There’s no rain now. It isn’t steamy hot either. Ye olde moon looks better too. And in keeping with the crisp star-lit, moon-kiss’d season, Seagrams 100 Pipers presents an evening I wouldn’t dare miss.

Brit band Jethro Tull performs with the charismatic Anoushka Shankar to create an evening that will blend strains of the past with melodies of the future. And it’s quite amazing that these two talents are getting together, because, individually they happen to be two hot favourites. And now together, I shall scream like I did at the Ricky Martin concert (ewww).

For anyone out there who loves world music, this is a must. Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson is the famous flautist (the piper) whose image graces even their logo. Sitarist Anoushka Shankar — the princess — is the Grammy-nominated artiste who has toured the world from age 13 with her legendary father, Pandit Ravi Shankar. And now performs solo to a global audience. Together, they’re bound to create magic.

So book your tickets. Grab a date. And get ready to fall in love.

A Night with the Piper and the Princess. Tickets from Rs500 to Rs4500, and vary from city to city. Book online via www.bookmyshow.com.
Mumbai: Nov 29, 7.30pm, Shanmukhananda Auditorium.
Delhi: Nov 30, 7.30pm, Hamsadhwani Amphitheatre (Pragati Maidan).
Bangalore: Dec 2, 7.30pm, Palace Grounds (Gayatri Vihar Entrance).

Nothing pleasures me more than a good meal after a bout of shopping. And now, with the UB City Mall choc-a-block with top-notch designers and brands, it’s great to have a choice of restaurants on their 2nd floor terrace.

My fave, post-shopping sessions, is the rich-in-taste but easy-on-the-pocket Rajdhani. A vegetarian thali restaurant specialising in Rajasthani and Gujarati cuisines — maybe you’ve sampled them in their multiple outlets in Mumbai and Delhi — their bandhani-turbanned waitstaff are as hospitable as the family retainers you see in old Bollywood movies.

The food, too, has that home-cooked touch. As soon as my pal and I were seated, along came different types of rotis (bajra, jowar, besan and atta), two pulses (sweet and salty), Rajasthani kadhi and four seasonal vegetables cooked in the traditional Rajasthani style.

Then came plain rice and khichdi, accompanied by green and red chutney, raita, salad, papad, pickle, garlic chutney, jaggery. To wash it all down we had buttermilk and a pick of sweets from among rabdi, gulabjamun, sandesh, sreekhand and basundi. My fave was the dal batti churma, a spicy dal served with Rajasthani baked bread, crumbled in jaggery and desi ghee.

What’s more, their line-up changes every week. And if you miss lunch hour, the restaurant is open all day to serve a whole range of kachori, dahi wada, paneer dhokla, panki (rice flour pancakes cooked in banana leaves served with chutney), chaats, pav bhaji, and parathas.

I was pleasantly taken aback by the custom of thali bajao, a loud drum beat by pleased customers as they left, and a shout of au jao (come again) by the waiters.

I’m so looking forward to shopping again.

Rajdhani. 2nd Floor, The Collection, UB City Mall, Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore — 01. Tel: 22133400/01. Thali is priced at Rs 150 all-inclusive, snacks and savories range between Rs 45 and Rs. 100. From 11 am to 11 pm.

Ringo means apple, said Sensei-san. But more than the scrapings of Japanese, what I really picked up during my exchange student days in Kyoto was a yen for sushi, sashimi and tempura.

Although my heart may do a haiku for those cherry blossoms, it’s hankering after seaweed-wrapped rolls of sticky rice and bits of fish. Mumbai has its fair share of sushi restaurants, but I’m getting my obi in a twist about the latest newbie, San-Qi. All show kitchen, sweeping staircase and swanky wine bar, it serves three cuisines to go with its name which means ‘three energies’. Indian and Chinese are on the first level. But it’s the second level’s Japanese robata grill, teppanyaki table and sushi bar which score with me.

