The promise of Persian and Arabian food conjured up visions of fragrant biryani as my date and I walked into Alibaba for a meal. But the first thing that caught our eye was not the food but the furniture: Most of it is rescued from old homes in the Bhatkal area of Karnataka — where one of the three young owners comes from — and adapted for use in the restaurant. A cradle now works as a table, as does a window frame topped with glass.

But as our orders started arriving, our attention returned to the star of the show. The steaming hot Joo soup, with bits of chicken, was delicious and wholesome. Next, a Joojeh kebab, chicken breast with onions and saffron. We were advised to have this with lemon and grilled tomato and it made for a delightful, tangy combination.

For the main course, we had an Arabian biryani called Kabsa, succulent pieces of mutton with lightly flavoured rice. There are spicier biryanis too: The Bhatkal biryani made with vermicelli is something we’re coming back to try, along with the other Navayathi dishes (as the food from the Bhatkal area is known) also on the menu. In the meantime, my Saudi champagne (non-alcoholic, chunky bits of apple in lemon juice and soda) washed down the food well.

The very helpful waitstaff suggested we try a dessert made of sesame leaves. An odd choice, you think? Try it!

Themed on Alibaba and the 40 thieves — because it seats exactly 40! — the decor is such that you expect a belly dancer to suddenly step out from the shadows. The Irani chai almost made up for her absence.

Sometimes, the rhythm doesn’t need a dancer.

Alibaba Cafe & Restaurant. 69, MM Road (opposite the mosque), Fraser Town, Bangalore 5. Tel: 4091 7163. Timings: Noon-3pm (lunch), 3.30pm-6pm (cafe), 7pm-11pm (dinner). Meal for two: Around Rs500.

I signed on the dotted line for Greenpeace. And recruited many members for my ’saving the planet’ cause on Facebook. But sometimes, I wonder whether I couldn’t do more to be a green citizen.

That’s how I chanced upon HaraBara Lite, a group of young people who know the importance of raising our eco-consciousness and have some super info on small ways to change the way we eat, travel, shop and work which can have a HUGE impact on the earth’s future.

And I found that instead of sitting around and discussing what must be done like so many talking heads, these guys are peppy and proactive in their approach and actually DO stuff. That’s why their plans for the coming weekend are all about getting right down to it.

I’m oh-so ready for this HaraBara Lite Green Weekend that’s going to have a host of hands-on activities guaranteed to bring city slickers like you and me closer to nature. Everything, from rice farming and chikoo plucking to making our own solar power LED lights and meetings with artisans from the Warli tribe. I’m sure that doing all this will lead to lots of discussions and a deeper understanding of environmental issues. But what a fabulously fun way of getting the point across!

All this on a Dahanu farm that’s been developed eco-sensitively. Flanked by a scenic river that I’m told is safe to swim in, the Tamarind Tree has four large cottages run on solar energy, as well as a dormitory and tents. Attached loos and showers ensure that I’ll be comfortable even as I commune with Mother Nature.

Aren’t you turning green with envy already?

HaraBara Lite weekend in Dahanu on November 29-30. Registration extended to today just for Trendylicious subscribers! To register, call Salma Ben Mahmoud on +919769934813 or e-mail: salma.bm@harabara.com; Website: www.harabaralite.com.
For more details about the accommodation at Tamarind Tree, call Michelle Chawla on +919860030888 or e-mail: michelle@tamarindtree.org; Website: www.tamarindtree.org.
Cost: Rs 5,000 for professionals and Rs 2,300 for students, AIESECers and AIESEC trainees, inclusive of travel to and from Mumbai by private bus, all meals, accommodation, material for the workshops and lectures.

Yes, it’s that time of year again. The only time I can put away my cds of Mingus and McLaughlin, Ella, Shorter and Scofield, for a few days. That’s because the annual Jazz Utsav is in town!

Earlier known as Jazz Yatra, this fest goes back almost 30 years and is still as popular. Jazz thrives on improvisations and what better than the Utsav to showcase that? This year’s eclectic mix of bands reflects the increasingly universal nature of jazz while it retains its roots in the traditions of African-American music that gave birth to it.

