Improbable Places

What does it take to sail around the world, solo?

Sailing Around The World, Solo

We’ve all heard the stories of the legendary Ferdinand Magellan. Nearly 500 years ago, the Portuguese naval officer became the first human to start a journey at one point and travel around the world with his ships returning home, albeit bruised and battered. 

 From then on, the itch to     circumnavigate the Earth has  affected many a brave  navigator. Despite the modern age making lives easier, sailing is somehow the one adventure that hasn’t become a more achievable feat.

Every year, dozens of people set out to undertake various circumnavigation challenges, either completely solo or with sponsors. Less than a handful ever achieve the task. In 2017, Alex Thomson became the first person to navigate around the world the fastest with a time of 74 days, 19 hours, 35 minutes. The record was clinched while competing in the Vendée Globe, a global sailing competition where the fastest time can only be set if you sail non stop.

Why is it this difficult? For starters, despite all your precautions, nothing can prepare you for the sheer brutality of the oceans. There are no warnings, very few failsafes and no one to help if things don’t go your way. Your mental and physical fortitude is taken above and beyond the limit. The line between day and night starts to blur, and sleep is a luxury that you cannot afford since you are racing against the clock: And the next storm.
But it’s not always a pain. Nor does it have to be competitive. Luxury yacht tours that take you around the globe allow you to enjoy life at a normal pace. You also have the option of sailing solo, sans stopwatches and checkpoints. In fact, there are several young sailors who have completed the impossible on their own, without sponsors even. Zak Sunderland became the youngest American to ever sail around the world at no older than 16 years old. He was the youngest human to achieve the feat for a while, before that title was unofficially awarded to Michael Perham.
So when do you plan to set sail, skipper?


06 The Thinking Owl

To everyone who's ever said the books are better than the movies: I don't care. Enjoy both. 

07 Food for Thought

A brilliant recipe from the Ministry Of Crab, pioneers in sustainable seafood!

The Ministry Of Crab is a Sri Lankan enterprise run by Dharshan Munidasa, a native chef and restaurateur whose passion for fresh ingredients and sustainable cuisine demands that his catch always be delivered to the restaurant every single day. 

The best part? no food is allowed to be stored in freezers. Here is a simple recipe for some garlic chilli crab from the kitchens of the Ministry!
This recipe will have you appreciate the true taste of fresh crab. 

Garlic Chilli Crab

Ingredients
  • 1kg crab
  • 150ml olive oil
  • 2 Tbs chopped garlic
  • 150ml chicken stock
  • 3 Tbs soy sauce
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
Method
 1. Clean the crab and cut it into six pieces.
 2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan.
 3. Sauté the garlic until golden brown.
 4. Stir in the chilli flakes.
 5. Add the crab and do a quick stir.
 6. Add chicken stock and cook for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on size of the crab).
 7. Reduce the stock on high heat until only the oil remains.
 8. Stir in the soy sauce.

08 The Travel Record

An inspired party playlist from The Cape, a Thompson hotel in the Baja California region.

09 Puzzled?

Puzzles to get your neurons firing.

10 The Elysian

One man from Sri Lanka was responsible for setting a new trend in architecture in Asia, and eventually around the world.  

Geoffrey Bawa, maestro in architecture

Art is sometimes an explosion of ideas and colors put down on pen, paper or screen. Sometimes however, it is also on display through the world’s buildings and monuments. 

A more subtle practice that few people championed throughout human history. One such man was undoubtedly Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa. Or Geoffrey Bawa for short.   

A man who was torn between his European and Asian heritage, Bawa was originally a lawyer by profession having studied at one of London’s most prestigious law colleges, Middle Temple. His desire to shape the world around him bloomed when he purchased Lunuganga Estate from an inheritance after the tragic loss of both his parents and he set out redoing the entire land in a style that reflected his love for the coastlines he grew up in. Little did he know that this was the genesis for modern Sri Lankan architecture and that he would be the forerunner of the movement.

Having now fully sunk himself into his architecture, Bawa soon began working as an apprentice with an architecture firm to hone his knowledge of the craft, as he was still technically struggling. Eventually, the academic in him took him back to Cambridge, where he gained a diploma in architecture.
And what of his projects? The perfect blend of Mediterranean and Sri Lankan elements, Bawa’s works can be seen all over Sri Lanka. His finer works include the Parliament House in 1982 and the Ratnasivaratnam House in 1979, along with his own private estate and heritage home. The Lunuganga Estate’s garden is one of Sri Lanka’s most breathtaking sights. Mediterranean, Japanese, Sri Lankan and Bacchalite influences govern most of the architecture within the garden walls and also command influence over the gardens themselves with perfectly trimmed bonsai and vast native vegetation growing together in harmony. The Lunuganga Estate is also one that can be experienced for yourself; luxury suites that were (of course) personally designed by Bawa, can be reserved for a night’s stay.


Do you feel like contributing?

Fill in the form to be featured on PORTMANTEAU

LET'S TALK

+91 124 4117667

LET'S MEET

Unit # 109, Tower A, Urban Square, Golf Course Extension Road, Sector 62, Gurgaon - 122011

PREFER EMAIL?

experts@leisureways.in


© Copyright 2020 Leisure Ways - All Rights Reserved