What’s more appealing than Texan-ranch denims, rendered in smart Italian finish, hot off the Delhi high-street? Umm, my Swarovski pen-drive cum neck ornament comes close. But I’d have to put the spanking new Replay store down as the grooviest splurge-stop for this summer! After those stuffy Liber cocktail clutches and floor-sweeping gowns from last season, chilled-out denims and tees come as a breath of fresh air. My sparkly USB drive likes ‘em better, too!

Opened just a fortnight back at my fave Saket haunt, the store welcomes you in with its bold red neon sign. Exposed brick walls, wooden flooring and fixtures, and warm yellow lighting, gives the place a young, but sophisticated, air.

It’s big and well-laid out and crammed with sturdy, stylish and perfectly-cut casual wear. I’m not talking tacky boy-shorts and formula cheeky-tees, but yummy acid-washed denims that cling to your curves. I got one instantly, having out-jogged all my super-size jeans. I also picked up a shirt in smart-casual Madras checks, a canary yellow T-shirt and a spacious olive carry-bag, with plaited-chord handles.

Everything looks weathered and rugged, but it’s the superb tailoring that gives away Replay’s swish European antecedents ( owned by the Italian Fashion Box group, brought to India by Pantaloons), with its over-dyes and fine detailing on jeans, corduroy trousers, oversized cotton shirts and tees. Those dual-colour keds, that offset the whole chilled-outlook, are going to give my Manish Arora sneakers some competition.

Satin black gown, go fly a kite!

Replay, F-19 and F-20, Select Citywalk, Saket, New Delhi. Ph: 40597524 and 40597525.

What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and everything nice. Marji is all this and much more. Because she lives in a war-torn land, everything familiar slowly fades and becomes strange. Because she’s naturally precocious and curious, she learns to go beyond. Because she’s lucky and loved, she survives.

‘Persepolis’, Marjane Satrapi’s brilliant graphic novel, based on her growing up years in Iran during the revolution, and the take-over by the fundamentalists, is an equally brilliant film. The black and white two dimensional line drawings (borrowed from the book) are deceptively simple, giving you a breathtaking glimpse into the lives of Marji aka Marjane and her family and friends, as they go through one of the most tumultuous phases in current history, which changed the world we live in.

Satrapi co-directs (she also co-wrote the screenplay), so it’s almost as if the graphics walked off her pages into film: watch the 21-year-old Marji look back at her 12-year-old self, as she watches her world crumble, then steady around her. It’s a coming of age tale full of lost faith and redemption, at once tender and searing. It won a jury prize at Cannes, and was nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature.

It’s at once deeply personal and deeply political, like the best of art always is. If you haven’t read it already, this is the time. And make a date with the film showing at your neighbourhood multiplex courtesy NDTV Lumiere, the TV channel’s brand new arm whose aim is to bring the best of world cinema to India: this is one of those un-missable ones.

Out at PVR cinemas in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, on Friday.

Just for once, I felt like doing the done thing. Like catching a show of Sex and the City with my girl gang, dressed up in our best designerwear. But the show at Fame, everyone’s favourite cinema, started only at 9.50pm. That’s when one of the gang gently guided us towards Noodle Bar, the new Oriental fine dining restaurant located just a floor below the multiplex.

Earlier housed at the Bangalore Central mall, Noodle Bar 2.0 has a whole new look (spread across 3,500 sq ft and 160 covers), feel (very eastern, very spiffy) and menu (exhaustive and Indian palate-friendly). I loved renewing acquaintance with tongue-ticklers I’d discovered on holiday in South-East Asia: mein, satay and a prawn-sugarcane combination that comes straight from the heart of Vietnam.

Besides drawing from the best of Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the menu at Noodle Bar also has its own innovations. Ever heard of an Oriental Sizzler? Or ‘Make Your Own Wok’? If we weren’t in Carrie-Charlotte-Miranda-Samantha mode that night, we could have well donned our aprons and got busy concocting our own dishes.

So we sat back and relished the chef’s reccos. Dim sums, skewered Hunan prawns, the signature sizzler and Kendo chicken. And, to wrap it up, in true SATC Indulge style, a super-delish brownie.

A cosmopolitan would have been perfect but, hey, we had a movie to watch.