Come the 28th and you can swing to the Norwegian Hot Club de Norvege and then the Thomas Siffling Trio from Germany. Whet your appetite with Honor Heffernan and Trio from Ireland.

On day two, the 29th (when you’re practically living jazz!), let’s hear it for the Polish Wojciech Konikiewicz and Trio. Jive to the beats of the Harri Stojka Gypsy Swing Ensemble from Austria; and as a Chak De! moment, bring our hands together for our desi band, Global Unity — Sanjay Divecha (guitar), Karl Peters (bass) and Adrian D’Souza (drums) are leading jazz musicians in India. And we in Delhi know Peters and D’Souza well, having heard them at earlier Utsavs. Does it get any better?

And on the final day, groove to the notes of the Dutch-Deutsch collaboration Henk Muegeert Band with Miett Molnar; come alive with the Canadian Francois Bourassa Quartet; and round it up till another year with The Ploctones from the Netherlands.

Sound good? It sure does to me!

Jazz Utsav 2008, FICCI Auditorium, Tansen Marg, New Delhi, Nov 28, 29 and 30. Tickets: Rs 300 each day, available at Steakhouse, Jorbagh, and at the venue on the days of the shows. Or email capitaljazz@gmail.com. Gates open at 6.00pm; Shows: 6.30-10pm.

I am not one for bright bold hues. My clothes are nothing if not understated, and I love the barely-there make-up look.

I admire Manish Arora’s kaleidoscopic colours — but from a distance. I wouldn’t know how to wear one of his look-at-me skirts. I know, I know that Manish is the first Indian designer to have his own makeup collection with MAC. But still, I was skeptical. Till I encountered the goodies, and was pleasantly surprised.

Like Arora’s kitschy blend of colour and patterns, there’s nothing minimalistic about the new shades: the colours look as if they can clash, but you can blend them to get a fabulous, high impact look. The collection, packaged in bright orange and gold casings, has a signature Manish Arora eyeshadow set of six hues, two lipsticks, two lipglass tubes, and two powder blushes.

Even before trying out the colours, I was quite taken with the mix of textures — they go from sheer to velvet to satin to frosty. Just proves what we knew all along — Indian girls do not have to stick to staid beige and brown. It’s all frosted white, frosty banana chrome yellow, bright satin pink, velvety bitter acid green, electric turquoise blue, and frosted dark blue. Drama in a single sweep.

My other fave was the sheer Pink Swoon blush. Since I have always been a fan of the MAC lipglass, I picked Pink Manish, a true fuchsia like you would see on Arora’s skirts or jackets.

The lipglass really brightens up my new beige linen kurti.

Available at MAC stores in Delhi, Mumbai & Bangalore. Prices: Rs 870 to Rs 2,500.

I love old photos. I can spend hours sifting through sepia-tinted shots of my great-grandparents, so stiff and formal in their wedding attire, my grandparents with their first-born (my dad, with deep lines of kohl under his eyes), various stages of his growing up, my parents’ wedding.

By the time we came along, photos were a much more casual affair. My sibling and I have pictures of cakes being cut while guests look everywhere but at the camera, of throwing our hats to the wind on graduation day. Now, I wish those photos captured the gravitas as well as the fun.

Now, Portrait Lounge makes it possible. Modelled on US studios that focus on family photos, the Lounge makes every shot special. My fiance and I were given the whole tour — three in-house studios, spacious green rooms with well-lit mirrors, preview room, lounge bay — and then shown the props, including backdrops and screens that make for most realistic contexts. We tried a classic hotel lobby, a football stadium (he’s a fan) and a beach. There are lovely options for kids as well.

Our images captured, we were shown a preview and could instantly select the ones we wanted, along with a wide range of frames. They could even do some silhouetting and digital retouch (no more acne scars!). And a week later, we had in our hands, frames with a rich look and texture.

Because we want to look good to our grand-kids too.

The Portrait Lounge. 3283, 12th Main, 8th Cross, HAL 2nd stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore 38. Tel: 42431000. Prices: Five packages on offer, starting from Rs 2900 to Rs 20,000, inclusive of make-up by a specialist.

