Dream Run, 21 kms, 32 kms. Everywhere you turn, the buzz is about Sunday’s bhaag-daud, the largest in Asia. Okay, so you’re all prepped to get in step with thousands of co-marathoners, but you want to stand out too. Here’s a guide through the track racks:

Uppers: Nike’s thick winter training jacket may be a little OTT, but it keeps you comfortably dry and provides full range of motion. Another option is the Reebok Gym Short Bra Top (Rs 2,200), which prevents fatigue by supporting your muscles, while the fabric keeps you ventilated. Or go glam in royal blue or racy red gym bras (Reebok, Rs 5,500).

Lowers: Head to Proline or Nike in sports stores like Planet Sports for a pair of white shorts, a skirt or even a divided skirt (Rs 900-1,350).

Shades: UV protected sunglasses are a must. Opt for Calvin Klein’s style number 957S (Rs 3,700). Sporty chic that’ll do you proud even if your timing doesn’t.

Headgear: A cap from Nike’s Sport Culture Headphones (Rs 1,750) protects delicate facial skin from the sun, while you get your tunes on the run.

Footwear: Coordinate the Nike Free range (Rs 4,000-7,500) with your sporty ensemble. Our Trendy Fashionista gives the black and gold unisex shoes a hearty rah-rah.

Just like the extra cheers you’ll be getting at the finish line.

Planet Sports, Inorbit Mall, Malad (W); Nike, Reebok, Profile outlets; CK sunglasses at all Shoppers’ Stop outlets and Lawrence and Mayo.

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Catching up for coffee turns into meeting up for a drink. Sunlit floors turn into starry ceilings. Orange turns into black. And Bengaluru says a wooohooo welcome to the Hard Rock Cafe.

Step into 9000 sq ft of hallowed space and take five minutes to soak in rock memorabilia, from guitars and drumsticks to rock-studded gloves and diamond-studded suits.

And yeeeah (said Aerosmith-style)! There’s the Hard Rock signature store, Rock Shop! With metal Harley Davidson pins, li’l guitar keychains, mugs and ‘Hard Rock Cafe - Bengaluru’ tees.

Choose between two high-ceilinged sections, a restaurant and an open courtyard, both filled with Black Sabbath swears and Bono blessings. There are cocktails galore, and your favourite poisons. Food ranges from sandwiches and salads to burgers and desi faves (Try the Big Blue burger, filled with crumbled blue cheese or a simple Namma Bengaluru prawn curry). And yeeeeah! There’s an intense dessert menu as well: The Apple Cobbler, with its warm cinnamony appleness, is a hot favourite.

So wear black, wear metal and leave your pink satchel at home. And sing along at the HRC.

Hard Rock Cafe, 40 St. Marks Road, Bangalore. Tel: 41242222. Prices: T-shirts from Rs 500. Beer at Rs 150 a mug. Burgers start at Rs 360, desserts at Rs 250.

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You’re a book worm. Your sturdy bookcases are packed from floor to ceiling with first editions and signed copies. You could talk for hours about your fave writers.

Here’s your chance to actually talk to them — at the Jaipur Literature Festival, which showcases writers, performers and artists through five pulsating days.

William Dalrymple’s brainchild, now in its third year, celebrates the art of writing and reading. This year, literary legends Gore Vidal and Ian McEwan, will be there with veterans Nayantara Sehgal, UR Ananthamurthy, as well as the younger generation– Manil Suri, Siddarth Dhanvant Shanghvi, Namita Devidayal, Jeet Thayil and more.

After heady discussions during the day, unwind with dance and music performances in the evenings. Highlights include the premier of the Golden Globe award winner Atonement (McEwan’s sensitive novel turned into a stunning film), and a performance by Anoushka Shanker and Karsh Kale.

Want to find your own words? Or find yourself transformed by the words of others? Book those dates.

The 3rd Jaipur Literary Festival, from Jan 23 to 27 at Diggi Palace, SMS Hospital Road, Jaipur. Entrance free for most events. Please check detailed programme note for ticketed and by invitation events. Seats are allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Programmes run from 10 am to 10 pm. More information at www.jaipurliteraturefestival.org or call +91 9999261611.

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A dried rosebud, fragrant with memories, inside a volume of poetry. A single gerbera in a cut-glass bowl. A wildflower tucked beside the ear, echoing the bright sundress.

Now, saying unique things with flowers is easier than ever before. IndoBloom, which researches and grows its own varieties outside of Bangalore for export, has started home-delivering the roses — and only roses — that wow the world.