Among the starters, I love the large portion of edamame (Japanese green soy beans), the plum-cucumber maki rolls and the grilled fugu fish. From Chef Kato’s specialty sushi selection that’s classified into Crunchy, Creamy, Spicy, Crispy and Chirashi (sashimi cubes served on a bed of sushi rice), the spicy one — grilled chicken, yuzu pepper and baby sprouts — pleases my Indian palate. The robatayaki, which takes a tad longer than the 20 minutes they promise on the menu, is really filling. My Pacific Scallops served with Oriental Amuse Bouche, are well worth the wait. My vegetarian friend really enjoys her Japanese Mushrooms with herb-scented rice cakes too.

And starting tomorrow, the potent Japanese rice wine called ’sake’, which I love, will be doing the rounds here. Kimo Yenzezawa, sake master and president of the Akashi Sake Brewery in Kobe, will preside over a special dinner to celebrate. And then the San-Qi sake Sunday brunch starts this weekend. Tables groaning with salvers of Japanese delicacies and cups of sake.

Nothing quite goes with sushi like sake, right?

San-Qi, Four Seasons Hotel, 114 Dr E Moses Road, Mumbai 400 018; Tel: 24818000; website: www.fourseasons.com/mumbai; Pricing: A la carte meal for two (excluding alcohol) approximately Rs 4,000; San-Qi Sake Dinner (Nov 14, 2008) Rs 3,200 plus taxes; San-Qi Sake Brunch (Nov 23, 2008) Rs 2,400 plus taxes.

I have a zillion reasons to recommend Arts.i — the brand new gallery-cum-cafe bang in the middle of town. It’s buzzy, busy, and totally the new IT spot!

You could circle CP many times over and still not find the entrance. So let me guide you in: it’s right behind the petrol pump where KG Marg and Outer Circle meet. A flight of stairs up, and you are in a gleaming gallery of twenty-feet high ceilings and huge glass windows flooded with clean white light, and that whole industrial look of AC ducts and wiring exposed on the ceiling.

To match, the artworks are witty, cool and young. Which is a relief, because I was beginning to get a little impatient — how long can you stare at Raza’s bindu and Husain’s horses, anyway? Their first exhibition was about cutting edge works by young Indian artists. This month, they have Delhi-based photographer and filmmaker Samar Jodha’s signature portraits — 12 large scale B&W photographs of the endangered Tai Phake tribal group in Assam. And in luscious contrast, James McGarrell (big daddy of the figurative painters of the postmodern art movement) does a post-modernist re-interpretation of the traditional Indian Ragamala series, in gouache and watercolour paintings, where musical notes are abstracted into swirling bright colours and forms.

Mull over those thoughts at their cafe (open as late as 11 pm!), an absolutely adorable little place where you can lounge on big white chairs, sip coffee, and look at the people looking at the paintings.

An arts resource centre and archive is coming up soon. As well as a store where you can buy prints, knick-knacks and souvenirs.

Get arty.

Arts.i, 7, Atmaram Mansion, Level 1, Scindia House, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Ph: 43727000, www.religarearts.com. ‘Phaneng: A Journey into Personal Engagement’, is on from Nov 10 to Dec 7. and ‘Astronomies and Pleasures, a New Ragamala’, from Nov 15 to Dec 7.

I escaped, with great determination, the blonde streak phase, and the purple mane mania. Brown is what I’ve stayed faithful to. For some time though, my tresses have been looking quite mousy. But drastic change is so not me. So when my hair stylist informed me about this season’s favourite hair hue — chocolate with a dash of golden honey — I knew I had to have it.

She recommended leading hair colour brand Wella’s latest take on this trend — the Sensuous Hair Colour Collection. It’s all about rich shades of brown played up with true gold and ash gold. Inspired by Wella’s international key trend for 2008 “Mineral Splendour”, the new hair look is about understated enhancements.

Because I wanted subtle, my stylist chose to colour the under layers of my hair with copper brown, true gold and ash gold, along with dark chocolate. My hair was divided so that random strands would get coloured. Copper, gold and ash went on, in alternate stripes. After 45 minutes, the strands were washed. Then the rest of my hair was dyed a rich chocolate brown, followed by the washing and colour seal conditioning and mandatory styling.

