WALKTHROUGH
As you enter the foyer at El Garbo, one can't help but notice how a step into this surrealist space makes one forget that they are in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the capital. The first piece that greets every guest and catches each discerning eye is the beautifully recreated ‘Rolls Royce 10 HP’, the very first car born from the alliance of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. As you make your way to the wooden staircase that leads you up into the main viewing rooms, the ‘King of the Jungle’ - a life-size lion created from a single piece of black stone and weighing 4,000 kilos follows you with its watchful eye.
The first room encapsulates you in its wooden warmth, while ‘The Godfather’ , a remarkable sculpture- reflects upon you as you reflect upon it. A large double door leads you into the corridor that houses the piece de resistance- ‘The Skull’, made up of 450, 000 hand placed stainless steel beads. It’s only natural that it be surrounded with other masterpieces- paintings from the Bengal School of Art and the ‘Eye of the Tiger’, a massive hand-woven rug that perfectly emulates a photograph of the majestic beast.
As you’re led into the first, large, naturally lit viewing room, the sword & helmet of General Maximus from the classic ‘The Gladiator’ movie holds your attention. On the wall to the left, a wall-to-wall limited-edition Rex Ray mural brightens the room with its whimsical abstractness. One half of ‘The Twins’, a set of two grand pianos- takes centre stage in this space.
The next room you’re led to, has beautiful Biswajit Goswami & Swapan Maity paintings, while the third viewing room includes the breathtaking ‘Infinity’ sculpture, an abstract concept artwork that defines timelessness itself and the ‘Flying Harley’, a custom-painted World War II bike that is wall mounted for a dramatic effect.
A short flight of stairs from this room brings you to the ‘Thirteen Crystal Skulls’, that embody the legend that one day thirteen crystal skulls shall help shift the paradigm of this old age and usher in a new era. Each skull has been decorated with hand placed Swarovski crystals, displaying unique designs that display the avatars of our superheroes rising from the ashes.
A small lawn separates the main hall from the rest of the space- this is an area to reflect and discuss the artworks seen so far.
The room then leads out to a beautiful wooden balcony and into the room that contains the ethereal ‘Time’ dining table which has giant books as its support and immaculately painted clocks on the heads of the quirky chairs. Coloured glass orbs of light hang from the ceiling and lie still in quiet corners while the mystical Gautam Dey painting of a shipyard singlehandedly summons a calming inner peace within every visitor.
Graffitied walls surround the lawn and the AEG. I German biplane artefact, fashioned to hold one’s glassware over a bar counter- seems to whirr in a corner, in all its industrial magnificence. Two splendid pieces of art- ‘Lady On a Hammock’, a graceful white stone marble sculpture of a woman reclining on a hammock and ‘The Seeker’, the sculpture of a man who seems to be on his way to find freedom- both form the entrance to the main hall.
Once inside, ‘Prowess’ enraptures you in its glory as it depicts Gaia, the mother of Earth- hurling the planet around in perpetual motion. The uniqueness of this sculpture lies in the fact that it seems to levitate as it only has a single standpoint.
Some of the final key pieces of the main hall is the fusion bar, handpainted to truly define the juxtaposition between medieval and industrial times and 'Josephine', the bejewelled rendition of 'The Fokker' F-VIIS series airplane which also depicts diamonds and rubies transforming into exotic butterflies and flying away.
The next few pieces are truly delightful as they mix style and functionality perfectly- a wooden dining table that can transform into a pool table, the front of the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow fashioned into a desk and the stunning Classic Couch XK120- which is a double set luxury sofa set in a classic car from the mid 20th century.
Marking the end of the journey that is El Garbo, the visitor, you, shall then be warmly bid goodbye by the team and led back into the vast, normative confines of reality.
