cb
who would've thought :(
who would've thought :(
Ravi D'Abreo
Brand Opus - a tribute to Gina Braganza. A personal friend, and a friend to many in Bangalore, Gina Campos Braganza died last friday. She was a beautiful warm human being and only 38 years old. So why does this figure in an entry on this group called “Brand Engineering Makes Business Sense”? Well, because of what she's helped create and left behind. A fantastic brand that all of Bangalore identifies with and owns a bit of - Opus. Opus is Bangalore's favorite watering hole. But it’s more than just a place that people come to drink and eat. It stands for a spirit of fun, a spirit of expression, a spirit of triumph and togetherness. And Gina was behind its creation. From what i remember of its beginnings, like all 'restaurants' Opus started out as just another space serving food. But they had one small little hitch - no liquor license. With no legacy in running restaurants and with no liquor license, there were hardly a handful of people who made their way to Opus. But this did not dither Gina and her husband Carlton in anyway. Welcome to the first look at the indomitable spirit of Gina. While she went about fighting bureaucracy and red tape to get the liquor license, she made sure that the handful of people that did make it to Opus were well taken care of. Thus began the feeling of Opus being 'home' and not a restaurant. Gina and Carlton would sit along with guests and chat with them. Keeping guests occupied, and giving them reason to keep coming back became the next challenge. This was when simple games like taboo and quizzes began. Carlton, being a very good singer, and more importantly a super entertainer, then introduced music into the whole scheme of things. Music jams and karaoke became popular crowd pullers. And Gina was still there, grounded, head firmly screwed on and heart very much in the right place. She took care of every single guest who walked through the Opus door. And finally by the time the liquor license did come through Opus was well on its way to standing for its claim of 'fun - eight days a week'. Gina and Carlton recreated Goa in Bangalore and made music the life and soul of the place. Gina thought big and what started out as simple jam sessions became a reason for local, Indian and global music talents to converge and entertain. What started out as a bunch of friends catching up over Karoake, became a larger than life Karoake multi-city competition called ‘Kroaking’. Constantly innovating with how various entertainment properties could be created, Gina had one for almost every night of the week. They included ‘Kroak Nights’, ‘Booze and Cues’, ‘ABandOnFridays’, etc. This attracted corporate sponsorship. And for people, getting into Opus was a challenge with its packed houses. Recession didn’t make the slightest dent, in fact things got bigger. 2 more Opus(es) have started since. Through all of this Gina didn’t increase her ‘customer-list’, but her ‘Friend-List’. Everybody who has stepped into Opus sometime or the other feels like they own a bit of Opus. And that was Gina’s doing. Like Carlton said at her funeral, “I brought in the crowd and she took care of them.” While restaurant after restaurant chases quick success and misplaced philosophies, Gina and Carlton have showed the world of branding that you need to know what you want to stand for, and define the role you would like to play in the life of your customers and then stay focused and deliver. It’s a game of patience … but when you reach out to people and make a difference to their lives, it is only a matter of time that success will follow. BEMBS salutes Gina. Ravi
VS
remember the time when we were high and excited about the campaign for saving Bangalore's night life? remember all the madness and excitement at 'the white house'office...or was it called something else? with cb, deepthi, karthik, shonali, anupam, arjun,vivek priyanka and all those others rushing around...? remember the rush of adrenalin when we managed to get the who's who, who's not who, who wants to be who, and who cannot be who of town to join into what eventually became 'bengluru bleeding'? remember those endless meetings over steaming hot filter coffee from your kitchen? remember that fishy minister from some local party who i had got to opus in hope that he would help us? remember that panel discussion on NDTV at the grand ashok? remember the asshole of a police commissioner and home minister making weird statements even as you and others sat baffled on screen going live on national television? remember how news channels and papers made you their heroine and the face of the campaign even as so many others cringed in their narrow heads with jealousy? and you were bold enough to make statements like 'If opus has to shut in the process, we don't mind shutting it and moving out of this city'...who else would have made such daring statements? not cb, not anyone else....... well all that was not far away or in the country of long long ago. it felt like it all happened yesterday. and then you would come by like a boss , no...... like a bully asking 'what new drink you want man? ok wait....try that new scotch or wait let me see what i can make for you'...and meander into the crowds...and emerge ..with the most special cocktails you wanted me to taste or drink after juggling bottles behind the counter at opus, you would come and tell me how many new and different stalls were up the coming edition of the flea market, you would ask me to taste the coffee from that new machine at the end of the food counter, you would make sure i never left without having the lunch or dinner from the gates of opus...... and then it was only the other day....feels like it was this morning....no...like half an hour ago, when you called , all excited about the new proposal we had for opusradio and spoke at length on the how's and why's of it....and it all sounded so damn exciting ...like we were up and preparing for yet another campaign...... and then it all ended one day....abrupt...how and why? no one will ever have answers to those questions.....but even as you might be reading this silly post from where ever you are and it might bore you enough to get you back to make another cocktail and get me drunk....i remember this little Shakespeare sonnet and here am writing it to you...... Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee... i know bangalore will never be the same again......opus will never be the same again...but we'll still pretend you might just walk out from behind that pillar with another cocktail......and then wipe the tension off the brow....and make everything feel absolutely fine...... yes..i know someday we'll all meet elsewhere and party harder.......and then i'll ask you ...'how the hell did you manage all this madness around you?'...and you'll not answer in any other way but with that cheeky lively smile of yours as if to say..'you'll never know'..... till the next time we meet.......Keep rocking woman! and hey! don't forget to make my next cocktail a lil more stiff.......