Noodle Bar. First floor, Lido Mall-2, Old Madras Road, Bangalore 8. Tel: 41738133. Meal for two (without drinks) will cost around Rs 800.

Food lovers like me have reason to rejoice. After sampling the same fare in the same eateries in Bandra for ever so long, there’s finally something fresh to tingle my taste buds. So, despite the heavy downpour, I made my way to the spanking new World of Wraps as soon as it opened in hope of being treated to some lip-smacking fare. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed.

As the name suggests, World of Wraps — WOW — is a wrap place. As I waited for my Chicken Caesar Wrap (classic croutons and lettuce salad inside a delicate wrap), I enjoyed the bright, comic art walls and the cheery, WiFi enabled ambience. My friends, who love all things Indian in food, loved the Butter Chicken Wrap. I’m looking forward to trying the Chicken Teriyaki and Argentine Beef wraps on my next visits.

My vegetarian buds have quite a list to choose from as well. The Taj Mahal (a classic mix of vegetables) was interesting, and the Curly Wurly Wrap was a fun choice, with curly fries all wrapped up inside! And for the calorie conscious (yes, this gives me an incentive to be back on the wagon soon!), they’ll give you just the filling of the wrap in a bowl, so you can skip the unnecessary carbs in the wrap.

WOW also serves coffees and tea — from cappuccino and mocha to iced lemon, masala and Earl Grey respectively. Fancy a cake or a smoothie instead? Choose from guava, mango and strawberry smoothies and a wide array of desserts. My pick — the wildberry cheesecake.

While the food at WOW is good VFM, the service needs a little talking to behind the baize door. “They’re new, the food is new, give us a couple of weeks to settle in,” assures biz partner Ritik Bhasin. And their home delivery service starts soon, too.

Now doesn’t that totally put the wow back into little ol’ Bandra?

World of Wraps, B2 Gagangiri, near Cafe Coffee Day, off Carter Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai; Tel: 022-65165050/022-65185050; Prices: Wraps Rs 69-89, smoothies Rs 69, coffees and teas Rs 55 plus and desserts Rs 69 on.

Back-to-back office meets leads to dull skin. Well, I have been doing something criminal to it — off to bed without taking my makeup off. Now I’m feeling all dry and stretched and dehydrated.

I rushed to book myself at the newly refurbished VLCC Spa — their USP is the way they customize the treatments just for you. A small neat pebble fountain tinkled at the landing, and the bustle of the noisy market place receded as I reached (the spa is on the second floor)

A smiling aesthetician sat me down to discuss my lifestyle and my beauty worries over a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade — ah, heaven! She came up with a skin brightening facial that would take away tan and tiredness. And for my body, a super-relaxing Javanese lulur therapy. (The spa has just added some new treatments among its bouquet of Thai, Balinese Boreh, Aromatherapy, and Ayurveda therapy)

The therapy room was well-appointed — hi-tech equipment sat next to traditional beauty masks and scrubs. I also liked the fact that I would not have to go out of my room to clean up post therapy — the bathtub nicely nestled in the corner of the room. My aesthetician began with a light aroma oil massage, followed by a great-smelling scrub of oriental herbs and spices, and a lovely, long soak in a milk and honey bath!

Then it was my face’s turn- to be pampered by a combination of creams and fresh fruit. My face was cleaned and exfoliated (with a special brush). A therapeutic cream was gently massaged in. Then she applied a fresh papaya pulp mask. As a special treat, my feet got a reflexology massage as the mask dried.

Back at the reception, another cold lemonade awaited me. I was glowing — my treatments, I was told, are given to anxious brides in Java.

I am ready to take on the corporate world again.

VLCC Day Spa, 62, Vasant Vihar Community Centre, Basant Lok, Priya Complex, New Delhi. Phone: 26155561. Prices from Rs 1,500 on. Skin brightening facial, Rs 1,500, and the Javanese massage, Rs 2,500.

He introduced a 12-year-old tomboy — you — to cult action heroes (a la Han Solo, 007, Indiana Jones, and the guys in Guns of Navarone). To nail-biting thrillers a la Jaws. And to (non-romantic) comedy a la Police Academy and The Tramp. Daddy dearest paid for your first movie tickets. For your first bachelorette-pad TV too.

