The lawyer and his "bar" association

Disclaimer: As we give you a sneak peek into another spectacular bar, we at The Week would like to tell our readers yet again that we are not promoting alcohol. We are just showing those of you who enjoy your drink, and we know there are many, and that the setting is as equally important as the drink itself.



Balram K.C. is a man of simple tastes. A lawyer by profession and a recently retired Supreme Court Judge, he is a busy man with very less time for himself. [break]



He doesn’t have the luxury of socializing on a regular basis but occasionally he does like to sit back with a drink and take a much needed and relaxing break from the hustle bustle of his hectic schedules.



In one corner of his spacious living room, he has set up a bar complete with bar stools and glistening crystals. You can see the pride that exudes from him as he talks about this space of his house which, needless to say, is his favorite.



This plush bar was a pre-designated space as the house was being built some 25 years ago. In a way, KC had conceived the idea for a bar before he had even built a nest.



The house is tastefully done up by his wife, Bimla, but the bar is completely his forte. Bimla doesn’t even get to remove a glass without his approval. Talk about possessiveness, you’d say? But he has a system and a meticulously planned bar layout and only he knows what goes where.



“This is my space. It’s the part of the house I first enter when I come home after a long day, whether or not I want a drink,” says Balram. “I just like looking at my collection of liquors and crystals. It has a calming effect on me,” he adds.



One glance and you can see neatly arranged rows of wines and spirits. Not a speck of dust can be seen on the bottles and not a bottle is out of line as Balram takes immense care and is a stickler for cleanliness and tidiness. The carved table that houses more liquors and wines gives the space a regal touch.







The barstools add to the drama and make you feel like you are sitting at a bar of some posh restaurant rather than one at somebody’s home.



“I think drinking is therapeutic if you do it within limits. An occasional drink with your friends or in the company of your family can act as a stress buster and give you the needed boost to carry on with your work,” he shares as he moves around his bottles to neaten the already perfect arrangement.



As Balram takes his place behind the bar, you can get a glimpse of crates of wine stacked behind the barman’s stool.



“I need to expand a little to show off my ever increasing collection,” he says, shrugging and moving the boxes around. “I’ll get to it when my wife eventually relents and gives me the green signal,” he is quick to add.



Having a bar at home is often a problem with wives, it seems, but Balram rushes to his wife’s defense and says, “She understands that it’s more of a collection, a manifestation of my passion and hoarding habit rather than about drinking whenever I want.She just doesn’t want to give it more importance than it already gets.”



Balram is an extremely intelligent man and his way with words has always been his strength.



As he shows off his bar, he is witty and humorous; always acting on the smallest opportunity to crack jokes and make you comfortable.



His bar is like him – adaptable and forgiving, to faults. Despite care and caution in handling bar items, glasses break, drinks get spilled and that is carefully maintained by Balram who makes it a point not to keep the bar in a state of mess.



“Glasses will break. That’s obvious. I drop them sometimes and once in a while they break while pouring a drink. But I replace them immediately.



It’s a sort of an obsessive compulsion for me,” he says. This obsession of his goes a long way in maintaining the bar area which would otherwise have vacant spaces, giving it a neglected look.



His friends and family have often complimented him on his bar as one of the most tastefully done-up spaces they have seen. Once, a Canadian visitor went out of her way to compliment him on his choice of liquors and their display.



The miniature liquor stash looks equally tempting and its combination arrangement with shot glasses is something you’d want to replicate.



“It’s more about presentation. The drink will taste that much better if served in the right setting,” says Balram with a lot of enthusiasm in his voice.



The dart board at one corner of the bar goes in tandem with a glass of drink. He likes to shoot some darts as he sips his drink in the serenity of his space. His preference for single malts is evident from his collection, and sometimes he’ll rearrange the entire space to fit in a new addition.



“Don’t buy everything at once and set up a bar. Collect over time and let it grow,” says Balram whose own bar houses gifts from friends and liquors bought on various trips abroad. “Surround yourself with things that you like along with the bar accoutrements. If you are a music aficionado, put up a music system like I’ve done,” he adds as a last minute advice for those who’d like to do what he’s done – set up a bar with a history.



A bar is much more than a display of alcohol. Done up the right way, it can change the look of your living space, making it appear much cooler, hipper or regal, depending on how you do up the area.



It can change the feel of your home. Balram’s house gets a royal touch because of his artfully done-up bar. You can choose to follow his steps or add your own tweaks to his style and create your own haven.



Look out for this space next month as we show you how you can replicate these fabulous bars and not just drool over what you get to see.

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