I have to say that I loved the effect. No, none of those dreaded streaks. Instead, the three hues blended together, beautifully offset by the dark brown. The change is both subtle, and dramatic. Now I catch a glint of gold here and copper there, the chocolate strands highlighted by ashen tips.

I have been having VERY good hair days lately.

Wella’s Sensuous Hair Colour Collection. Delhi: Dar Salon and Spa, E-31/32 IInd Floor, South Extension - II. Ph :4168-0600. Mumbai: Dilshad’s Salon, Nav Pooja Apartments, 11-A, Perry Cross Road, Bandra. Ph: 26431770, 26516374. Bangalore: Wella Beauty Parlour, 1 2nd Mn, Road , 1st Blk, R T Ngr, R.T. Nagar. Ph: 23632393. Price: Rs 1,500 onwards.

Last night I spotted a shooting star. And (sigh) I made a wish. For a set of extra hands, and feet, and everything. Why? Because there are so many things I want to do right now and only one of me. Like last month, I wanted to learn pottery, but I also wanted to go to Pondicherry. And torn between the two, I ended up not going for either.

But this month it looks like people now understand what I’m going through. Specially the guys at outdoor adventure store Get Off Your Ass, who’ve organized a photography workshop in (clap hands in glee) Coorg. You’ll be living in tents at the Civet Creek Camp, and will be taught the basics of photography with an introduction to the culture, wildlife, landscape (and cuisine) of Coorg.

Each participant will be given a photo assignment at the beginning of the camp session, and, over the next two days, will get help and guidance from professional photographer, Alok Johri, on compositions, techniques, angles and on how to interact with the locals so you can get the best possible results. In the process you learn, see, click, and meet a group of people who’re as passionate about colour and light as you are.

So pull out the camera, roll up the sleeves and capture Coorg.

Photography on the Move. From November 14-16. Do sign up before November 12. Cost: Rs 9900 (includes workshop fees, stay, food and travel). For registration and details, call Robin +91 9980785225, or log on to www.getoffurass.com.

My brother very often teases my gaggle of girlfriends, calling us the ‘Pasta Puff Gurlz’. Well, I don’t blame him we’re oh-so pasta obsessed, it’s unreal. After grappling with Thai versus Tex-Mex, we always land up at the Italian restaurant that’s top of our charts at the time. And right now, the fave-of-the-moment has got to be Celini.

Its understated contemporary interiors are the perfect foil for the lavish show kitchen — complete with built-in wood-fired pizza oven, rotisserie and charcoal grill. The menu offers an authentic selection of antipasti, risotto, fresh pizzas and pastas. Helped no end by a helping of traditional Italian desserts like Tiramisu or Panna Cotta and washed down with rare Italian wines or even a distinctive Limoncello.

And only yesterday, when I got there for a mid-work pow-wow with my posse, I was delighted to see that Celini has introduced a new executive lunch menu! So, I skipped my regular order of chicken breast (stuffed with mushrooms and black olives in juniper berry sauce, served with farm potato, zucchini and aubergine cakes) and Semifreddo (a light creamy hazelnut and chocolate flavoured dessert) and opted for the preset just set or pre-set? menu.

Of the three on offer — pizza, pasta and meat — I picked the pasta meal. The first course comprised a varied antipasti plate, a soup or a fresh salad. The mains had a selection of veg and non-veg pastas in the signature sauces (I stuck with my pine-nut-rich pesto over artisanal al dente penne). And since this wasn’t a working lunch, I couldn’t resist pigging out on the multitude of desserts. When next I’m there in more grown-up executive mode, I’ll wrap up my luncheon meeting with a sophisticated pot of freshly brewed coffee or loose-leaf tea.

And now that I’ve converted him too, maybe I’ll bump into bhaiyya impressing one of his biz clients there some time!

Celini: Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, Off Western Express Highway, Santacruz (E), Mumbai. Tel: 66761149. Executive lunch is available from Monday to Friday. Pizza set menu: Rs 999, Pasta set menu: Rs 1,299 and Meat menu Rs 1,499 (plus taxes).

