The fitness bug bit me hard in January (my New Year resolution was to get cracking on an exercise routine). But by the first week of Feb, I could sense the boredom seeping in. Treadmills seemed so dull, and crunches were an ab-solute pain in the, well, tummy! That’s when I decided to walk into Baqar Nasser’s brand new spinning studio — Topspin — to personally check out what the fitness craze was all about. I admit, I went for a ’spin’ and am now an addict too.

So, how’s spinning different from that familiar old stationary cycle? The former National-level-cyclist-turned-spinning-instructor told me all about it: “A spinning bike is designed so as to get a real feel of a cycle. And because it’s a fixed wheel cycle, there is no jerk effect.” He also showed me how the spinning cycle monitors your RPM, heart rate and pulse during the session. A super way to keep tabs on your body during this creative cardio workout.

But you know the best thing about Baqar’s spinning classes? The fact that I’ll never get bored of doing them. They’re far from monotonous because with filmi tunes and flashing disco lights. “It’s not about training hard, but about training smart,” he says.

And smart cookie that I am, I’m going to be on the spin cycle for a while.

Topspin Branches: Gold’s Gym, Nepeansea Road, Tel: 32066444/ 9920084440; Gold’s Gym, Oshiwara, Andheri (W), Tel: 40105014; Euphoria Gym, Juhu, Tel: 26212444; Leena Mogre’s Fitness Centre, Bandra, Tel: 26481795/96; One Fitness Hub-n-Spa, Powai, Tel: 65563000; Euphoria Gym, Thane, Tel: 25450322; Batches: Mon/Wed/Fri or Tues/Thurs/Sat, one hour per session; Cost: Rs 15,000 per month.

I was a beanie-bag regular here, curled up with a fresh brew and a book from their wall-length library. Mocha’s where I got my first cafe mug of Blue Mountain. And where my friends and I kept coming back to get buried under a Chocolate Avalanche.

Until the MCD set its seal on the door in 2006. Sure, there was a NOIDA joint — but the drive’s a quencher for city-centre shoppers. And Barnies and Baristas weren’t a patch on it.

My fave cuppa is back! At yummy Def Col market. Overlooking the file of florists at the end.

They’ve kept things quiet, but it’s already all abuzz as we drop in early for Sunday brunch. Choosing a chair makes us girls work for our supper — they’re all different, all moodily enticing. And available to take home! (You can buy any of their furniture on the spot, or they’ll custom-make you a new piece — how cool is that?)

The ‘Bambaiya Ishtyle’ keema pao with a sunny-side-up makes my friend’s day. My Quebec-returned poutine — a French Canadian messy munchie of crunchy French fries with gooey cheese curds and gravy — is comfort at its inauthentic best, curry-spiced. Washed down in style with French press-fuls of Jamaican, Hawaiian Kona and the signature Yemeni Mocha.

We dare Vertigo. This chocolate-layer cake is T-A-L-L. Too much for two, treat enough for three. And play it smooth till sundown with a Marrakesh sheesha — not quite the Berber traditional with goat’s milk, but exotic enough, shot with rose.

Follow in our caffeine-charged footsteps. Come again another day for a tumbler of Blueberry Brain Freezer or rich Lindt milkshake. With honey-roasted peanut-butter cookies or Cinnabuns frosted with cream cheese.

The capital bean counter just hit an all-time high.

Mocha, 28A Defence Colony, New Delhi; ph: 46588445/47.Java and junk for two: Rs 750 onwards.

Change. That’s what I’m looking for this year. I’m tired of my old look, highlights and all. Two months into the new year, I’m still a regular at the treadmill. And, for my legs, I’m looking at Mona Kalro for a makeover.

Don’t get me wrong: She’s no godmother with a magic wand — more like a footwear designer with a magic imagination. Her label Wild Nappa promises to bring out the long, tall Sally in the shortest frame. The heels may be three inches tall but come packed mile-high with attitude and style.

The faux leather tie-backs with a D-buckle transformed me from feel-shorty to feel-leggy. A pair of royal blue stilettos livened up my demure black dress and brought out my inner siren. And slinky flat thongs showed off my French pedicure on a Sunday brunch with friends. But the pairs that I reeeeeally drool over are the leopard-print slingbacks and the Roman sandals with knee-high tie-ups.

The best thing about the Wild Nappa footwear? Most models come with specially cushioned insoles and toe-boxes that guarantee you could spend hours in them, dancing or walking, without worrying about shoe-bites and pinched toes.

Go ahead, walk on air.

Wild Nappa. Available at Nimboo Closet (link), Estilo, 25/5 Lavelle Road, Maruth Complex basement, Bangalore 1, Tel: 41233947; Marmalade, 3, Marielle Apartments, Magrath Road, Bangalore 25, Tel: 41221814. Prices: Rs 750-1500.