This June, it’s your turn to return the care. Not with roses sent to his office — that would only embarrass him mightily! Nor silver cufflinks he’ll never wear.

He’d be much more impressed if his little princess ditched her guy — and invited him to dinner and a movie instead! A beer and kathi, a mano a mano 120 minutes is more his speed. We suggest HBO.

Keep him company through the chases and chills of smuggler-thriller Blood Diamond (23 June, 9pm). Guffaw together over Mr Bean’s Holiday (27 June, 9pm). Stay up past his bedtime for Rush Hour 2 (14 June, 11.30pm). Scoot to the edge of his favourite couch together — for M:I III (13 June, 9pm) and The Mummy (24 June, 10.45pm). That should soften him up nicely for Look Who’s Talking Too (22 June, 7.30 pm). And subtly (not sappily) register appreciation of a job well done, by sitting him through Firewall (15 June, 6.45pm).

Introduce him to the action heroes of your day — Ghost Rider (20 June, 9pm) and Space Cowboys (13 June, 12noon) — and one of his, Sir Lancelot the First Knight (12 June, 6.15pm). Show him a super-heroine too — Ultraviolet (13 June, 11.30pm). And because he’s your biggest hero of all time, treat him to two nostalgic throwbacks — sci-fi spoof Mars Attacks! (21 June, 6.45pm) and the remake of the naval adventure Poseidon (19 June, 9pm).

Make yourself some more movie-moment memories (log on to hbosouthasia.com). Keep your date with Dad on Father’s Day — and every day this month.

The young guns can just learn to fall in line — behind the First Man in your life.

“No man is an island,” said one of my fave English poets, John Donne. I find myself quoting it all the time as the world becomes a smaller place. What would I be if I didn’t speak the Queen’s language? Didn’t drool over French fashions? Didn’t enjoy regional cuisines? Didn’t welcome guests with rose petals in a traditional urli?

That’s why I was totally thrilled with Cross Currents, the new decor store at Indiranagar. Its owners Lauren Andrade and Meera Banerjee believe in my philosophy too. Design veterans both, they’ve sourced their stocks from limited edition signature pieces from across the world. Avant garde European? Check. Ancient Asian? Check for that too.

The stop-all-conversation-pieces use a range of kinds of materials, from marble to resin. Best of all, they don’t demand a ‘particular’ kind of setting. The stunning 20′x39′ metal art form, for instance, would sit as comfortably in an earthy, rustic home as it would in a cool, straight-lines interior.

The Abstract collection — the metal mobius strip-lookalike was a part of it — was my fave, but the Oriental collection is just what the decorator ordered for those looking to bring a touch of tranquility and serenity into their homes. The wooden-finish torch is an answer to the prayer for calm, the white stone palm meditation mudra touches a core of peace.

Because my home is my world. Islands, and all.

Cross Currents, 64, 6th Main, Defence Colony, Indiranagar, Bangalore 38. Tel: 41209675. Prices start at Rs 1000 and go up to Rs 40,000.

The monsoons may spell high passion for some, but for me, thunder-and-lightning time is just a lot of mucky, messy months. Wet and wild at Worli Sea Face is SO last decade. Too much rain and not enough time to get the water-created wrinkles out of my skin! Just the right psychological moment to go get pampered in a soothing environment, right? Or maybe I’m just using this as an excuse to go back to Myrah, my new spa spot since it opened recently.

This spa, with its Zen-like interiors along with brocade backdrops, crystal chandeliers and ornate gold mirrors, is a delicious balance of the subtle and the opulent. Mixing old world charm with state-of-the-art paraphernalia, it offers some luxurious and personalised holistic treatments and alternative therapies. From the very first time I went there, I was spoilt for choice — Aromatherapy, Shiatsu, Swedish massage, sports massage, mineral scrubs, anti-ageing facials, Arabic Rassoul body rituals, body polishes like sandalwood, jasmine, vetiver and coconut or a herbal Indian detox. It was like I’d died and gone to spa heaven!

Since I went there at the height of summer, I picked the royal summer treatment — a special aloe, mint and cucumber body scrub to help gently exfoliate my dead skin, de-tan, and help me feel cool and refreshed.

