COLUMN
New York, New York
By Suhel Seth
NOV — DEC 2012
have often been asked to define luxury and my response has always been that if you could define luxury, then it would defeat its very meaning.
Luxury is personal. It is not a badge of honour because all those who tell you it is critical to carry a Birkin croc have no clue about luxury. In fact luxury has never been about brands. It has always been about the self. And the ultimate luxury is the luxury of time – the time to holiday; the time to browse; the time to indulge in your favourite pleasures whether it’s a walk in a park, admiring the painful pathos of a Van Gogh work in a museum, or for that matter engaging in dinner-time conversation with Daniel Mendelsohn, the venerate American litterateur. It is these moments that one can describe as pure luxury and not some silly shopping spree that you would undertake either down 5th Avenue or Sloane Street.
I have always believed in luxurious holidays: only because I believe that it is important for the mind and body to unwind and luxuriate in the small pleasures of life which we often ignore. And those pleasures could range from staring at squirrels play with each other, to reading a fine book by Peter Bergen in the verdant surroundings of Central Park. The
reason why this is luxury is because it cannot be bought in a shop or in a mall. I always spend summers between New York and London – one month in New York and another month in London. For me London is the hub to explore Europe. This year my month in New York began with the advent of spring in late April (there is no better season to spend in New York than spring). There is almost a revival of senses and feelings and the joys of warm weather are so visible in every New Yorker’s face. I began my trip by first indulging myself in art and gladly accepted an invitation from the Chairman of Sotheby’s to attend a private dinner where this much-talked about painting – The Scream – was on display. It was a dinner for 18 people. And there was much anticipation as to how much Eduard Munch’s masterpiece would eventually sell for. It sold later that week for $120 million. But more than the painting, it was the conversation that was interesting. Here I was, surrounded by connoisseurs of art and good taste, and the conversation ranged from Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins to Malcolm Gladwell. As I approached the seat with my name-card, I looked to my right and discovered I was seated next to Sharon Stone. Now where on earth would you expect to be seated at a dinner next to the woman you spent your youth drooling over. But Stone is no bimbo. Remember she was married to the Editor of the Boston Globe and our conversation centered on India and mysticism. More than the conversation, it was her demeanour which set Stone apart: no fuss, no entourage and as the evening got over, she got into a cab and off she was. No fawning chauffeurs and over-sized cars.
My next few days were equally art-drenched. The Frieze Art Fair was being held for the first time in New York and that too, at Randall’s Island (a magnificent island in the middle of the Hudson). The whole place was done up in white and the art was arresting. More than that, it was the ambience which was magical. Visitors got to meet some of the finest collectors and gallerists from across the world. I bumped into Jack Cluso, one of America’s finest artists and spent some time with him discussing good and bad taste in art. From the Frieze, my next haunt
was, as always, The Metropolitan Museum of Art: I soaked in the Gertrude Stein exhibition which is the largest collection of Picassos and Matisses in the world.
Spring is also when the new theatre season begins in New York and the perfect time to catch plays and musicals. I am still a purist and thus no musicals for me...only fine plays. I went to see ‘Death of a Salesman’ with Philip Seymour Hoffman in the lead. Now this is one play that I have myself acted in; have watched Dustin Hoffman in, and must confess that Philip Seymour Hoffman brought a brilliant and indefatigable energy to it. The sheer brilliance of this play also inspired me to go and see ‘The Columnist’ with John Lithgow in the lead. I also took in some opera – Turandot. No New York summer can be complete without its famed salons – where minds meet and engage in discussion in a manner that is quite unique. I spent several such evenings. One such was at the charming home of Bob and Jacquine Arnold who have a lovely home overlooking the Hudson in a heritage building. In walked business magnate Steve Wynn of Las Vegas fame. No sooner had I finished asking him how he felt ripping his own Picasso by mistake, that Leonard Lauder, the owner of Estée Lauder made an entrance. But the true pièce de résistance was my meeting with Peter and Judy Price. Peter is amongst America’s most acclaimed lawyers while his wife Judy is the Chairperson of the National Jewelry Institute of America. They are true Indophiles and we got talking about their next holiday to India which I suggested they spend in verdant Kerala. And more critically, Judy, under the aegis of her organisation is keen to host an exhibition of Jewels of Royalty in New York in 2014.
On yet another evening, I spent my entire time talking to Shaukat Aziz, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan who was also a former banker with Citibank in New York. During that conversation I realised how horribly wrong we are when we paint an unkind and unfriendly picture of Pakistan…
My vacation ended with luminous lingering thoughts. And it is these thoughts that are the imprint of luxury in every which way!