I will go miles for a melting kakori kebab. But I’ve been getting a tad tired of my usual Mughlai haunts, which dish out the usual butter-chicken, rogan-josh, malai kofta.

So when I heard that the popular Bangalorean eatery Sahib Sindh Sultan had come to town, I hotfooted it to Gurgaon . And it was as if I had stepped right on to the platform where the first Indian locomotives Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan must have stood back in 1853. Back in the modern world, the restaurant has two eating areas, the platform and the train carriage. I plumped for the carriage — decorated with antique lamps, old world leather bound seats, gleaming woodwork.

The menu was quite exhaustive — a blend of frontier food, north Indian cuisine and Anglo Indian fare, each dish harking back to the people or events of that era. My culinary journey began with the Sahib Ka Panna, a cooler made from roasted ripe pineapple pulp. The blend of tangy and sweet tastes really whetted the appetite. Chugged on to a superb medley of dishes — the Karara Palak Chaat, crispy batter fried spinach in tangy chaat flavours, the mild Sahibi Fish Tikka, and the tastebud-tingler Lauhpathgamini Bhatti Ka Tikka.

Then came the signature Sahib Sindh Sultan dish — the Thompson’s Atta Chicken — a melt-in-the-mouth dish baked under a thick layer of dough, after which I moved on to the fresh and fragrant Daal Palak Double Tadka and Aloo Bari Ki Tehri. I could only halt after tasting everything from the outstanding dessert sampler, which had a Lychee ki Tehari, Pineapple Halwa and Choco Kulfi — something I had never had before.

Am I glad Sahib Sindh Sultan has made a stop here.

Sahib Sindh Sultan, 3rd floor, Ambience Mall, NH8 Highway, Gurgaon. Ph no. 0124- 3058802. Meal for two Rs 1,200. Alcohol served.

There are soaps and soaps, and every month, there’s new stuff on the shelves. But I’m the faithful sort — I stick to the ones I love. And this season I’ve decided that my fave cleansers are going to form the bulk of my Christmas gifties. I’m off to make my bundles, and here are my choices:

Lush: The warm, enticing smells and the colorful mounds in the store make me want an itty-bitty piece of every soap. And these are the ones that make me feel truly lush — the citrus-y Sexy Peel soap, the Sultana of Soap (studded with chopped apricots and currents) and the Milky Bar soap (the milky aroma makes it purrfect for wintry evenings). For deep cleansing, try the Mud Flats (made of cleansing Moroccan clay) soap!
www.lushindia.com; also at Lush outlets - Delhi: 17A, Select City Walk, Saket, Ph 011-40534562; Gurgaon: 165, Ambience Mall, Ph 0124-4665398; Bangalore: The Forum, Kormangala, Ph 80 22067611,Garuda Mall, Magrath Road, Ph: 66641110/11. Rs 230 to Rs 430 for 100 gm.

Forest Essentials: Think sinful, self-indulgent luxury, and choose from Almond Butter and Saffron, Coconut and Jasmine, Date and Oatmeal, and Honey and Beeswax. If sugar soaps are your thing, don’t miss the Bitter Orange and Cinnamon! The brand also has a fabulous luxury collection, made of ingredients like butter, dark chocolate, honey and orange juice. Yummy.
www.forestessentialsindia.com; also at Forest Essential stores: Delhi: G-54, Select Mall, Saket, Ph 011-42658464; 46B, Khan Market, Ph: 011-41757057; Mumbai: F-19, Inorbit Mall, Malad, Ph 022-65215209. Rs 195 to Rs 750 for 100 gm.

Susan’s Soaps: Like handmade? Then this one’s your brand. Can’t decide which one? Try the soap sampler — eight mini bars of soap! But my vote goes to the Carrot Seed Complexion Bar and the Cypress & Coriander Dead Sea Spa (made with Dead Sea clay).
http://susansoaps.com; No stand-alone stores, you can only order online. Between $6.50 to $12.95 (Charge it on your credit card and pay in rupees when your monthly bill rolls along!)

Get set to smell divine.

