Toronto
Star
May 3, 2004
Restaurant's
art blends Eastern cultures, images - Project blossomed
out of new-found
friendship
Two different faiths,
two different cultures, and decades as sworn enemies.
For some, this
could be a recipe for disaster. For Dr. Avtar Singh Dhanoa and artist
Fahim Hamid Ali, it was an opportunity to use art and food to build
bridges across religious and cultural divides.
After a chance
meeting arranged by a mutual friend, Dhanoa, 43, an Indian Sikh, and
Ali, 45, a Pakistani Muslim, found they have uncannily similar passions
— a love of art and a zeal to build bridges across religious and
national divides.
Dhanoa was in the
early stages of opening a new restaurant — his second, despite running
a busy medical practice in Mississauga — and was impressed by Ali's
talents and range of subject matter.
"I was a bit
of an anomaly in Pakistan because I was fascinated by Indian mythology
and wanted to paint Egyptian and Greek mythology as well as
wildlife," says Ali, who has built a reputation on presenting
diversity in art. "Dr. Dhanoa told me he wanted art reflective of
Eastern culture, incorporating urban and rural life plus
mythology."
Dhanoa offered his
new friend the opportunity to create a unique concept in design for the
planned restaurant.
"I wanted
something that would be reflective of our joint Eastern heritage, "
says Dhanoa, "and I found Ali's work reflected my vision of
inclusivity."
The result was Bombay
Bhel Fine Dining, on Commerce Valley Dr. in Thornhill.
"I was a bit
of an anomaly in Pakistan because I was fascinated by Indian mythology
and wanted to paint Egyptian and Greek mythology as well as
wildlife," says Ali, who has built a reputation on presenting
diversity in art. "Dr. Dhanoa told me he wanted art reflective of
Eastern culture, incorporating urban and rural life plus
mythology."
Dhanoa offered his
new friend the opportunity to create a unique concept in design for the
planned restaurant.
"I wanted
something that would be reflective of our joint Eastern heritage, "
says Dhanoa, "and I found Ali's work reflected my vision of
inclusivity."
The result was Bombay
Bhel Fine Dining, on Commerce Valley Dr. in Thornhill.
Besides its
art, the restaurant reflects the multicultural ethos of Toronto: The
clientele is mostly South African and Chinese, the cook is from Nepal
and the wait staff is from China and Britain.
"I don't
think it gets more inclusive or diverse than this!" Dhanoa says
with a smile.
Ali's handiwork is
evident in eight wall murals and, most unusually, 50 tabletops.
The idea of making
tabletops out of original art covered in glass was Ali's, after Dhanoa
told him he doesn't like tablecloths. "I find them dull and
expensive to clean," Dhanoa explains.
Instead of staring
at white linen, diners can view subjects ranging from Indian mythology
to village scenes in Pakistan, including a woman standing by a village
well; a depiction of Basant, a kite-flying festival; a harvest festival
showing fields of rice and wheat ablaze in shades of yellow, orange and
gold; and lovers from famous folk tales of the Punjab.
The murals reflect
the grandeur of the Mughal era and
larger-than-life village scenes.
"I play with
colours and rarely use a brush," Ali says, "but make use of my
fingers and other objects within my reach."
For technical
help, they went to Tony Modugno, owner of Jamco Wood Products Ltd., a
Malton company that manufactures restaurant furniture. Modugno was
intrigued by the concept, Dhanoa says, "He's
been in the business for 30 years but he'd never come across such an
idea and decided to take on the project."
One problem was
that wooden tabletops would be too heavy once Ali's creations were
added. So Jamco created 50 tabletops in three shapes — square,
rectangular and round — using a lighter material.
When Ali was done,
the challenge was how to protect his creations from crumbs and spills.
Jamco's solution was a special rubber
lining to vacuum-seal
the glass tabletops and hold them in place.
It took Ali about
six months to do the tabletops, with Dhanoa adding his own ideas to the
artist's imagination.
"He would
call me and say he wants a painting with a cow or doves or a rural well
and so on," Ali says. "This was easy for me, because the
landscape in Pakistan is similar to India, so I was able to conjure up
the images."
But some of
Dhanoa's ideas were challenging. He asked Ali for "eight galloping
horses looking happy
and running (not sideways) but towards me!"
"Happy
horses?" a bewildered Ali asked.
Dhanoa explains:
"One of my Oriental clients told me that in Feng Shui, eight horses
galloping towards you brings good luck."
But eight horses,
happy or otherwise,
were awkward for a tabletop. That's when Ali suggested the wall murals.
His contribution
extended beyond the artwork. He came up with the beige, black and gold décor
and even offered to go to Pakistan to get fabric for the seat cushions.
Dhanoa concurred —
"I wanted to
include something from Pakistan," he recalls — and the result was
exactly what he wanted. In all, he spent about $400,000 on the
restaurant,
$85,000 of that on the artwork and décor.
Before their
collaboration, Dhanoa and Ali would not have suspected they had anything
in common.
Ali grew up in
Singapore where his
father was a Pakistani diplomat. He earned a degree in international
marketing, and found work in Pakistan. In 1999, he migrated
to Canada and settled in Mississauga.
Dhanoa studied
medicine in India and migrated to Canada in 1990. He is of Indian
heritage but was born in Malaysia where his father was posted. He and
his sister opened their first restaurant in Markham in 1996.
Bombay
Bhel Fine Dining, 230 Commerce Valley Dr. E., Unit 3, near Leslie St.
and Highway 7 in Thornhill, opened last December. It operates weekdays
from noon to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9:30 p.m., weekends 1 to 9:30 p.m. The
phone number is 905-771-6957
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