Our Trendy Flower-Child sent a big bunch and they reached her intended in the freshest possible state, just as IndoBloom promised.

Ask for these IndoBloom specialties:

Kameleon: A three-toned rose, shaded with green, pink and ivory.

Brazilian Lady: A silvery-white rose with a deep maroon heart.

Bonheur: Shades of purple and maroon in a single bud.

First Red: A perfect deep red. It says the three little words, even when dry.

Noblesse: A pale, pretty pink. Use one instead of a faux corsage.

Take a deep breath.

IndoBloom. Empire Infantry, Infantry Road, Bangalore 1. To order, call N I Mathai on +91 9886723591 or email roses@indobloom.net. Prices: Rs 4 to Rs 6 for each 40cm long-stemmed rose. Minimum order: Rs 200 plus Rs 100 delivery charges per arrangement in Delhi and Mumbai; nominal charges in Bangalore. Place orders 24 hours in advance for Bangalore, 48 hours for Mumbai and Delhi. No deliveries on Valentine’s Day.

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New Year Resolution #165: Do something new for the first time.
New Year Dilemma: Been there, done that, taken home the tee. What’s a tried-it-all gal to do?

Saunter down to the courtyard at Tribal Route, where graphic designer Hema Jog is holding creative workshops. Our Trendy Try-Outer especially loved the idea of the medieval French art of ‘decoupage’ (not to mention how nicely the word rolls off her tongue).

Apparently, it was all the rage back in the old days, with everyone from Marie Antoinette to Madame de Pompadour dabbling in this art which got popular in 17th century Venice but has roots in 12th century China.

Today, it’s becoming just as hot. Unleash your creativity pasting photographs or cut-outs from magazines and newspapers onto an object. Add a lacquered finish or paint effects. Perfect to give that worn-out cupboard a makeover, or catapult a self-effacing garden bench into the limelight of animated discussion.

Bring creativity back in 2008.

Decoupage workshop: Jan 25-31, 2008, 7pm-9pm; Eight seats, book by Jan 22; Fee: Rs 5,000 (materials included); Address: Tribal Route, ‘Majlis’ Courtyard, 18 Aram Nagar 2, JP Road, Machlimar, Versova, Andheri (W); Hema’s Tel: 98209-66277.

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You’re done window-shopping in Basant Lok. As you turn back to the car park, to head for the big designer names in the Saket or Gurgaon malls, you spot a swanky new tower. Could apna Priya complex be rising beyond Reeboks?

It has. And your new pad thanks you for the look-in at August, a multi-designer lifestyle store bursting with luxe must-haves.

Floor level: Armani Casa home furnishings, bathroom suites and loungers. Cool lighting. Lightweight birch folding chairs, perfect for that impromptu party.

In the basement: Poliform closets in wood and laminate finishes, with a multitude of built-in shelving, dividers, drawers and catch-all holders. Royal Auping beds guaranteed for a lifetime’s napping.

First floor: Bodum coffee and tea mugs to perfectly partner your French press. And adorable syringe-equipped tea balls. Brabantia kitchen tools you didn’t know you couldn’t do without — butter curler! asparagus peeler! bottle scraper! Calphalon cookware in gleaming copper or dark anodised aluminium. Entire kitchens,too. Our Trendy Cuccinista was impressed with the range of silicone utensils, including no-melt, no-shed pastry brushes.

On top: Bed and board are the topmost concerns. Riedel stemware — and those so of-the-moment stemless wine balloons. Italian IVV handmade statement glassware. Heated mattresses.

Keep looking. Your home deserves this august presence.

August, 28 Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi; ph: 46039999; www.augustonline.in; email: info@augustonline.in. Prices from Rs 260 on, to Rs 10 lakh.

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A woman can never be too tall or have too many shoes. Who was it who said that? No matter if it doesn’t ring a bell — our Trendy Shoe-Fiend made that her motto when she walked into VNC, the Malaysian brand that has just set up shop in town.

From the poshest pumps to the latest high-definition heels, VNC believes in sole food, dressed up in the season’s newest styles and colours. Gearing up for the beaches? Try a funky fuchsia pair of flip-flops. Looking to spend a day in the sun? Pair your cuffed shorts with black espadrilles that promise to turn your tanned gams into compliment-magnets.

Dress up the moss-green frock — you must have a frock this season — with basket-weave stilettos in rust-moss-amber. Or stage an entrance at a chic soiree with diamante-encrusted butterflies dancing on your toes.

When she had finished salivating, our Trendy Shoe-Fiend settled for a pair of sassy ballerina slip-ons in a rich shade of plum with sundry metal charms tagged on to the bow. Beyond gorgeous, she says.

