Manish Arora’s originals gives those Pucci prints a run for their money. Your grandma’s old batua makes any antique clutch pale in comparison. Now even Mumbai’s culinary scene is ready to give New York’s famous street food some serious competition.

The next time you’re hankering after hummus or craving other authentic Lebanese yummies, hop over to the oddly named, yet evenly excellent Falafel’s Veg Hummus Bars that are quickly opening across the city. Of the two already up and running, the one at Kemp’s Corner is tiny, with scant seating, and the Lamington Road outlet is purely takeaways. But our Trendy Taster says you’ll know it’s worth the effort the second you sink your teeth into fresh pita bread stuffed with delicious falafel balls, spicy hummus, pickled vegetables and marinated jalapenos. They sell all the ingredients separately too, in case you’d rather assemble them at home. There’s also a wide variety of hummus, salads and sambusac stuffed with mushroom, potato and cheese and rich, freshly prepared Baklava, drenched in honey-lemon syrup.

How have they gotten it so right? It’s the expertise that comes from experience. Owned by a bunch of friends who own eateries around the world, including Chickpea in NYC, these fresh, clean bars are already wooing vegetarian foodies.

Affordable. Appetising. Almost addictive.

Falafel’s Veg Hummus Bar: Kemp’s Corner, Near Cumballa Hill Hospital, Mumbai; and Lamington Road, Near Minerva Theatre, Mumbai. Tel: 23018000. Prices: Falafels cost Rs 75, hummus and salads range between Rs 50 and Rs 115, desserts at Rs 55.

Metallic bar stools are so cold. And straight-backed wooden chairs, so square. So say goodbye Scandinavia and hello Spain. At the all-new Couch, with a smorgasbord crafted by Spiga — yes, the late-lamented restaurant on Lavelle Road — and seating selected on the basis of loungeability.

Climb a grand wooden staircase to reach a simulated Spanish hacienda. Lie back on a sofa. Curl up in a chesterfield. Put your feet up on an ottoman. Or fashion the single pouffes and hassocks into your own layout. The bronzed glow-mesh partitions ensure you have plenty of privacy whether you want to huddle together or stretch out expansively.

The distressed cement walls and slate floors contrast wildly with whacky, scarlet rugs; the ultra-modern interpretation of the traditional chandelier picks up the lingering colours of the sunset over M G Road.

Nurse a long drink. Or order off the eclectic menu, which satiates every yearning, from tandoori to pan-Asian to Mediterranean. Our Trendy Foodie sampled the satay paneer, oriental salad, lemon fish and Greek-style rice and topped it off with the Oreo cheesecake. And came back raving.

Now if only they’d teach you to roll your tongue around Hola!

Couch Lounge Bar & Restaurant, first floor, SAI Complex, 114/1 MG Road, Bangalore. Tel: 41512898. Beer starts at Rs 80, cocktails at Rs 300. Tapas and salads start at Rs 120. Main courses at Rs 200.

You’ve booked yourself a beach island, with spa room cantilevered over the sea. You’d be leaving on a jet plane yesterday — if only poor Rusty weren’t whining under your bed.

No, your nervous neighbour isn’t the best person to soothe your desolate doggie. What he needs is a little extra TLC, and the place is Kennel1.

Smart pooches wouldn’t want to leave. Acres of green lawn. A pool to splash in. The grub he grew up with (meals are made as per instructions). Frisbees to chase; squeaky shoes to gnaw. Daily grooming to ward off ticks — and loneliness. Soft mats to sleep on, in a cool room, with a dozen humans — full-time Kennel 1 employees — at his beck and bark.

Started by dog’s best friend, Shailendra Uniyal, who used to travel a lot on work, and got tired of leaving his seven shaggy pals in dire straits. Someone’s lawn, backyard, garage or two rooms at most, which is what most pet homes amount to. Soon other pet owners began queuing up to check their tail-waggers into this 5-star poochery.

The dog house is a good place to be.

Kennel1, Begumpur Khatola (near Hero Honda Chowk), Gurgaon; 95124-3251385, 9818601094, 9818442510; www.kennel1.net. Costs: Boarding Rs 250/day for air-cooled chamber; Rs 300 for private A/C room. Can house up to twenty at a time; but book ahead when holiday season looms.

Sandip Soparrkar’s Ballroom, Shiamak Davar’s Summer Funk, Kaytee’s Salsa — you’ve tried it all and bought the leotard. But you know there’s more to explore dance-wise than jive kicks, jazz hands and spot turns. You’ve just been wondering where to take your happy feet.

