Time travel, time capsules, time machines: from time immemorial, we’ve been fascinated by the idea of zipping across time zones. What if we went back into the past, or into the future, far, far away?

In Ghalib in New Delhi, the great Urdu poet of the 19th century wanders into present-day Delhi, encountering a city, which has forgotten poetry. Sayeed Alam’s rollicking 105-minute satire returns to the stage this Sunday, and regales us with the follies and foibles of dil-wale Dilli-wale, in the shape of his matronly Punjabi landlady, a Mrs Chaddha from Laxmi Nagar, and his Bihari roommate, a Mr Jai Hind.

Alam’s previous play, Big B, took a classic short story (Premchand’s Bade Bhaisahab) and made it fresh and contemporary. Mirza’s 21st century sortie is full of the sights and sounds of today’s Delhi.

Sample the ’sher’ that this avtar of Ghalib comes up with: Ghalib ka dil dhadak kar bola — Pyaar Mohabbat Coca Cola!

Crack up.

Ghalib in New Delhi, September 23, 7 pm, at the Alliance Francaise de Delhi, 72 Lodi Estate, New Delhi. Ph: 011 43 500 200. Tickets at Rs 200 onwards available at the venue two days in advance. Also contact Sayeed Alam at 9810255291 or 26391075, for telebooking.

Adept at draping that festive Banarasi pink to perfection. Expertly festooning your home with tasteful decorations. And yet, when it comes to packing up your carefully chosen gifts, you’re all thumbs. Instead of delegating the job to reluctant relatives this gifting season, call in the pros.

Our Trendy Shopper brings you the best of the bunch, for every occasion. How much you spend depends on your budget.

The Packaging Company: Partners Poonam Bhambhani and Anjali Kedia pack to thrill. Chocolate drops nestling in quaint, wooden carts filled with wispy lace announce the birth of a newborn, star-spangled Barbies hold invites for a birthday party, embossed impressions of Ganapati smile benignly on richly textured boxes.
Tel: 26406011/2, 26403496, Poonam Bhambhani: 9820064766.

Lavanya: Think tiny, tight coils of coloured paper as petals and whorls, drenched with diamante, delicately adorning handmade paper envelopes. Acrylic discs with miniscule roses. Or a wreath of ultra mini coconuts girdling tiny wicker baskets. Innovation’s the name of the game, for Shweta Goel and Anju Bidasaria. Trousseau wrapping, wedding favours and all types of gifts.
Shweta Goel: 9870230710, 9870362263, Anju Bidasaria: 9826072728, e-mail: shwetagoel_10@yahoo.com

Ratan Decor: Gauzy roses, scalloped organza swathes and frosted silky bows. Dipali Lakhani and Sura Shah fill your heart with joy through a cornucopia of silver coin holders, fancy dry fruit boxes, busy thaals, pretty batuas, ornate trays and jewelled caskets.
Dipali Lakhani 9820459599, Sura Shah 9223415405, e-mail: chintan9677@hathwaany.com

Friends and family will be wrapped around your little finger.

E-waste. Ozone holes. Angry polar bears. Every conscientious citizen of the world is aware of the risks our planet faces by way of unthinking use of its resources.

That’s why the bike shop, Bums on the Saddle — yes, you read it right — has lined up global bike brands Trek and Firefox, to stock the latest cutting edge features, razor-sharp design and cool colours. The Trendy Sportstah spotted a grey Firefox Viper that would be just right for her coffee-estate weekends.

Launched by a bunch of guys who cycled to work and then took off on a let-everyone-in trip, BOTS has road bikes (for days when it’s okay to turn up at work with mussed-up hair) and mountain bikes (for when it’s okay not to turn up at work). They also have a gang that goes out regularly for bike rides.

Get out the sunblock. Pick up some energy bars. And go out there to outshine the boys with a girls-only gang. Save the world while doing it — and get toned legs in the bargain.

Bums On The Saddle, #327, III Floor 15 Cross, 2 Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore. Email: cycles@bumsonthesaddle.com. Website: www.bumsonthesaddle.com. Prices: Rs 10,000-47,000.

The marauding colonisers didn’t manage it. China revealed only a few of its mysteries to the west. Dutch control over Indonesia was tenuous at most. And Thailand is the only south-east Asian country never to have been ruled by an alien power.

History has just been rewritten by Chef Sandesh Reddy. Heading Mugen (dream in Japanese), the newest Oriental restaurant in town, he coaxes the enigmatic Indochine to divulge its culinary secrets under one exquisitely decorated roof. Bamboo rafters, Thai scriptures and beautiful Indonesian artifacts set the ambience for amity and conversation.

