Devraj Sanyal & Romil Ratra come together as ‘The Bitter Bartenders’  for a Noble Cause.

by Suman Gupta

December’, Mumbai: Yauatcha, a dim sum teahouse offering modern Cantonese cuisine, that is one of the common celebrity hangout places in Mumbai recently completed 8 years and decided to celebrate this event in a fun and folly way for a good cause. Adding to this intention, Devraj Sanyal (MD & CEO, Universal Music Group India) and Romil Ratra (CEO, The A Club) came together to host ‘The Bitter Bartenders’- a battle of re-creating cocktails. The idea was to donate the proceeds towards a noble initiative wherein 20% of these cocktail sales was contributed towards the ‘The Dharavi Dream Project’- a hip-hop school for the talented underprivileged children .

Over a splendid evening of fun and fruitful banters, Devraj Sanyal and Romil Ratra battled hard to re-create cocktails in their own unique way from the ‘Infusion List’ created by them which lead to sales of over 300 cocktails in a night. The constant cheering for their favourite bartender and the excitement of the audience to taste the home infused cocktails elevated the level of enjoyment on this occasion which would decide who amongst them deserves the title of the ‘The Bitter Bartenders’. Keeping the enjoyment and laughter intact, this event also worked towards a societal cause.

Speaking about the overall initiative, Devraj Sanyal, MD & CEO, Universal Music Group India and South Asia shares “It takes a mighty will to give back. It takes an army of genuinely good people to come together, to make that will a reality. When I see a will and a way with the people I love & respect most, working towards a cause that’s closest to my heart, its simple work. I want to say thanks to my old mate Romil for standing shoulder to shoulder all evening, Karyna for hosting us and giving away all the profits of a night to support deserving underprivileged talent. There is no better feeling in the world than to earn the money that you give to a cause by doing something that’s completely out of your comfort zone”

Highlighting the association and the cause, Romil Ratra, CEO, The A Club shares “I saw a bunch of like-minded people come together and support a cause that the people that matter to me care about, if that’s not the best way to spend an evening ! I don’t know what is ! Winston Churchill was right when he said “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” 

Sharing insights on the evening, Dolly Rateshwar, Co-founder, The Dharavi Dream Project shares “The shares “Passion and Purpose went hand-in-hand at this event. It was overwhelming to see good folks like Devraj Sanyal, Romil Ratra and Karyna Bajaj celebrating one of their important milestones and having “The Dharavi Dream Project” as the charity partner on-board for the authentic work we do. 20% of the event proceeds came to the trust for further enhancement of the after school of hip-hop. The only thing I want to highlight is people like them make the decision to donate with their heart than justify it with their head.”

Speaking about the evening, Karyna Bajaj, Executive Director, KA Hospitality Private Limited shares “Yauatcha as a brand is all about fuelling connections, over delicious food and drinks. As we were completing 8 years in Mumbai, we decided to do something different, and we thought it was best to do it with two people who are passionate and love the brand just as much as I do. We also wanted to support a good cause, and give back to the society in a typically fun Yauatcha way”.