Maybe it’s the nip in the air. Or the comfort of a hot-water bath. Or the pleasure of snuggling into soft woollies. But when December comes around, my tastebuds start yearning for all that’s rich, gooey and spicy-sweet. Christmas cake, of course — but just any old shop-bought cake simply doesn’t meet my standards. And much as I love the aroma of baking, I can’t bear the thought of the planning and the shopping and the soaking and the chopping.

Which is why I love Michelle Gafoor. She and her mum Leela use a four-generation-old family recipe to bake cake. Not just any cake, but Christmas cake as it is meant to be — dark and delish, crammed with fruit (that has soaked in rum for at least four months), stuffed with minced almonds and walnuts, bound by fruit jam and marmalade, and oozing with flavour and moistness.

I was greedy this year and got my order in early, so I have first-tooth experience of its taste. The cake comes wrapped in cling film (all the better to seal in the goodnesses), and topped with a little sprig of holly. The knife sinks into the square, dislodging little crumbly bits that I immediately scooped up and relished. And then comes the slice, not too big, because I want the cake to last as long as possible (and it can, because the alcohol acts as a preservative). I put a spoonful into your mouth and had a hard time resisting going mmmm.

Now if she could only pack the smells of home-baking in the cling-wrap, I’d retire my oven.

Michelle Gafoor’s homemade Christmas cake. Flat 301, Chateau Maria, 27, Hutchins Road, Cooke Town, Bangalore 5. Call Michelle on 9845092630 to place an order or buy till December 23. Price: Rs 175 for half-kg or Rs 350 for a kg.

I was always telling stories, talking to animals and squealing with delight at life’s little treasures. A juicy strawberry that was fun to squish and even more exciting to bite into, a dragonfly with its own little halo made of light glinting off its jewelled wings, the funny gait of a wrinkled, cuddly elephant.

Where did that little girl go? I thought I’d lost her in the hurry to grow up and play adult. But she tread gently and stood beside me as I stared, wide-eyed at the mesmerising works before me.

Lavishly exploding across a gargantuan wall in this spanking new 3,250 square foot warehouse-like gallery, 31-year-old Brazilian artist Nina Pandolfo’s impish characters in her exhibition titled ‘Between Us’ reach out to you and not just on account of how three-dimensional they appear. The embedded symbols of childhood, innocence and nature weave a riveting tale, coloured in with bright, candy-flavoured hues that induce smiles almost reflexively. And the little details simply draw you in further. I even spotted my Id, Ego and Superego in the one titled Fruit Salad, all doing their own thing, with beautiful eyes as big as dinner plates.

Using mainly airbrushes to craft her street-style paintings, the petite and self-effacing Nina is happy to let her love for animals and her mission to explore the relationship between our inner and outer selves almost take centrestage. She’s unlikely to mention she’s a pioneer in Street Art in Sao Paulo, her city of birth.

Come take a dekko, and don’t be surprised if you bump into your inner little girl.

Nina Pandolfo shows at the Warehouse on 3rd Pasta till December 31, 2008, 11am to 7pm, from Tuesday to Sunday; Address: 6/7, 3rd Pasta Lane, Colaba, Mumbai; Tel: 22023056; Website: www.gallerymaskara.com; Price: Each 77×63 inch canvas is $15,000.

I like doing cartwheels so much that I’ve got a home with minimal walls and maximum wide open spaces (and a few rugs thrown in between for soft landings). But now I feel the need for a hint of mystery between the spaces. In other words — privacy!

Like beaded curtains from Memories of a Butterfly (MOAB). Glittering beads that divide spaces without making them claustrophobic. Pure glass, acrylic and crystal delicately strung together to capture light and create a cascade of dew that’ll be a pleasure to hide behind. For the more earthy home, there’s Australian shell, bone and wood. And beady delight is not all they offer. You also get to choose from a range of designs, from the Bold Polka to Gold Basket,Traditional Aztecs to Ikats, and the Tear Drop to the Chandelier curtains.

And after you’ve put them up, and you’ve danced between them, and are still greedy for more, fear not. MOAB’s also got box lamps (that promise to throw gaspable shadows on your bedroom walls), hanging lamps (for an equally breathtaking result), and even candle stands (for that perfect gift) with intricate bead work.