Dahling, you know how my calendar’s always full. But I made it a point to pencil in an exclusive preview of Rohit Bal’s India Fashion Week collection. After all, Gudda and his grand designs, up close and personal aboard a luxury yacht, is something even your Trendy Fashionista can’t feign indifference to.

The Fall/Winter 2008 line that I checked out evidently draws inspiration from Indian tradition: Ashta Dhatu, a longstanding concept where eight different metals were melded into forms of incredible physical and spiritual strength and beauty (from gods’ statues to jewellery that protects from the evil eye). Hues of gold, silver, copper, tin, zinc, mercury, lead and iron make up Bal’s energetic colour palette. The dramatic dresses — with full, flouncy skirts and rippling with a very futuristic, metallic sheen — are just right for a sophisticated soiree or even a high-octane cocktails-and-dinner. Look out for puffballs and layered skirts with straps, halter necks, off-shoulders and even eye-catching OTT sleeves. And although the gown that Nina Manuel modelled to perfection didn’t quite seem to go with the rest of the range, it’s still the one I’d pick for myself: As richly fluid as claret being poured into a wine goblet, with standout ruffled sleeves that put the fab into fabulous.

Gudda’s showing his true mettle

Eye-candy. That was my takeaway from Jodhaa-Akbar. Hrithik, of course (oh man, that totally extraneous solo scene with a sword!), but also the droolworthy jewellery, the fabulous costumes and the sets that almost rivalled the protagonists in their aesthetic perfection.

That’s why I’m glad I discovered Jalsa. It’s actually housed in a white fortress, with liveried durwaans in colourful kurta-pyjamas and Jodhpuri chappals. The interiors are reminiscent of a Mughal darbar, complete with glittering curtains and red-blue-green lights. No Aishwarya singing Manmohana — they prefer old Hindi melodies instead — but the aroma of hearty Mughlai fare quite took my mind off that absence.

Under flamboyant domes and intricate arches, my partner and I studied the extensive menu: soups, salads, kebabs, biryanis, rotis, mithai and thandaai. Ravenous as we were though, we skipped the starters and went straight for the lamb biryani. Tender and aromatic, it kept us happily engaged through the musical evening. We washed it all down with some excellent thandai. But what we really enjoyed was the ambience and the relative privacy that encouraged conversation.

Now if only Hrithik (bare-torsoed, of course) had been there on the menu.

Jalsa, 25 Outer Ring Road (next to Grand Mall), Marathalli, Bangalore 37. Tel: 9845175777, 32425757. Meal for two: Rs 600.

Picture this: an entire day of shop-till-you-drop fun; from clothes to bags to shoes to belts, and even home accessories. You think that I’m turning into a Material Girl? Wait, let me explain. This buying spree will be completely guilt-free. How, you ask? Well, the money I’ll spend will go directly towards the Save the Children India Foundation, which works for the health and education of underprivileged children. Can you possibly beat that?

The Araaish sale has been put together for the second time by Mana Shetty (yes, Bollywood hero Suniel Shetty’s wife) and her siblings — Isha Mehra and Rahul Kadri. Since I shopped last year too, I can say it’s well worth a day’s spend.

This season’s spring/summer lines, I hear, are all pret. Surily Goel’s designer line is fun, young and uber trendy (the colourful tunics are a must-have this season). And for the first time, Surily has designed for large and extra-large sizes too. While on funky, colourful clothes, Seema Khan’s collection — all bright colours, interesting cuts and intricate embroidery — is super wearable stuff for us Urban Goddesses. And then Wendell Rodricks’ line, featuring his signature style of minimalist chic, is bound to up your closet’s oomph factor.

And then there are the bags. Shaan S Khanna gets them just right — BIG, colourful, and yet oozing with style and super detailing. As are home accessories from Tanya Deol, eclectic and beautifully hand-crafted.

Jewellery, saris, accessories, shoes, furniture — there’s a lot to choose from. Note to self: Stop by the stall displaying accessories and handicrafts made by the children of the NGO itself.

The Araaish Sale, at Blue Sea, Worli Seaface, February 27, 10 am-9 pm. Tel: 24902222; Prices: Clothes: Rs 3,000-6000; Accessories and shoes: Rs 500-2500; Home accessories: Rs 800-4000.

Tiger-spotting time ends in March. The shooting season did too, in the days of the Raj and the rajahs.

Holidaying in a forest cottage has me musing about those hunting trips of a century ago. From which your mustachioed, sola topi-ed grandfather returned with a full bag of game — and tall tales from the fireside. Now it’s your man who’s hungry for the kill.

This is what I told him. These days, jungli expeditions call for passes and permits. The game’s up, and no longer afoot. But it is in the bag — at Line of No Control, Hotel Qutab. And I’ve found it on the only shikaar menu in town.

No stalking through field and forest. Just my bench in the sun, with the wind ripping across the Ridge. Oh alright, there’s cushy indoor seats at this popular Frontier/tandoori joint too — under coloured-glass lanterns, beside old-world alcoves framing antique-d utensils.

