1000 & One Nights

It was a night to remember, written in the stars.  In the velvet night there were drums, a wild tattoo suddenly sounding in the silent gardens.  There were lights and behind the phosphorescent glare camels and horses, a 15 piece marching band waiting in the wings: the soft rumble of brass horns, tubas trumpets, and clarinets, the pulsing anticipation of what was to come. 

And from nowhere came a boy showering guest in rose petals and sounding the marching band into a crescendo, with wild energy and a blazing smile.  From behind this boisterous band, atop a white horse, she sat, with peacock plume and disco shorts, with golden bangles and knee high boots: the woman of the evening, the mistress of the party, a unicorn in disguise and the reason all were assembled.  She was the DJ leading her band of revelers into a new world of delight:  the world of Caffé Palladio.

In flurries of rose petals, amidst dancing, the cacophony of the marching band, a merry troupe left from the high palace gates entering into the quiet chaos of the street.  The procession, styled after an India wedding baraat, was the first in a series of incredible happenings, the first taste of the Pink City’s best party: the opening of Caffé Palladio Jaipur.

The party was intended as a marriage between Bar Palladio and a rosy bride, the new Caffé Palladio, a disco procession in celebration of the unveiling of this new project.  The procession wound along the street bringing passersby into its shimmering orbit, heading down lanes where tunes played on brass horns brought neighbors to their windows, the horses neighing and the camels solemnly carrying guests dressed as princes: together in celebration of the Caffé Palladio Party.

And what did they all see once they finally entered through the pistachio colored gates?  It was a stunned silence, their breathe spirited away by such exquisite beauty.

To enter into Caffe Palladio this night was to enter into a candlelight dream, a theatre of beauty, twinkling under the night sky.