Mix and match: Choose the Som Tam, a refreshing green papaya salad with crushed peanuts, from Thailand, a starter from Chong Quing. Follow up with a Siap Base Kalas, a tantalisingly different coconut-based curry from Indonesia, with steamed rice. Or set the taste buds on fire with the traditional Tom Yam, and douse the flames with Pag Manow, stir-fried veggies with a lime and coriander sauce. Keep space for the Trendy Taster’s fave dessert: Waterchestnut cubes and crushed ice in chilled coconut milk.

The Chinese menu is vast; the Indonesian one leaves one wanting more. But at the unique Chef’s Table — celebratory crockery set on lacquered tables — Reddy can cook up customised storms.

Come, be conquered.

Mugen. 3rd floor, 2011, 100 Feet Road (above Indigo Nation store), HAL 2nd stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore. Tel: 41481414/9945300004. Meal for two (without alcohol): Rs 900-1200.

City lights, painted girls. The urban cementscape is your world.

And yet you sometimes want to revel in village life as you’ve seen it in the movies. For a cutesy, kitschified version of the real thing, visit ‘Village: the Soul of India’. This chain of eateries serves up every cliché in the book and fantastic food too.

Each spacious restaurant has distressed walls festooned with kites and lanterns. Expect a peepal tree, turbaned musicians, astrologer, potter, mehendiwali and bangle seller. Seat yourself in a flamboyant truck to watch the puppet show, nautanki and Kutchhi ghodi performances. Peer into a ‘bi-scope’ for some Bollywood glam and join in when the garba begins.

Plonk yourself on the dhaaba style seating. Sip on kullad chai offered by a ‘villager’ from his bicycle. Rev up your appetite with more than 50 varieties of pickles and papads and fresh sugarcane juice. Tuck into some authentic multi-regional fare. End with unusual desserts like coconut sheera, chikoo barfi, beetroot halwa and doodhi mithai or just gorge on the most toothsome kesar jalebis. Wash it all down with a swig of kesar milk that’s placed on your table in a beer bottle.

With its first anniversary celebrations in full swing for a month, the Village is in full on mela mode. Is your inner gao ki chhori doing a ghagra-swirling pirouette already?

Village: The Soul of India; Timings: noon-3pm; 7pm-midnight; Common board line for bookings: 28081199; Address: Raghuleela Mall, Next to Poisar Depot, Kandivali (W), Mumbai; Tel: 28092809; Eternity Mall, Level 2, Teen Hath Naka, LBS Marg Junction, Thane (W), Thane; Tel: 25815090/20; Platinum Mall, Level 3, Next to BMC office, Jawahar Road Corner, Ghatkopar (E), Mumbai. Rate per adult: Mon-Fri: lunch Rs 250, dinner Rs 275; Sat-Sun & holidays: lunch and dinner Rs 300. Rate per child: Rs 175 all days, any meal.

There was a time when you were a super-sleuth. A whiff of your fave perfume would have you skulking into that GK shop’s basement, where the ‘imported’ bottle would be fished out from below the counter, and handed to you, surreptitiously.

Those days are so over. Lancome is finally, officially here. Now walk into any Shoppers Stop store, and immerse yourself in the delights of the brightly lit, beautifully displayed counters. Well-trained therapists will diagnose your skin, help you choose the right products, and even give you a mini-makeover. All for free.

Our Trendy Tester waltzed in to pick the bestsellers from the range.

Tresor Eau De Parfum, Rs 3,750: A Lancome classic, with floral notes of rose, lily of the valley, and amber.

Color Fever Shine Lipstick, Rs 1,250: Sheer colour with pearly texture that glides on, and stays on.

Magie Blush, Rs 1,500: Light mousse blush gives a natural glow.

Fatale Mascara, Rs 1,400: Mascara comb sculpts each lash and gives a 3D-like definition.

Eau De Beinfait Clarite, 3-in-1 Cleansing and Toning Lotion, Rs 1,800: This water-light lotion with papaya and pineapple extracts cleans and tones in one step. Great for girls in a hurry.

Put your gumshoes away.

Delhi: Shoppers’ Stop, Ansal Plaza Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi. Ph: 26258866; Eros Mall, 10 Shivaji Place, Raja Garden, New Delhi, Ph: 255444101.
Noida: Shoppers’ Stop, The Great India Place Mall, Noida, Ph: 95 120 4056011, 95 120 4056049.
Gurgaon: Shoppers’ Stop, Metropolitan Mall, M G Road, Gurgaon, Ph: 95 124 4019130, 95 124 4019988.

Friday night: share post-work pizza with significant other. Saturday afternoon: Lunch with the girls at new French cafe. But Sunday you like to sleep in till noon, then sniff out a hearty biryani — hits the savoury spot after a mostly liquid pub night.

And as Amitabh Bachchan, playing toque of the town, was sweetly reminded in the movie — cheeni kum is just fine, thanks much. A Hyderabadi zaffrani needs no sugaring, in reel life or real.