Our Trendy Dance-aholic gives the verdict on the best schools for adventurous twinkle toes in town:

Arts in Motion (AiM) Dance Studio: One of the very few classes where you can learn soul-uplifting Modern/Contemporary dance. Or try the Tango or Belly-dancing. 39, T.V. Chidambaran Marg, Sion (E); Tel: 98203-80009.

Moksh: If you want to groom your Bollywood jhatkas for the upcoming festive and wedding season, this is the class to attend. 75, Bhulabhai Desai Rd. Opp. The American Consulate; Tel: 23610221/23676990.

The Pulse Studio: Among the variety of dance styles on offer here, the hottest ones right now are Hip Hop and Modern. Some batches are ongoing and let you pay by the class. Neeta Apartments, Ground floor, Opposite Santacruz Talwarkar’s, Near Standard Chartered Bank; Tel: 26494865/98208-71257.

The DanceWorx: Renowned dance guru Ashley Lobo lets you perfect Old Skool footwork in Street Jazz classes that combine technique and fun. Also on the anvil: Ballet. St Stanislaus School, Hill Road, Bandra; Tel: 65159994. New centres in Andheri and Juhu soon.

Price: All studios start at about Rs 200 per session, with an 8-12 session minimum; Duration: varies between 60-90 mins, 2-3 times a week.

You stream out of Priya, into Choko La — for the only real hot chocolate in town. Alas, no luck. Getting a post-show table can be a scramble for a good-sized gang of girls.

Your prayers got answered by the Aztec gods, with a second outlet at Khan Market.

Up its signature burnt-orange stairwell, two floors boast a deeply cocoa palette. Six tall single-origin tumblers — Tanzania, Sao Thome, Ecuador, Madagascar, Arriba, Papua. A spicy blended dark and a fruity white. Italian and Viennese.

The Rocky River shake floats pink marshmallows, almonds and chocolate bits. Bittersweet dilemma: Goldleaf-speckled Valrhona Tanariva caramelised cherry mousse? A chocolate fondue? Or real scones?

They do a dizzying line in filled Belgian chocs. Borneo, Cortez, Zanzibar. Cointreau and Juniper. Paloma and Hugo. Trendy picked Picasso — gold/silver/bronze brushstrokes mark a mod masterpiece swirled with marzipan, coffee, cardamom. And those After Eight-like mint sticks make fab mocha stirrers — you can’t stop at one.

They’ve got the cocoa that has you going loco.

Choko La, 36, Khan Market (middle lane, next to Big Chill), New Delhi; ph: 41757570. Prices: Filled chocolates (bonbons, truffles, liqueur and fruit centres) from Rs 25 apiece; chocolate beverages Rs 95-145; all-day breakfast items, and savouries Rs 75-185; juices, smoothies and shakes Rs 95-115; signature desserts Rs 95 onwards.

Age 18: Passed driving test.
Age 25: Signed the car loan papers.
Age 25 years and 7 months: Called up dad after the engine stalled.

Rescue vehicle breakdown service knows dads, brothers and boyfriends are better saved for more special occasions. That’s why they have a 20-30 minute response time for subscribers anywhere in Bangalore 24/7.

They change flat tyres and bring along emergency petrol — up to one litre for bikes and three litres for cars — when the fuel-gauge acts up. They provide on-road mechanical first-aid in minor crises like jumpstarting and replacing clutch or brake wires and charge you only for the spares.

When the problem can’t be redressed on the spot, they will tow away the vehicle — and give up to five people a lift to their residence.

And, starting now, they will help you process accident claims quick and easy. And even direct you to the right people if you want to buy or sell a vehicle.

Damsels in distress don’t wait for their knights any longer. Rescue is right here.

Rescue, 24/7 breakdown vehicle assistance, #79/31 Bharti Layout, S.G. Palya, Bangalore. Tel: 98864 96747 / 32919122. Website: www.rescuefirst.com. Annual membership costs Rs 365 for two-wheelers and Rs 699 for four-wheelers. Say you are a Trendy reader for a discount on the subscription.

Gold, ugh. You’re a silver person. Over the years, you’ve graduated from oxidised roadside danglers to showroom sizzlers, but the allure of the metal has been rock steady.

Trendy lets you in on this season’s new trinket trend. Get yourself a Suhani Pittie piece: the 26-year-old Gemological Institute of America alumnus hand-paints exquisite pieces of silver jewellery, the best match for your autumn-evening silk shirts, if not your walls quite yet.

Hyderabad-based Suhani’s new collection, Marshes & Marigold, ditches bling in favour of paint. Soft floral designs on polished silver make these pieces very feminine, and very different from the oh-so-passe semi-precious stone-studded baubles that are everywhere. God lies in the details — the blushing pink flower petals, and vivid brown and green stems and leaves.

