Check the link for the comments of always right "customers" of a "fusion" restaurant:
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=36026952&postID=116084707371341129
OM at Harvard Square
OM Restaurant, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
The word OM (AUM) signifies the sound that created universe. It is the symbol of Brahma the creator of the universe. A very religious significant word for the Hindu and the Buddhist - OM… Every mantra starts with OM. It represents primordial vibration from which everything begins…
And so OM at Harvard Square begins the disappointment as you enter through the
Nepali carved door that leads inside to the lounge suggest nothing has been created at Harvard Square, but a mediocre translation of OM - Culturally along with the Culinary…
Food preparation has all the pomp and ceremony but no AAH to the palate. The chef’s compliment – is a total waste and a poor start to the fanfare that it so pretentiously glorifies. The starter popcorn with the cheese sprinkled on it tastes dull. There is nothing modern to American food as you dig into the Lamb Shank.
What is more sad and petrifying is the Buddha looking at your food and the drink. Buddha that symbolizes peace, non – violence, is put on the holes in the wall and embedded… overlook the tables… while people sink their knives into the pork bellies and the shank. There is no Nirvana but only the noises and the horrifying deconstruction of an old tradition, culture and the art, of the people, the place, and the artist – be it the owners father. Buddha must be crying somewhere…
The only piece of art that personifies the place is Kal Bhairav – the Lord Shiva himself – the destructor or the destroyer… OM restaurant – where you could have seen the beginning of all things that could be calm, serine, and wholesome is really a place that emphasizes the modern world where there is nothing but destruction. And, so Kal Bhairav symbolizes the destruction of all that could have been good… if the creator of the place had really thought correctly the usage of such a powerful symbol OM – as you even utter the word OM you can feel the peace within yourself.
As I looked at the Kal Bhairav – the so powerful presence… I must give thanks to the artist that created it. Looking at it you can feel the power and you can almost see yourself transferred to Hanuman Dhoka in Kathmandu Nepal where the 10 foot tall stone statue of the same sits… My heart wants to take the artist creation not only of the Kal Bhairav, but every Buddha statue the every art and rescue it from the rude owner and take it away from the “bhati” or bar and put it in a place that it would truly belong – such as a museum of traditional art… where people would appreciate the artist and the creator and know where it comes from.
The fusion of the east and west leaves a bad taste in the mouth – a bad taste in the intellect and a misplaced restaurant at Harvard Square. It tries to belong and cater to the intellectual capital of the world – only to insult it.