Andhra Bhavan Canteen: Unbeatable VFM, eye-wateringly good chicken biryani (Rs 90) is their Sunday special. This coastal-influenced (yakhni on side, with tomato bits and mustard) avatar vanishes by 2pm; arrive early to pay homage. Andhra Pradesh Bhavan,1 Ashoka Road, 011-23387499/7599.

Omer Khusro: Gurgaon gals, skip South Delhi jams and do as telemarketers do: call at dinnertime, Saturday, to order ahead. Mooch over the next day to collect the Nizam’s favourite dish, chicken or mutton — Rs 320 feeds five. H-19, South City — I, Gurgaon; ph: 9811224451; 0124-4082528.

Chor Bizarre: NOIDAwalas, your best bet is this gosht biryani (Rs 225), ‘fruitier’, with just a hint of asafoetida in Kashmiri style. Savoy Suites, A-79A Sector 16, Noida; ph: 95120-2511420.

Zahid Qureshi: For the genteel Lucknavi benediction, he’s your man. Rs 1,000 and 12 hours’ notice gets you choice meaty morsels in ghee-redolent basmati — for 10! Call the cousins over. T-216 Nawab Road (near Sadar Thana); ph: 9818235223, 9213165147.

Get your taste buds rooting for your Indian roots.

Most days, you’re the worker bee. Occasionally, though, you want to feel like the queen. To pamper your inner Cleopatra in between presentations and parallel processings, look no further than the all-new Fifth Element, a traditional Thai spa where masseurs are recruited from Thailand.

Enter the cool marble foyer of the spa and already you’re miles away from paperwork. The large water basins with flowers, the soothing music, a refreshing beverage and a cold face towel lull you into banishing any thought of work.

The elemental therapy suites — water, fire, wind and earth — are designed to relax or rejuvenate. Choose from a range of oils, massages, body polishes, facials. Or pick their signature three-hour Fifth Element Treatment, including a body scrub, massage, facial and soak in a fragrant rose petal and milk bath.

Don’t like the oily stuff? Go for a traditional 60-minute massage using Thai pressure techniques.

To prolong the afterglow, sip on a cup of hot ginger tea in a verandah overlooking a lush green expanse.

Feel the buzz return.

The Fifth Element. 489, 8th Main, West Wing, Amarjyothi Layout, Inner Ring Road, Near Domlur Bridge, Bangalore. Tel: 41268111. Full body treatments start at Rs 1800, facials at Rs 1300, bodywraps at Rs 1900 and body polish treatments at Rs 1400. The Fifth Element treatment costs Rs 4900.

Rachel from Friends immortalised this designer label by calling it ‘Gukki’ in jest. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis did her bit by making the Jackie-O shoulder bag a legend.

Now it’s your turn. Tote the much-coveted Indy Bag — in myriad colours and fabrics — with its signature bamboo tassels and metal fittings. Or play safe with the classic leather hobo. Both have been spotted on the world’s hottest shoulders, from Mischa Barton to Jessica Simpson.

It’s a long way from the equestrian style the label first became popular in India for, back in the days of ’smuggled goods’. The store is 3,400 feet of everything the Gucci addict craves: dangerously high-heeled shoes, watches, sunglasses, wallets and other leather accessories.

The pret line, oozing vintage appeal from the design house’s archives, has something for every body type. Carrot slim? Try a suede bomber jacket trimmed with leather and tweed to add volume. Pear? Slip on a high-waist dress with strong shoulders. Apple? The straight, knee-length skirts. And the ultra-glam floor-length evening gowns work for just about anybody.

Deciding between leaving something behind and going into overdraft can be a tough call. But those patent leather ballerina wedges will help you cross that bridge.

Gucci, Galleria, Nariman Point, Mumbai-400 021; Tel No: 022- 30277060. Prices: Ready to Wear from Rs 9,600. Women’s Leather goods from Rs. 7,600.

You’re tired of the mall crawl. So you head to good ol’ Brigade Road-MG Road. You have a blast with the gal pals. You shop more than you intend. And half way through, you find you need some soul space.

Take a break at new Soul Deli Café. Tucked away from the frenzied shoppers on MG Road, it offers good food and an ambience to match. An open area with a waterfall on one side and comfy tables on the other. Lounge-like interiors and a counter that carries house breads, cheeses and desserts.

The yummilicious menu comprises soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas, grills, homemade ice creams, desserts and lo-cal specials. Try the non-veg salad for a light meal. Or, if you’re very hungry, one of their humungous sandwiches. Soul Deli makes its own breads and it’s very French country-like in its freshness. And, psst, they give you a chilli-herb butter that is deeeelish. The desserts are sinful, but try a smoothie. Muesli smoothie, if you want to feel virtuous.

So stop by next weekend. And step out ready to parade down Brigade Road. Smiling.

Soul Deli Café, 65 Bluemoon Complex, MG Road, Bangalore. Ph: 25589991/ 9902033896. A full course meal costs Rs 400. Soul Xpress Buffet — Monday to Friday at Rs 150.