LETTER FROM THE EDITOR- IN- CHIEF
found comfort in the same set of arms for long, returned to nest at the Argyle hotel in Los Angeles with obsessive regularity? Or why the style icon Coco Chanel chose to roost at the Ritz Hotel in Paris for 37 years right until her death in 1971. It’s easy to understand the need for familiarity while basking in the warm cocoon of comfort.
But it isn’t just about indulging rock star fantasies and offering cribs that promise fussy marble, overdramatic underlighting, private plunge pools, bulletproof glass, mid- air spa baths, or 24- hour butlers. Sometimes, the allure can be as ethereal as an epic view. Spice flits across the country on a unique quest across opulent boudoirs in luxury hotels that offer the most staggering views. Consider waking up to the sun- drenched façade of the Taj Mahal glistening ethereal from your bedroom window at the Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra; or the luxury of a sundowner, floating on the backwaters of Kerala enjoying a view that epitomises the epithet of ‘ God’s own country’ at the Lalit resorts and spa, Bekal. Better still, revel in the perfect blue cloud day with unbroken views of the Nanda Devi at Shakti 360° in Leti, Kumaon.
We believe that exceptional destinations have to be journeyed in a very exclusive way. That means, nudging the wanderlust to a host of less conventional possibilities like a thrilling chase of the primal on a riding safari across the Thar. Romance the sunset to the rhyme of a camel’s trundle across the desert; taking the time to appreciate not only what you see but also what you hear, what you smell, what you taste, and making it count. The idea is to travel with an open mind, and explore with an adventurous spirit, so you return home, not just with a tan and a tale, but a new awareness that could alter the course of your life.
While horse, camel and elephant safaris ride the wave of nostalgia, harking back to the rhythm of gentler times, Spice’s next port of call effortlessly straddles the past and the present on a far less strenuous stage. We explore the burgeoning realm of Chennai’s new identity as a luxury hub; reinventing its image by inviting the biggest and best brands into its fold; celebrating the birth of several new luxury hotels and its first super car club— the Madras Exotic Car Club ( MECC)— to pay homage to its evolving spirit.
For those who do not like to dilute their water of life experience with accoutrements, however savoury, can delight in the mellow warmth of Glenmorangie’s amber gold at its distillery in Tain, Scotland where beauty is what you drink and the malts, an epitome of its savoir vivre. While the pursuit of perfection is a compelling journey, great whisky belies the repetition of its manufacturers and defies the familiarity of its ingredients.
The risk of ritual is inertia; Spice bears testimony to the alchemy that transforms the glorious to the legendary.
( Aroon Purie)