remember the time when we were high and excited about the campaign for saving Bangalore's night life? remember all the madness and excitement at 'the white house'office...or was it called something else? with cb, deepthi, karthik, shonali, anupam, arjun,vivek priyanka and all those others rushing around...? remember the rush of adrenalin when we managed to get the who's who, who's not who, who wants to be who, and who cannot be who of town to join into what eventually became 'bengluru bleeding'? remember those endless meetings over steaming hot filter coffee from your kitchen? remember that fishy minister from some local party who i had got to opus in hope that he would help us? remember that panel discussion on NDTV at the grand ashok? remember the asshole of a police commissioner and home minister making weird statements even as you and others sat baffled on screen going live on national television? remember how news channels and papers made you their heroine and the face of the campaign even as so many others cringed in their narrow heads with jealousy? and you were bold enough to make statements like 'If opus has to shut in the process, we don't mind shutting it and moving out of this city'...who else would have made such daring statements? not cb, not anyone else....... well all that was not far away or in the country of long long ago. it felt like it all happened yesterday. and then you would come by like a boss , no...... like a bully asking 'what new drink you want man? ok wait....try that new scotch or wait let me see what i can make for you'...and meander into the crowds...and emerge ..with the most special cocktails you wanted me to taste or drink after juggling bottles behind the counter at opus, you would come and tell me how many new and different stalls were up the coming edition of the flea market, you would ask me to taste the coffee from that new machine at the end of the food counter, you would make sure i never left without having the lunch or dinner from the gates of opus...... and then it was only the other day....feels like it was this morning....no...like half an hour ago, when you called , all excited about the new proposal we had for opusradio and spoke at length on the how's and why's of it....and it all sounded so damn exciting ...like we were up and preparing for yet another campaign...... and then it all ended one day....abrupt...how and why? no one will ever have answers to those questions.....but even as you might be reading this silly post from where ever you are and it might bore you enough to get you back to make another cocktail and get me drunk....i remember this little Shakespeare sonnet and here am writing it to you...... Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee... i know bangalore will never be the same again......opus will never be the same again...but we'll still pretend you might just walk out from behind that pillar with another cocktail......and then wipe the tension off the brow....and make everything feel absolutely fine...... yes..i know someday we'll all meet elsewhere and party harder.......and then i'll ask you ...'how the hell did you manage all this madness around you?'...and you'll not answer in any other way but with that cheeky lively smile of yours as if to say..'you'll never know'..... till the next time we meet.......Keep rocking woman! and hey! don't forget to make my next cocktail a lil more stiff.......
Melissa Arulappan
A few weeks ago, after returning from Opus where she had accompanied Vinoo for a Sunday jam, my nine year old Keya told me that Gina had introduced her to some guests as an Opus Baby and recounted stories of how Keya used to visit Opus from her toddler days – of how as the night wore on and Keya would fall asleep, Gina would fish out a tablecloth and wrap her in it while we partied on. And as I revisit the decade or so that we have known Gina, my mind is flooded with similar memories. Not memories of Gina’s dreams and aspirations that she so often spoke of, not memories of her business accomplishments or achievements, not memories of the wonderful cocktails she stirred, but memories of her little acts of kindness and generosity that built a special place in your heart for her. The times she would send a round of shots on the house to one’s table just because she ‘felt like it’; the evening I brought in a birthday at Opus and with it came a complementary bottle of bubbly; the time she threw open her Goa home for us when she heard we were going there for a wedding; the time we had Easter lunch at Opus and with it came little Easter goodies for my daughters; the several occasions she supported the Diya Foundation, a charity for the differently abled; and so many more acts of kindness that came from the largesse of her heart and made the world a more beautiful place...not forgetting the most gorgeous 100 watt smile. Thank you Gina for all those little deeds and being such an inspiration. It took me a lot of courage to go back to Opus last night but I am glad I and to quote the lines of a poem, “You can shed tears that she is gone, or you can smile because she has lived...You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back, or you can open your eyes and see all she's left...”