Deep Forest trumps Deep Purple. Celtic trumps Classical. Alpine horn trumps Alpine romantic melodies from K-Jo films. For me, it’s always been world music that makes the world go round.

So when I heard that there’s a Polish world music ensemble coming to town, I did my homework faster and better than I ever did at school. If you’re crazy about unusual sounds like I am, you’ll be excited too. Zakopower is a nine-member band that was founded in 2005 by violinist Sebastian Karpiel-Bułecka, and named for his hometown in the Tatra mountains, Zakopane. The group’s going to perform in Mumbai as part of the Polish National Day celebrations organised by the Consulate of Poland. It’s the 90th year of Independence for Poland and 75 years since the Polish Consulate had an office in Mumbai.

So, what’s the sound you can expect? Honestly, going by all the different numbers I heard online in anticipation of the real thing, there’s a very eclectic outpouring of musical talent. A fusion of the traditional, folksy music from the Goral community of Southern Poland with very modern beats and rhythms. A sound that spans electronic, pop and folk rock and brings it all together in a powerhouse performance that’s guaranteed to engage, enlighten and enchant. No wonder they were nominated for Best Polish Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards the same year they got together. And they followed up their popular debut album ‘Music Hal’, with another successful one called ‘Na Siedem’ in 2007.

Nine great musicians + two evenings of unlimited entertainment = one really happy me. And although the rest of the chaps are cute and all, I’m going to be in pole position to meet the man behind the magic — Sebastian — backstage. Will you be in the race too?

Zakopower will perform at:
* NCPA, Marine Drive, Mumbai, on Monday, November 24 at 7 pm. Entry by complimentary passes available at the venue; Tel: 22824567, 66548135; E-mail: zakopowermumbai@gmail.com
* The Blue Frog, Lower Parel, Mumbai, on Tuesday, November 25 at 10.30 pm. Entry Rs 300 per head from 9 pm onwards; Tel: 40332300; E-mail: reservations@bluefrog.co.in

If music be the food of life — with due apologies to the Bard — I’m never going on a diet! So I’ve got music streaming out of every device that is capable of doing so. But nothing beats a live performance. And when it involves gospel, jazz and ballads, I’m in heaven.

Listening to Sonam Kalra sing a few months ago transported me to that paradise. The ease with which she moved across musical genres left me — and I’m sure every member of the audience in that packed hall — by turns dancing, tapping my feet, swaying, hooting, clapping and teary-eyed. So when I heard that she will be performing again, I did a little jig right there.

The Delhi-based Kalra wears her eclectic training lightly (Indian classicists Shubha Mudgal and Sarathi Chatterjee, tenor Hur Chul Yung, soprano Sita Singh Bueller, and Ashley Clement have been her teachers). And her music is a joyous mix of everything she’s learnt: the ever-moving and uplifting hymns Amazing Grace and Joyful Joyful; the melancholic Irish ballad Danny Boy; the immensely popular Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Imagine and Bridge Over Troubled Waters; and the lilting, eternal jazz favourites Mack the Knife, Under My Skin, Orange Coloured Sky or Fever — Sonam brings to them all freshness and gaiety that’s invigorating and infectious. With only a piano accompanying her, she ensures that her greatest asset, her voice, is not drowned by fussy instrumentation. And her wit keeps the audience entertained even when she’s not crooning.

I’m reaching early to avoid the crush. See you there.

‘Notes From Here and There’ by Sonam Kalra, at the India International Centre, 40 Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi. On Nov 22, at 6.30 pm. Entry free.

After a fabulous wedding right here in Bangalore, our honeymoon in Italy bested my imagination. We explored the rosticerias, ristorantes, pizzerias, trattorias, birrerias, the hostarias and the pasticcerias. Back home, we found ourselves yearning for that feel of Venice. So when our friend recco’d this new Italian brasserie, we made a beeline for Toscano. Only to be told to come back over the weekend for a unique experience: a blackout dinner.

Relationships — between humans and with food — take on a different note in the dark as communication becomes more natural, more spontaneous. Amidst much laughter and guessing games, we began our dinner spread with a mixed salad (later identified as sliced pears, walnut, asparagus with rucola leaves and a red wine vinaigrette). The soup was served and a deep breath told us of the presence of thyme and garlic — and we were right, it was a spinach soup with those two flavourings.