In addition to the regular earrings, neck pieces, rings and bracelets, the collection also has nifty brooches, buckles and cufflinks. This time around, Suhani has used fine chains and even jute, moving away from the wood, buttons and wires of her previous collections: her silver is always hand-textured.

Wearable art that sets you apart.

Suhani Pittie’s Marshes & Marigold jewellery collection, at Ffolio (Bangalore), Embassy Chambers, 5 VM Road, Bangalore, Phone: 080-22218142; Ogaan (New Delhi), H-2, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi, Phone: 011-26967595, 26853849; Ensemble (Mumbai), Great Western Building 130/132, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai, Phone: 022-22872882. Price range: Rs 1,000-10,000.

Your yummy mummy read you Madeleine for a bedtime story. You prize her bottle of Soir de Paris in its midnight-blue Eiffel Tower box; the sepia frame of her, very Sharmila-esque, on honeymoon with your dapper Dad. You dream of little girls in tutus rushing across the Rue, of studying at the Sorbonne and the Louvre.

The romance that’s Paris hit photographer Amit Mehra hard on his 15-week sojourn last November. On an Artists-in-Residence scholarship to explore lifestyle a la Francaise. He couldn’t tear away from his studio for two whole months, what with the Times, Der Spiegel, Conde Nast and Elle knocking down his doors — ooh la la! But how could he not find time to capture on film?

And he’s sharing. That’s 36 blanche et noir frames — Parisian architecture, of course, and its avant-garde citizens. Even a little ‘Madeline’ down the lane — buttoned coat, scarf at throat, shiny Mary Janes on white-stocking-ed feet.

Don your white Chloe frock, add a mist of Anais-Anais — and make believe for an afternoon. Until you find yourself penning a billet-doux to your travel agent.

Paris — A Love Affair, 24-30 September,11am to 8pm at Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Francaise de Delhi, 72 Lodhi Estate, Delhi; ph: 43500200; email: front_desk@afgdelhi.org.

You’re a bundle of contradictions. You want traditional motifs, combined with modern minimalism. You seek elegant sophistication in an earthy ambience. You want furnishings that appeal to your inner aesthete, while satisfying your social consciousness. You could find yourself at Maya Organic.

Or lose yourself. For, in its spacious new retail outlet, the social sector NGO showcases its best design products under the brand name MO. Sleek slumber beds, low-seating sofa sets, CD racks, dressers, storage cabinets and cupboards — all crafted in solid wood with an impeccable finish.

The store also retails traditional Chanapatna lacquer toys and apparel in hand-woven, natural fibres. Our Trendy shopaholic’s favourite, however, was the rich, hand-embroidered range of home furnishings and silk quilts. Throw one around yourself and revel in the sense of quiet luxury.

The feel-good factor is heightened by the knowledge that all of MO’s environmentally-sustainable products are sourced from informal sector micro-entrepreneurs, and profits are redistributed to the worker-owned enterprises.

Being socially conscious was never so stylish.

Maya Organic. 15 Bannerghatta Road, JP Nagar III Phase, Bangalore 560 078 (Opp. Shoppers’ Stop). Ph: 26580511, 26580512. Furnishings start at Rs 130 for cushion covers, Rs 3600 for silk duvets. Furniture starts at Rs 3000 for wooden side-tables.

You savoured Vikram Seth and Amitav Ghosh. You giggled with Helen Fielding and Sue Townsend. Now for the best of both worlds. Indian-origin authors abroad pick up the chick-lit quill — and spell out the cross-generational nuances of fractured histories, of fitting in and falling out in a foreign (or not) land.

Monica Pradhan’s The Hindi-Bindi Club: Three American desis — divorcee, ’settled’ and single — begin a reluctant negotiation with their roots. The boundaries of their two deftly straddled worlds is marked by their bindi-bearing, Hindi-spouting, curry-stirring mothers’ ‘club’. Recipes included; ditto arranged marriages, first loves, dark pasts. Rs 395, Bantam/Bloomsbury

Nikita Lalwani’s Gifted: 10-year-old maths prodigy Rumi’s Cardiff schooling mirrors the author’s own childhood playground. But simmering under the surface of ordinary adolescent awkwardness is a real and deep distress over a hardboiled father’s strictures, grounded in his own, perhaps enforced, cultural cleavage. Is escape to Oxford the best rejoinder? Rs 395, Viking

Priya Basil’s Ishq and Mushq: A promising novel, begun in the throes of Partition and moving to London via Uganda with Sikh heroine Sarna. Her painfully embarrassing, ecstatically if wrong-headedly self-assured assimilation into English-ness is but the tip of an iceberg of haunting secrets in her marriage. Rs 495, Random House

Dip in. Stir up a soul curry.