A few weeks ago, after returning from Opus where she had accompanied Vinoo for a Sunday jam, my nine year old Keya told me that Gina had introduced her to some guests as an Opus Baby and recounted stories of how Keya used to visit Opus from her toddler days – of how as the night wore on and Keya would fall asleep, Gina would fish out a tablecloth and wrap her in it while we partied on. And as I revisit the decade or so that we have known Gina, my mind is flooded with similar memories. Not memories of Gina’s dreams and aspirations that she so often spoke of, not memories of her business accomplishments or achievements, not memories of the wonderful cocktails she stirred, but memories of her little acts of kindness and generosity that built a special place in your heart for her. The times she would send a round of shots on the house to one’s table just because she ‘felt like it’; the evening I brought in a birthday at Opus and with it came a complementary bottle of bubbly; the time she threw open her Goa home for us when she heard we were going there for a wedding; the time we had Easter lunch at Opus and with it came little Easter goodies for my daughters; the several occasions she supported the Diya Foundation, a charity for the differently abled; and so many more acts of kindness that came from the largesse of her heart and made the world a more beautiful place...not forgetting the most gorgeous 100 watt smile. Thank you Gina for all those little deeds and being such an inspiration. It took me a lot of courage to go back to Opus last night but I am glad I and to quote the lines of a poem, “You can shed tears that she is gone, or you can smile because she has lived...You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back, or you can open your eyes and see all she's left...”
Suman Bolar
Hey Gina Here's to good food and good times. You have touched so many lives in so many ways... I've mastered the chicken liver pâté but can only aspire to the Shikhampuri kebabs. And those Mojitos? Fuhgeddaboudit! http://foodtravelbangalore.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/gina-braganza-farewell/
Hey Gina Here's to good food and good times. You have touched so many lives in so many ways... I've mastered the chicken liver pâté but can only aspire to the Shikhampuri kebabs. And those Mojitos? Fuhgeddaboudit! http://foodtravelbangalore.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/gina-braganza-farewell/
sumana
gina....... i never knew you but u have left an impact so vast that i cant define....god bless..
gina....... i never knew you but u have left an impact so vast that i cant define....god bless..
Shyam
Gina You will always be in our hearts and will never be forgotten. A Warm, Loving, Caring Girl, who changed the face of entertainment in Bangalore you gave joy to so many. She truly choreographed the Music In All Our Hearts. I owe a Lot to her, her loving husband, Carlton and her associate Shonali and to the entire family at Opus for the affection and support I have got. Gina will always be in my heart and my prayers. We will miss you very much, Gina. I know Heaven wont be the same with you there !!!!!!!!
Gina You will always be in our hearts and will never be forgotten. A Warm, Loving, Caring Girl, who changed the face of entertainment in Bangalore you gave joy to so many. She truly choreographed the Music In All Our Hearts. I owe a Lot to her, her loving husband, Carlton and her associate Shonali and to the entire family at Opus for the affection and support I have got. Gina will always be in my heart and my prayers. We will miss you very much, Gina. I know Heaven wont be the same with you there !!!!!!!!
lekshmi
An unexplainable sense of grief takes over when i think of you..Have known you only from a distance..still fell good to have known a soul like you..There should have been purpose which God wanted fulfilled by you..Insipire, perhaps..To show a hanful of us how life can be lived, to the fullest.being true to your heart and passion..To mould,perhaps..Those who needed that little push..Whatever the case maybe,Gina, you will be missed dearly..good bye..
An unexplainable sense of grief takes over when i think of you..Have known you only from a distance..still fell good to have known a soul like you..There should have been purpose which God wanted fulfilled by you..Insipire, perhaps..To show a hanful of us how life can be lived, to the fullest.being true to your heart and passion..To mould,perhaps..Those who needed that little push..Whatever the case maybe,Gina, you will be missed dearly..good bye..
Ujjwal K Chowdhury
It was a great pleasure to have met with Gina in National Radio Meet 2009 in Symbiosis and also to learn from her on Internet Radio. And it is so damn unbelievable that she is no more! She is so seriously focussed in work yet not missing the jest of life. The end was so unpredictable. The only way to remember, respect and love someone gone is to do all that she wanted EVEN BETTER and take the best of her life forward.
It was a great pleasure to have met with Gina in National Radio Meet 2009 in Symbiosis and also to learn from her on Internet Radio. And it is so damn unbelievable that she is no more! She is so seriously focussed in work yet not missing the jest of life. The end was so unpredictable. The only way to remember, respect and love someone gone is to do all that she wanted EVEN BETTER and take the best of her life forward.
Mark Swaroop
Good night my angel time to close you eyes And save these questions for another day I think I know what you've been asking me I think you know what I've been trying to say I promised I would never leave you And you should always know Where ever you may go No matter where you are I never will be far away Good night my angel now it's time to sleep And still so many things I want to say Remember all the songs you sang for me When we went sailing on an emerald bay And like a boat out on the ocean I'm rocking you to sleep The water's dark and deep Inside this ancient heart You'll always be a part of me Goodnight my angel now it's time to dream And dream how wondeful your life will be Someday your child will cry and if you sing this lullaby Then in your heart there will always be a part of me Someday we'll all be gone But lullabies go on and on They never die that's how you and I will be -Billy Joel