The entree was a baked Camembert souffle with carrot and fennel mousse (didn’t score here in the guessing game). For the main course, we felt the pan-fried chicken breast and salmon with vegetable and prune jus, along with roasted potatoes with white truffle mushroom oil, with all senses but our eyes. To end the most unusual dinner happy, we had the trio of kahlua mousse, apple crumble and mango pannacotta.

Would it bear the sun, though? After sampling the Toscano Caesar, a lemon and thyme-marinated grilled fish and a cappuccino brulee from their set lunch menu a couple of days later, I was convinced that they needn’t hide in the dark.

This was the best from Italy, in India.

Toscano. The Collection: UB City, Level II, Concord Block, 24, Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore 1. Tel: 41738800. Prices: 3-course lunch menu is priced at Rs 400 per person. Dinner for two: Rs 1500. Call ahead for dates of blackout dinners.

Life in a metro, no not the movie, the real thing — can be at best, energetic, at worst, frenzied. So when I stepped into the cool, quiet space that is gallery Art Musings tucked away in a corner of Colaba, it’s strange that I came face to face with my urban experience but in a medieval setting.

At once jarring yet strangely soothing, looking at artist extraordinaire Milburn Cherian’s paintings evokes a sense of belonging. Titled ‘Memento Mori’, the collection makes it hard not to relate to the milieu of faces, some pained, some ecstatic, others distorted in anger or various degrees of distress, painted in earthy shades with painstaking attention to detail.

Minus any technical jargon or allusions to particular styles, Milburn is refreshingly affable and rather to the point when she says, “I just paint”. And yet her works have the ability to draw you in, absorbing your gaze as you sift through the crowds of faces, limbs, costumes and scenes, trying to decipher the embedded stories.

Milburn’s canvasses, which seem set in biblical times, have managed to capture all the emotions we experience in our rushed everyday existence.

Take a minute, stop rushing, and head to this gallery for a little downtime.

Gallery Art Musings: Admirality Building, Colaba Cross Lane, Colaba, Mumbai; Tel: 22163339. The exhibition MEMENTO MORI is on at Art Musings, Mumbai till December 5, 2008 and moves to the Jehangir Art Gallery from December 10 -16, 2008. Prices: Range from Rs 30,000 to Rs 25 lakh.

I have an annual piggy bank breaking ceremony — I religiously save through the year for that one big indulgence. But, see, it’s not just on any old thing. My inner shopaholic goddess ONLY splurges on exquisite pieces of jewellery that can make a style statement, and can be passed on to the next gen.

I found my perfect blow-out place at Mirari’s newly opened boutique at the Emporio Mall. Mirari, the brand owned by jewellery designer Mrs Mira Gulati, first opened its doors in Hotel Shangri-La in 2005. This is her second store.

What caught my eye instantly were the diamond and ruby studded circular earrings, fashioned out of two exquisitely moulded intertwined peacocks. The earrings turned out to be one of the key pieces in Mirari’s latest winter launch, The Peacock Collection, which uses brilliant cut diamonds and Burmese melee rubies in deep red to create contrast. Mira told me that the peacock is her favourite bird, and that she’s tried to capture the bird’s graceful beauty through this collection. Besides these earrings, it also has necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets.

I was also quite taken with the Baroque South Sea Pearl Necklace with a diamond motif clasp. Now this is no ordinary string of pearls. The size and colour of each pearl is different, making the necklace quite unique. As big as a quail’s egg, each pearl’s raw, imperfect shape adds to its charm. I have never seen such tints — pink, grey blue, cream, and white — all shimmering with an iridescent light. Totally natural, not dyed. A stunning piece that goes with your sari, as well as your LBD. You can even lend it to your grandmom!

The jewels at Mirari mirrored my sensibilities — sophisticated, understated. No in-your-face bling. Mira’s a trained gemologist from the US, and her designs reflect who she is — a modern woman who is proudly in touch with her traditions.

So me.

Mirari, 2nd Floor, DLF Emporio, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. Ph: 46609013. Prices, Rs 25,000 on.