Taj Kuteeram (Nrityagram, Bengaluru) - Bangalore - TravBuddy

I spent a day with my best friend Hema back in March 2003 and the place is exception. Founded by the late danseuse Protima Bedi, Nrityagram (literally "dance village") is a small establishment on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The annex to this village is a small restaurant called Kuteeram which she founded, but was taken over by Taj Hotels group due to fledging sales. It's now a rsnt come resort complete with posh hotel rooms, meditation centre, conference centre and a restaurant.

The food is really expensive here, even AFTER conversion from Indian Rupees to US Dollars. But a day here is well worth the money and the trouble. Getting from Bengaluru to Nrityagram can be a pain in the arse - took us about 1 hour with all that traffic. But once you enter the place, it's heaven. Very quiet, very rural and done up in lovely Indian ambience complete with sculptures, fountains and little waterfalls.

We had a 4 course lunch which we had to order on phone before we arrive. It was specially made for us. What's even better is that it was just the 2 of us that day, so we got to spend a really nice time with no one around us.