The Deli: High tea and matters of the heart

The Deli offers another dimension to the ‘restaurant experience’ with tarot card reading.

LAHORE:

Imagine a room full of society begums, with a lavish spread of high tea goodies, sitting apprehensively around a male tarot card reader. It doesn’t take too many brain cells to picture the scenario: impatient and restless aunties would throw a barrage of love-infested and marriage-related questions at the fortune teller, more often than not interrupting and cutting in the sentences of one another. Reading correctly into the psychology of the society, women in particular, it was an ingenious move by The Deli to promote their High Tea with a free fortune telling session.

It seemed like a rather intimate affair with the usual kisses in the air and the general chit chat while nibbling on The Deli’s delightful gourmet sandwiches. Sadaf Munir, a regular at the restaurant and a vivacious patron, remarks, “The menu offered at tea was fantastic and I think the event came together really well. The tarot card reader adds another dimension to the outing.”

The idea, informs Tina Mehdi of The Deli, was conceived by Ayesha Nasir of Voila PR, a social media networking unit. “I held my baby shower at this lovely cafe called Alice’s Tea Cup in New York where they had a tea leaf reader to interpret fortunes for my friends,” recalls Nasir. “Taking cue from that, we decided to offer an evening of high tea and fortune telling at The Deli.”

Clearly, the international standards that Nasir has mind, were noticed by other customers as well. “Although, it’s my first time at The Deli, it reminds me of tea and light snacks that one gets in cafes along Manhattan in New York,” comments Sabrina Mian. The owner, Tina Mehdi, prides herself in offering a light, healthy and organic cuisine, “Notice how even our pasta salad doesn’t have any mayonnaise in it,” she pointed out.

Meanwhile, another regular client Erum Munir states, “The fun bit of the event was meeting people and definitely the tarot card reader.” When asked what she thought most women in attendance would ask the tarot card reader, Munir replies, “Women will only ask about love.” Incidentally even the tarot card reader, Khalid Nazir Sayed, concurred with this statement. “Women have generally asked about the matters of the heart. Marriage is the first thing they ask if they’re single. Financial and money matters come next. However, if they are mothers, then they ask about their children’s future,” states Sayed adding that, “Even men ask about love, so it’s unfair to stereotype women in this way.”

However, most women complained that there wasn’t enough time for them to speak with Sayed, pointing out the constant interruptions by the event manager.

Given the success of this event with The Deli’s female patrons, one realises that the flourishing food industry is in Pakistan needs to add other elements to the experience of a restaurant — something beyond just eating.

History of tarot cards

Playing cards first entered Europe in the late 14^th century, probably from Mamluk Egypt. The first known tarot cards were created between 1430 and 1450 in Milan, Ferrara and Bologna in northern Italy when additional trump cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four-suit pack. These new decks were originally called carte da trionfi, triumph cards, and the additional cards known simply as trionfi, which became “trumps” in English. The oldest surviving tarot cards are from fifteen fragmented decks painted in the mid 15^th century for the Visconti-Sforza family, the rulers of Milan. (SOURCE: buzzle.com)

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2012.