Young quails, plump turkey, tender rabbits. Spit-roasted to a turn. Deboned, rolled and stuffed. Rubbed with spices no khansama could find in the woods. Slid into tandoor. Making for a royal repast.

I chose rich, sweet breads — baqarkhani, sheermal — to bank the fire of that masala marinade. You can hunt down gently stewed quarry camouflaged among the regular dishes instead. Hint: Keep your eyes peeled for ‘bater’ (quail to the angrez).

That should keep stout hearts (and adventure-hungry stomachs) purring as happily as any big cat!

Line of No Control, Qutab Hotel, Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg, New Delhi; ph: 41688963 Shikaar items: Rs 775 onwards; available February-March.

It’s still February, and I have a fresh bouquet of books to suit the month of romance. Put on your rose-pink Gucci shades, and dive into these volumes, some all-out love stories, and some which make you pause, and think, and fall right back into love again.

Budding rose: 16th in The Princess Diaries series (including the ‘1/2s’!) from Meg Cabot. Amidst deepening angst, Mia’s dressed To the Nines (Pan Macmillan, Rs 399). Cupid’s so confused. With a surprisingly level-headed look at adolescent depression.

Worm in the rose: For the classic-lover whose idea of timeless ardour is epitomised by Sonnet 130, here’s harking back with a passion. Bittersweet love-stories and poems by our faves — Catallus to Kundera — in My Mistress’ Sparrow is Dead, compiled and edited by Jeffrey Eugenides (HarperCollins, Rs 295).

Roses for real: For Darlingji: the True Love Story of Nargis and Sunil Dutt (HarperCollins, new in paperback, Rs 395), Kishwar Desai reconstructs this utterly filmi amour from the protagonists’ diaries — and their daughter’s. Warm, intimate account of the lives of the lovers, among the finest actors of their time, and of course, Bollywood.

War of the roses: In the nth volume from John Gray’s Men are from Mars, Women are From Venus series, we visit the battleground of the sexes. Why Mars and Venus Collide (HarperCollins, Rs 295) is racy, funny, and all about the troubles you and your man can get up to. Don’t worry, dear John also tells you what to do about it.

My bedside table is all full: what are you waiting for?

“A bottle of wine, ma’am?” Those words from an impeccably attired, white-gloved wine steward always gave me the jitters. I knew what I wanted to drink, mostly, but I didn’t have a clue about vineyards, grapes, labels and years.

“A crisp, light white,” I’d say, crossing my fingers he wouldn’t rattle off a series of foreign-sounding names without further elucidation. Most often, though, he did, and then another period of agonizing would follow before I clutched at a familiar-sounding name or, worse, settled for a Bloody Mary.

No longer. Now I’m a certified wine-aficionado: I know the major grape varieties, the difference between rosé and red, Chianti and Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. At the last Food Lovers’ Wine Basics programme on wine appreciation for beginners, Bangalore Wine Club president Alok Chandra talked and sipped us through wine tasting and pairing wine with food, distinguished between sparkling, fortified and aromatized, and gave us tips on colour, clarity, complexities and balances.

I still may not be able to tell between one vineyard and the other, or the significance of 1989 over 1990. But the next time a suave steward comes up, I’ll know what to tell him.

The next Food Lovers’ Wine Basics programme will be held at 7pm, Sunday 16th March, at the Chancery Pavilion, Residency Road, Bangalore. Fee: Rs1100, inclusive of dinner and wines. Seating is limited so sign up early. Call 9902988220 to register.

Twenty-one silver sculptures. All revolving around the central theme of a bed. Fires one’s imagination, doesn’t it?

Mukul Deora (yes, son of political stalwart Murli and brother of Congress MP Milind) who’s been up there on Mumbai’s music scene, even converting his home into a mixing studio, is now dabbling in installation art.

His debut, titled ‘The Metronome’, may seem meaningless at first glance, but I’m confident that you’ll find it interesting if you delve deeper. Mukul’s used the metaphor of a bed to signify the various aspects of our existence — it’s a place where we are conceived, born and also where we die. It’s a place where we start new beginnings in the mornings and wrap them up at night. See how an ordinary cot is transformed into an ornate wedding bed in more than just the physical sense. Mukul explained to me, “The wedding night transforms the simple bed into a mythical scene, giving it purpose and memory.”

It’s all about space, time and life. In this context, you can understand his ‘Soft Metronome’, which symbolises the human heart. Apparently, the soft metronome of life ticks from left to right, bringing either sweet delight or tasteless memories, depending on what we do with our time. Profound.

And all this time, I thought beds were all about snooze control.

‘The Metronome’ by Mukul Deora on till March 8 at Ashish Balram Nagpal Art Gallery, No. 7, The Courtyard, Behind Radio Club, Colaba; Tel: 66385472/73; Prices: Rs 2-2.5 lakh.