My suggestion? Let this butterfly into your home.

MOAB (Memories of a Butterfly). Call Sreeti Mondol on +91 9845508083 and Sriram Sunder on +91 9880395452 in Bangalore or Malini Mundle on +91 9810797037 in New Delhi. MOAB delivers all over the country via professional packers and movers and charges delivery by weight. Prices depend on materials and designs. A door curtain will range from Rs 7000 to Rs 15000.

Oh joy, it’s that weather when Sundays start translating into long, lazy brunches! And I have discovered just the place: Fres Co.

Fres Co is a slice of the Mediterranean. Just like its name, it’s fresh, fresh, fresh. I’m talking white walls, white cane couches with blue and green cushions, blue shutter windows. And a lovely outdoors area, where you can sit and watch the shoppers’ promenade, just like the street cafes of Madrid!

And a brunch buffet that makes you temporarily amnesiac about your diet. Not just your regular Caesar’s salad-meets pasta-meets chocolate cake, this. My plate was loaded with an awesome Greek salad with ample feta, a grilled Mediterranean salad, lemony hummus with crisp pita, the Greek specialty dolmanthes (aromatic rice wrapped in wine leaves), little chicken salami and cheese mini toasts (and that’s just half the appetizers). And oh, the live grills! Paneer and olive barbeque, chicken souvlaki (that Greek twist to chicken tikka), and very tender roast leg of lamb.

There’s also your paellas and chicken dishes, but I had my blinkers on as I headed to the pasta and pizza section, from where I plucked a penne arabiatta that glistened with fresh tomato sauce, and slivers of grilled vegetables, and the biggest, cheesiest thin-crust pepperoni pizza.

Top that with a glass of wine at the bar (or a lemon iced tea, cool in a tall glass). The service is excellent despite it being a buffet (our plates were changed regularly), and the freshness of the food, exemplary.

The dessert tempts you, sitting attractively in little shot-glasses and mini-mugs. The mousse — I tried lemon and mango — were mild, creamy and not too sweet, and the chocolate cake slices, drizzled with a thick chocolaty sauce, yummy. And who can be heartless enough to say no to a Tiramisu?

Not me.

Fres Co, Third floor, Ambience Mall, NH8, Gurgaon, Ph: 95-124- 4665575/79. Brunch buffet priced at Rs. 425 plus taxes, per person.

My city is special to me. It has its own icons, the symbols that are uniquely Bangalorean. But there are also the hidden corners, the unexpected surprises, which make my city unlike any other. So imagine my delight when I found five young photographers had captured these very nuances for the world to share under the banner ‘Art, Space and the City’.

A young woman, dressed up in traditional Bharatnatyam attire, taking a long, hard look at herself in the mirror. A squatting child, overshadowed by towering wooden figurines, looking up at an ominous sky. In vibrant red and yellow, men and women celebrating folk festivals on the streets of Bangalore.

Walking around the first floor exhibition space, I found it easy to forget that I was physically far removed from any of these realities. Boldly framed and judiciously blown up, each of the frames reaches out and sweeps you up into itself.

Clare Arni, the well-known British photographer who has made the city her home for 20 years now, shows the most vivacious collection, documenting neighbourhood festivals with energy and respect. Vinayak Das’s portrayal of a day in the life of an itinerant artisan group is empathic without being intrusive.

But I liked Jyothy Karat’s beautiful portraits of Bharatnatyam and ballet dancers the best of all: The shots are strong and joyous, exuding rhythm and passion in an echo of the art forms they capture.

My city. But others’ too.

Art, Space and The City by Clare Arni, Jyothy Karat, Rudra Rakshit Saran, Vinayak Das and Vivek M. At Max Mueller Bhavan, 716 CMH Road, Indiranagar Ist stage, Bangalore 38. Tel: 25205305. Show on till December 19. Entry free. Contact individual photographers for sale prices.

In the midst of the stark black and white and the shades of blurry grey since 26/11, Mumbai’s trying very hard to find the colours of life. On a sombre walk through Colaba bylanes, I stumbled upon a bright spot of Trendy fuchsia that immediately infused hope into my system.

