As you know, one of my favourite festivals of the year happens every February in Nashik – Rajeev Samanth‘s Sulafest, at the gorgeous Sula Vineyard! In fact there’s a whole Sulafest 2016 after-movie coming soon in case you missed it, but for now here are 9 of my favourite things from last weekend in honour of the festival’s 9th birthday! 🙂 What did you love best about the fest? Leave me a comment below and let me know! xoxo
1. Above & Beyond…
For a change I decided to drive in a day early with my crew and straight chill by the pool for 12 hours. #BestMoveEver! Beyond by Sula is an utterly delightful resort with an infinity pool that looks over the vineyard. The rooms are super comfy and there’s even a spa! (Our only suggestion would be transforming the baby pool into a heated jacuzzi for those of us who are super chicken about jumping into a cold pool. #JustSaying)
MissMalini
Rij Eappen
MissMalini
Shalini Agarwal
(On the upside said baby pool served as an excellent cooler for all our mixers when the ice machine ran out lol!). But look sis, I braved it into the pool on day 2! (Albeit for like a minute and only waist deep, but still!)
2. Oh Cecilia!
At some point over the weekend you might have noticed this gladiator princess racing around with an ear-piece and a glass of bubbly! Well this is Sula’s Global Brand Ambassador Cecilia Oldne and she is TOTAL sunshine! I’m always amazed at how she finds the energy to pull together this mammoth fest (with her Sulafest A-Team of course) and still manages to smile all weekend and hand out bubble blowers to boot! #Legend
MissMalini and Noi Cecilia Oldne
MissMalini and Noi Cecilia Oldne
Noi Cecilia Oldne
Noi Cecilia Oldne and MissMalini
Noi Cecilia Oldne and MissMalini
3. The VIP Treatment (With a Capital Vino!)
Deepak
Anisha & Caleb
Nowshie & Deepak
Cecelia & MissMalini
Team MissMalini
Call me spoilt but I’m pretty partial to the vantage point the VIP dome affords of the whole Sulafest amphitheatre. Also the place is set up like an uber cool day lounge with bean bags and picnic tables, fun! In fact you can even get an epic head/shoulder/foot massage while you drink your sparkly! (Aka Nowshad’s idea of HEAVEN.)
So this is where we hung out! And when the music moved us we danced on tables! #BecauseWhyNot
I also love the fact that every year at Sulafest Cecilia invites me to inaugurate the VIP graffiti board. Hashtags and all!
4. No Rest For The Wicked!
This trip to Sula wasn’t all play for me though. I spent most of day 1 shooting a pilot for my new TV show (deets coming soon!) When you watch look for my run-in with the biryani mascot Prahlad Kakad among other things…
5. All Hail The King, Of Clubs.
And as my reward my pal Rijster aka the King of Clubs made me a delicious Cointreaupolitan – that’s a controversial cosmopolitain *LOL* – that he learnt on the fly…
King of Clubs
Rij and MissMalini
MissMalini and Rij
Which is why we call him the King of course! (*Ahem* please note the Throne of Indulgence.)
6. #RhythmOfTheVines
As you can see my friend Himanshi Choudhry had the right idea! She switched off her phone and let the music consume her… My top acts for the festival were headliners Cat Empire and Kailasa. (I’ve heard the Cat Empire before FYI and my all time favourite song of theirs has got to be Lonely Moon. Listen…)
7. Festival Dressing
Thanks to my Marv-elous stylist I was all set to rock Sula in a combination of cute and kick-ass outfits courtesy Vero Moda. Take a look!
MissMalini in Vero Moda
MissMalini in Vero Moda
8. Afterparty Much?
Special props to Rajeev for always hosting the most EPIC after party at his house on the vineyard. The DJs that play there are off the hook, there’s a pool table AND fire dancers. What’s not to love?! Besides #partysoulmates in the house!
PS. This time I also checked out the EDM 2nd stage and it was bumping! Watch my vlog for a real taste of the action.
9. More Wine!
The bubbly to try this season FYI is the Brut Tropicale which is a mix of dark grape and pure heaven! (Also, how cool is this little walkthrough video of Sulafest tour-guided by a bottle that clearly dressed for the occasion? #geekchic)
So thank you Sulafest – East or West you know you’re the best! And you can bet I’ll be back for #10 in 2017! xoxo