Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Kingdom Of Dreams - Much Larger Than Life!

Opulent. Extravagant. Gorgeous.

If you're in or around Gurgaon and in the mood for the above mentioned adjectives do drop in at the newly opened 'Indian Culture' themed destination - Kingdom Of Dreams. Just keep in mind that the keys to the Kingdom lie in your pocket, so be prepared before you venture that way.

Right in the heart of the Millennium City you will come across this palatial installation, replete with golden glitter and elephants. The entry barrier is very steep compared to it's conceptual counterpart - Dilli Haat, at Rs. 750 versus Rs. 20. However, the good news is Rs. 600 of this can actually be used o food, drinks, gift items etc. in the shops inside the place and Rs. 50 is refundable at the time of exit. So effectively it's a Rs. 100 entry fee with compulsory spends of at least Rs. 600. Be prepared you may well go over budget once you're inside the Kingdom.



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This larger than all life put together 'theme park' is promoted by Wizkraft Entertainment. The main draw as of now is the 'Culture Gully' where you can go to eat, drink and buy things specific to the various states of India. The decor is mind boggling, with an artificial sky to boot. So at any point during the day when you enter this place it has a 'daylight' like feel, with clouds in the sky.  The shops have the feel of the states whose fare they're serving. So you can sample a full Bengali meal for Rs. 400, Prawn Chops from Assam for Rs. 200, Crab Meat and Rice from Goa for Rs. 525, Appam and Mutton Stew from Kerala for Rs. 250 and so on.

They've also recently launched their 'Nautanki Mahal', inaugurated by none other than India's greatest superstar - Shahrukh Khan. This is going to be India's answer to the Broadway musicals, however the tickets are again priced a little steeply between Rs. 1000 - Rs. 6000. Those who have seen the first few performances are raving about the grandeur, opulence and Bollywood-theme of the shows.

The written prose will not do much justice to the place, so attaching some pictures (taken from my mobile camera) of KoD from one of our team outings recently. If you're feeling a bit well off and want to have a good time one evening do give it a shot!
The entry to the 'Culture Gully'


The Goddess Kali entrance to the Bengal pavillion



Punjab and it's mascot the ubiquitous truck!



Meeting of two great exponents of the Kathakali danceform



The temples of Chennai



The House Boat of Kerala



The uber popular local train of Mumbai/Bombay




Mud Crab curry with Brown Rice  from the Goa Pavilion



A little violence in Goa:)

7 comments:

Tanmay said...

Mind boggling! Curious to know more about the menu of 400 bucks 'bangla khaaowa'!

Abhishek said...

Spectacular......
Just curious, what exactly was displayed is Gurgaon's culture ?

Suhel Banerjee said...

@Tanmay - A normal rice-dal-vegetables (shukto)-fish-chicken menu. If you have regular access to home food then not worth it for a Bengali.

@Abhishek Paul - Potholes. With strips of road in between.

Aritro Dasgupta said...

Is alcohol served there? And is that covered the 600?

Suhel Banerjee said...

@Aritro - Yes, alcohol is served in some of the stalls. And is covered in the 600.

Sunilkath said...

Dear plz correct kingdom of dreams website link. it is not working thanks for nice blog post

Anonymous said...

really it is the dreamy place of everyones lifeeeeeeeee.really its so beautiful..........