Launched recently without much fanfare, the zany-hued TSAR: The Strand Art Room is curator Rukshaan Krishna’s dream-come-true. The medium-sized space is well lit and has a relaxed vibe — one that is both warm yet serious about its purpose. The deep cherry exteriors are welcoming with two show windows that give you a peek into what’s inside.

Krishna has ensured she scoured the Indian art scene to bring forth a presentation worthy of an inaugural show titled ‘Strands come together’ (how apt for a show that comes together just as Mumbai’s masses are!). From the celebrated Vinod Daroz with his blue ceramic butterflies and painted egg trays to B. Rai David’s exquisite sculptures, Alok Bal’s wry dark landscapes and Sanjay Barot’s metaphysical mazes of pipes, plus Ambu Rathwa’s introspective journey into himself and Ramgopal Kumavat’s segue from puppetry to painting, this show has loads of genius on display.

When I popped into a niche of the gallery where Deepjyoti Kalita’s installations transformed before my eyes with every move I made. I was entranced by his swimmer in a tanker, dog with a gun in its belly and a bungee-jumping factory worker constructed out of acrylic, timers and motion detecting sensors. I was so completely involved, so present in the present, that my soul almost sang instead of weeping.

I call this the art of living.

TSAR, The Strand Art Room: Ama House, Colaba, Mumbai; Tel: 32991008; Timings: 11am-8pm daily. The show is on till December 12; Prices: Vinod’s range from Rs 25,000 to 80,000; Alok’s from Rs 80,000 to 5,40,000; Deep’s from Rs 84,000 to 1,00,000; Ram’s from Rs 35,000 to 2,10,000.

It’s hard, I know, to get back to being festive during these dark days. But if there’s one surefire way to dispel gloom, it is to get out and about, savour the mild chill of the Delhi’s lovely December, and dive into a whole bunch of world-class events, coming to a venue near you.

The Delhi International Arts Festival is back after its successful debut last year. Spread over 24 days and nearly 70 venues across NCR, Delhi’s first annual multi-cultural festival is bigger and brighter this year with as many as 35 segments including music, dance, theatre, puppetry, literature, mushairas, visual arts etc. Something for everyone!

Festival Executive Director Arshiya Sethi informs us that the line-up this year also includes a number of fringe events — a Literary Festival (a first-time inclusion), five different Film festivals including the prestigious Indian Panorama, Octave, the flagship festival of the North-east, and three Theatre fests focusing on contemporary, traditional and experimental theatre forms.

Terribly keen to go but unable to decide between multiple options? Trendy picks out some of the hottest events:

11th-21st Dec: Indian Panorama films from the International Film Festival of India – featuring among others, Girish Kasaravalli’s superb fable on modern times, “Gulabi Talkies”, Priyadarshan’s fabulously shot “Kanchivaram”, Sooni Taraporewala’s delightful take on two warring Parsi families, “Little Zizou”. And a whole bunch more (Siri Fort)

12th-16th Dec: Octave, the festival of the North-East, highlighting the music, dance, costumes and culture of the region (Siri Fort)

13th Dec: Brotherhood Festival, a ghazal night featuring Indian and Pakistani performers. Timely, and so-needed (Chandni Chowk)

21st Dec: Sufi concerts featuring artists from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India — this was one of the highlights of the fest last year, can’t wait to get back again (Ashok Ampitheatre, The Ashok)

So haul out your Pashminas and silks, mark your diaries and calendars, and go get yourself some piping hot culture curry!

Delhi International Arts Festival: 1st to 24th December 2008. For details check the DIAF website www.diaf.in or contact the Prasiddha Foundation on 23712725.

It’s been a tough week. The initial shock at the news last Wednesday, the continuous barrage of chilling updates right up till Saturday. Terrorists, guns, grenades, explosions, hostages — the words all now have vivid images and live video feed attached to them in our mind’s eye. We’ve all been glued to the telly, newspapers and Internet 24/7.

Citizens in Mumbai will through the week rally around those who laid down their lives and remember those who are no longer with us. And the rest of the country stands with them.

We at Trendy.in send our support and wishes to all those impacted by the attacks in Mumbai.

The bi-weekly Trendy avataar will be back soon.