Go ahead. Put your best shoe forward.

VNC. 2015, Sangam Plaza,100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, opposite the Benetton store. Tel: 41735964. Prices start at Rs 950 and go up to Rs 4000.

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You dine out thrice a week. But even as you order Italian or French, Med or pan-Asian, your adventurous palate wants to wander — closer home.

Mosaic’s authentic all-Indian roster just dug its roots in deeper. Beginning with Bengali ranna over Christmas-New Year, the eatery will ladle up lesser-known delicacies from across India every month.

Right now, Rajasthan is the focus. Standard Rajasthani dishes of dal-baati-churma, lal maas and safed maas are banished. Instead, there’s smoky shikar morsels redolent of the fireside — soovar ka soola, jangli maas, malgoba with two kinds of cardamom. Divine veggie dishes — harey lasun (garlic greens), colourful channa-mattar, dhaniya ke kofte. Breads from bajra roti to makki ka dhokla. To end, remarkable sweets that both the halvai-down-the-gali and the hotel pastry chef would despair of — makki ki phirni and harey channa ka halwa!

All anointed with ample milk, yoghurt and ghee, minus water (it is a largely desert state). No aridity of portions though — main courses are rounded out with dal (the Pithori is stunning), cereal staples and chatpata stuffed mirchi, along with the gratis besan ki pator starter, flanked by fiery chutneys.

Come, explore. And bring your appetite along.

Rajasthani Kitchen, on till Jan 20. Mosaic, M 45/1 Connaught Place, New Delhi; ph: 23416105/6842. Price: Approx Rs 750 for two (not including alcohol). In Feb, cuisine from Goa.

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Think you can see sound? Wish you could listen to a photograph speaking a thousand words? Do the boundaries between the senses feel limited sometimes? Tune in now, as tabla exponent and British DJ Talvin Singh takes you on a visual/auditory journey with his out-of-the-box photographs and sound installations.

‘Everyone is a camera’, the musician’s debut attempt at visual art, is as funky as it can get, with the images stuck on steel plates. See a barrage of colour, hear a pin drop or a scissor snip, and feel the energetic vibes in this one-of-its-kind show. Talvin clicks just about anything, including the source of a sound he likes. For the show, he’s merged visual elements with varying pitches of day-to-day noises, as well as those that he creates on his equaliser.

Our Trendy Art Aficionado came away impressed with the ingenuity of thought that went behind making the ordinary so extraordinary. Like, the point of a church steeple seen from a distance against a white backdrop which makes for a stunning image that you have to see to believe. Don’t miss the speakers on the wall — snugly fitted into metal, tabla-shaped vessels, emitting a deeper, metallic sound. And don’t say something you might not want the world and its cousins to hear, because, as our Trendy Art Aficionado found out, the gallery is recording your conversations, too.

Art imitating life imitating art.

‘Everyone is a camera’, on till February 21 at the Bombay Art Gallery, next to Radio Club, Colaba, Mumbai; (no telephone yet); Prices: Rs 9 lakh up.

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Maybe it’s the punchy newness of the year. Or maybe it’s just the highlights in your hair, still a fortnight old. You suddenly feel your home needs a pick me up. Blame it on all things new and head to 1 BHK.

From ceiling to floor, this wood and glass space enthralls. Shelves offer tins of kadak Mumbai chai. That’s just the beginning. Take a whirlwind walk past antique brass candle-stands, mugs, coasters, bookmarks, floor lamps, vases, wine racks, what-have-you.

And yes, furniture. Two levels of rattan haven. Don’t miss the water hyacinth set, the colonial planter chair and the no-nonsense teak and bamboo armchairs for the study. A contemporary teak bed is backdrop to all things linen. Napkins, bathroom sets, pillows, throws, quilts.

Our Trendy Shopper couldn’t take her eyes off the decadent crystal candle-stand, all of two feet tall. Unfortunately, Sulaxmi Laud, director of 1 BHK, will not sell it.

The theme spells quirky, fun and fresh. Christened by friend Cyrus Oshidar, one would expect it to. Paintings selected by Ashish Balram Nagpal only emphasize it. Artist Siddharth Choudhary’s recreations of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Gone with the Wind and other Hollywood classics could find their place of honour in any movie aficionado’s home.

But a 1 BHK is not a pre-requisite.

1BHK, G1, Trade World A Wing, Kamala City, S.B. Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai; Phone: 24930004/8; Website: www.1bhkonline.com; Prices: Rs 150 onwards.

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