Gaurav Bhatia

I am drawn to haiku (a form of poetry) by early Japanese masters Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa and modernist Jack Kerouac. Lyrical with a subtle precision of Zen, they elevate ordinary movements of nature to almost the sacred. 

Vertigo, has to be my favourite movie. The twists and turns in Alfred Hitchcock’s mind make the film endorse and invite a certain kind of obsession. Hitchcock’s use of colour, swooning yet nightmarish, makes it cinematic art. I admire Satyajit Ray’s cinema as well.   

Kaiseki is exciting with its complex mix, flavours and subtlety – Nihon Ryori Ryugin in Tokyo is my mecca. I enjoy the inventiveness of haute French gastronomy – Pierre Gagnaire and Nicolas Sale’s La Table de L’Espadon in Paris are favourites.              

Champagne. I love Krug and Ruinart. The Dom Pérignon P3 1983 and 1971 are magnificent.  I have just discovered Campari and it makes for a very refreshing day time aperitif.

I collect contemporary art as it is the art of today – the dialogue is au courant. Most recently, I have been drawn to Raqib Shaw and his phantasmagorical dreamscapes and the surreal world he creates. I collect cross category – contemporary art, antiques, design and textiles.