Now that the Rain Gods have strutted their stuff, I recommend the full body massage with aromatherapy. Extremely relaxing, it’s done in a room filled with the most delish scented candles and rejuvenating music. I worship my therapist’s hands for the fantastic de-stress they give my body for 90 heavenly minutes! I also find that their foot reflexology helps to relieve my aching, puddle-avoiding feet very well.

Now I’m just working on convincing my splash-happy man to accompany me for a luxe treatment a deux in the special couple suite. Forget romantic rain-drenched walks, I prefer my water fix via the hydro units and the private plunge pools, thank you very much.

Myrah Spa: Binoli Palm Spring Society, JVPD Scheme, Mumbai; Tel: 022-26253968; Prices: Rs 1,900 onwards.

My search for a dough worth leaving home for brings me to odd places. The first-floor hole-in-the-wall in Khan Market, now no more. The desi bakery deep in Arjun Nagar village which, alas, refuses to stop sweetening its bread sponge. Paharganj terraces. The seams of Karol Bagh (where, it is rumoured, the almost-First Lady gets her Italianate biscotti). Five-star lobbies — for “after eights”.

In my latest foray, I followed the aroma of fermenting flour to Kishan Garh, kikar-infested semi-rural backyard of Vasant Kunj. Doubts rose — as though leavened — as I faced the corner building with nary a signboard to its name.

But creeping under the sidedoor came a warm, toasty smell. I pursued — into a basement, where a teashop had been transplanted from northern Europe. Carved benches painted yellow, gingham-covered tables. Baskets of bread, napkin-cosied buns. White and brown, potato and sauerteig (sourdough), sesame and walnut, baguette and bretzel (pretzel to Americans) and laugenstange (similar).

However, I was sniffing for a whiff of cinnamon — I’d preordered a footlong apfelstrudel, German Bakeshop’s newest bundle. It was on its way from the backend bakery, recently opened, but still a well-kept secret.

I also gathered frozen near-done dough — 70% baked — to bring home and stash. To finish in the oven: 5 minutes for buns, 10 for loaves. For the freshest fresh start to my day, every day. Though if you want it n-o-w, they’ll finish you a warm bloomer.

Seductive, that. My apfelstrudel convinced me to pull over on the shoulder halfway home — to halve its length. The last cinnamon-sugared inch barely made it to the tea tray.

German Bakeshop, 162-A/9 Kishan Garh, New Delhi; ph: 2612 4421; www.german-bakeshop.com. Prices: Rs 20 (buns) to Rs 300 (strudel).

She doesn’t climb a tree, nor scrape her knee and her dress is without a tear. There might be denims lurking under her saree, though. And she thinks New Delhi is way ahead of New Jersey. Who is she?

If you squee ‘Aisha Bhatia!’, good on you — you’re in worthy company (and I don’t just mean me)! If you’re still clueless, here’s a hint: head on over to the nearest bookstore. You must be one of the 4.5 people who haven’t heard of Advaita Kala’s best-selling book.

What?! New edition out. 15,000 copies sold. The US rights were just snapped up at auction. After 5 reprints in India. Book of the Year nominations. Rave reviews. This debutante author’s become India’s own chick-lit sensation. And you. haven’t. read. it!

It just won’t do, will it? You may as well crawl back under that un-Trendy stone. Or bite the bullet and buy it. No matter how print-averse you are, I guarantee you’ll breeze through (we hear one reader took it into the labour room to see her through!)

Because Kala’s protagonist is so you. And so Sex and the City (only funnier). So Bridget Jones (but angsty-er) too. Her 5-star working-girl life, punctuated by material girl moments and interrupted by ‘umbilical whiplash’, is the story of every 25-something singleton who’s looking to shed ’single’ without going the ‘arranged’ way.

Her talk of fashions, accents, mannerisms, highlights ‘picked out of a catalogue’ had me eyeing my champagne-brunch chums with a cringe. With no-husband’s-name resolve meeting all-out Karva Chauth karma-collecting, Atkins combining with fasting, Post-It romance and astrologer on speed dial, she had me giggling — at me, myself! It just rings so true — so me, so you — this damsel’s dilemma of surviving tradition and modernity, preferably with femininity and identity intact.

Like? Read to fall in love. And send Advaita a tokri of mangoes (to Gurgaon, where she lives) to fuel the sequel.

Almost Single. Harper Collins India. New edition out in bookshops nationwide. Price: Rs 195.