I was trying on a pretty little number when my nail got caught in the zipper, and with one yank it was gone. My meticulously manicured nail was suddenly headless! And my trusted nail file was nowhere to be found.

I was in luck, though. Right there, where I was, in Central Mall in Gurgaon, I spotted the newly opened Sally Hansen Express Nail Bar — the only one of its kind in the city right now. I raced in and signed up for the Express 20 Minute Manicure. Why? Because the Sally H are the specialists. Unlike other manicure places, they offer quickie manicures that treat specific problems like brittle nails, slow-growing ones and even hang nails.

After a thorough inspection, the manicurist filed my nails to match the shape of the nail bed — the best way to make your fingers look pretty. As he scrubbed my hands with the Sally Hansen Manicure In A Minute cream, he even asked me if I had my broken nail piece, he could actually glue it back on! Tut-tutting over the condition of my cuticle although I’ve always thought mine were neat, he massaged a cuticle softening cream around the nail, and pushed the cuticles back. After that, he applied a cuticle removing lotion around the nail bed to slough off the dry cuticles. My nails were shining already. Post a gentle hand massage with the Sally Hansen Massage cream, my buffed nails got a nail-strengthening base coat, followed by shell pink polish. As a final touch, the manicurist applied the Sally Hansen Nail-Strengthening Vitamin E Oil on my cuticles and nails to prevent hangnails. He recommended that I use the cuticle cream and vitamin E lotion regularly, so I picked up some for later.

And in no time at all, I was back in the store, zipping myself into my darling new dress that went so perfectly with my new improved nails.

Sally Hansen Express Nail Bar: Central Mall, MG Road, Gurgaon. Tel: 95124-2859000; Rates: Express 20 Minute Manicure Rs 200 per session, other services like Polish & Go Regular, Polish & Go French Manicure, Cuticle Care, Shape Up, Buff & Shine start from Rs 50.

Uff, everyone tau thinks I’ve gone off my rockets, sorry, rockers. I’m collapsing into historical giggles for no crime or treason, and simply can’t swipe that silly smirk off my face.

Reason being this Moni Mohsin’s tabaahi new book ‘Diary of a Social Butterfly’. Moni Mohsin, who? Tauba, yaar, that Pakistani journo — Lahore born and bred and London buttered — who wrote a column by the same name in Pakistani akhbaar ‘Friday Times’, which comes out on Friday only.

This cross-border Titli’s monthly musings begin in 2001, when ‘Masood did in the Twin Towers and Pantagone’, and ends with the death of Benazir Bhutto in January 2008. Truly turbulent timings. Titli is also at her split ends dealing with serious-se masley, like in-laws, kaala-jadoo, weddings and funerals, Bollywood, property and money, money, money. Lahore ho ya Dilli, us butterflies are facing same-to same problems only.

This little pink book will knock you up like a ten-ton truck. It has all the masala-ehsaan faramosh darzees and landed gentry, high society high-jinks and the war on tourism, buttocks, liposeduction and weapons of mass distraction, vaghera, vaghera. Uff, that’s etc, etc.

Titli’s colourful bageecha has some memorable phools (and kaante)-her husband Janoo (so extinguished he is! I tau fell for him, yaar!), her son, the sho-shweet Kulchoo, his daadi-jaan, The Old Bag, Janoo’s sisters, The Gruesome Twosome , Titli’s irrepressible Mummy, assorted crack-se rellies (relatives) , a gaggle of gaga girlfriends and their bore-se husbands.

Our heroine’s cross-eyed observations on her life and times are sublimely ridiculous and unfailingly hit the head on the nail. I tau say they beat the living headlights of all those stuppid-se Fidget Jones clones clogging the stores. She deserves the Bookish prize, like that White Tiger-White Elephant whatsisname only.
Bas, now I tau am off to pick up a bunch for my set of smart sophisty girl friends!

Diary of a Social Butterfly, by Moni Moshin, Random House India, Rs 195. Out in stores nationwide.