These shops are currently doubling as the art spaces for an artist who makes installation art from scrap material, one who sculpts furniture from paper pulp, a low-cost, One Rupee Movie Theatre which will screen films made by the locals after a 21-day zombie/animation/sci-fi filmmaking workshop, and a make-shift radio station where a compilation of Gunher’s myths and legends, music, personal stories of the locals, will be broadcast live.

The final exhibition is expected to showcase the diverse work of the artists, feature live traditional and jazz concerts, movies about arts and artists, artists’ and handicraft stalls, performances, local dances, cuisine etc. If you find yourself in the neighbourhood don’t miss this event that promises to turn an entire village into what can only be called an arts mela for locals and visitors alike.  And also to cheer on the efforts of community-minded individuals.

Miss me, regardless

Equestrian tricks became part of circus repertoire in the late 18th century courtesy one Philip Astley, who is also credited with inventing the performing ring. It was also during this period that this form of theatrical entertainment spread across Europe, including Russia under Empress Catherine. Come 19th century, America would take on the mantle of world leader in circus innovations; Barnum & Bailey’s Circus, the top act.

Recently, the Great Bombay Circus, one of India’s oldest circus troupes set up its ‘big top’ in Chandigarh. After going past it a zillion times over a month, I finally gave in to the child in me and showed up at the ticket counter. Accompanied by three youthful friends over sixty. That evening would count as one of the most nostalgic in recent times.

Bright lights, kitschy posters, cheery visitors and Bollywood music greeted us on arrival. It was heartening to see a swelling crowd and the seats were half full when we got there. I had forgotten though how grimy and dusty it can be, yet, the glittering attire of the performers outranked everything. As the evening progressed, it became evident that not much had changed in the tricks, acts or performances!

Other than the near absence of animals due to the growing clamour by activists to ban forcible instruction, and perhaps the inclusion of fire-eaters from Nigeria, the acrobats, jugglers, balancing acts, endurance skills, motor-biking, hula hooping were all there in their modern-day blingy avatars.

At first attempt, we arrived at closing time (10.30 pm) and were shooed away; no amount of beseeching, cajoling or threats (hunger does have a way with reason) worked. Even as we sulked and skulked away, we knew we would return to partake another day. A buzzing  full house (car-tops and tables on the pavement), and swiftly emptying vessels stood testimony to the popularity of its pure vegetarian grub.

The next time, we arrived early and found ourselves a vantage parking spot. No sooner, a youngster ran up to take our order, which also arrived after a palatable wait. A plateful of creamy paneer tikkas, specialty of the house, was wolfed down before we attacked a sumptuous tandoori platter. Never, and I repeat, never before have I relished tandoori cauliflower and mushroom tikkas as I greedily did that night, from the cramped insides of a car bursting with hungry people.

The main course was a mushroom-peas sabzi and ‘yellow’ dal accompanied by blistering hot tandoori rotis, alongside a symphony of Munching Moments!  I noticed kadhi was a hot favourite, too, as were all manner of paneer preparations. But if you were to ask me, I’d say their tandoori platter is undoubtedly the piece de resistance. Fresh preparations, excellent flavouring and cooked to perfection. A must-eat-at.

High on bucket-lists of tourists by virtue of its proximity to Janpath and Paharganj, it was soon run over by popular fast-food chains,  gradually elbowing back the old-worldly Gaylords’, Standards and Embassys of yore. That one of the world’s most-admired companies, also its largest coffee chain, decides to set up shop in joint venture with Tata, India’s most-admired company, in a cavernous two-level showroom in A Block, underscores amongst other things, CP’s go-to relevance yet again.

Long queues are no deterrent; as evidenced on my visit there on an invite from fellow blogger at Wanderink. Perhaps it had something to do with the tiny teaser shots that the staff passed around to its fidgety customers-in-line. The interiors are somewhat bare and trademark products a-plenty. In deed the place had a buzz to it, packed to capacity as it was.

The staff are  friendly, the service quick, the muffins moist, and the brew, well, familiar. In the sense that we have been quaffing back the same stuff at our neighbourhood Cafe Coffee Day all this while. That’s right, as both companies source their aromatic Arabicas from the rain forest plantations of Coorg. What remains to be seen is whether Starbucks can step into the vacuum created by CCD’s indifference towards its food menu. Or whether their fruity caffeine based drinks can convert purist taste-buds. At last stab, web chatter suggested the jury was still out on that one.

It was in the latter,  where I sat imbibing the classic colours, flavours, music, and theatrics of  Zangoora, an imaginative reconstruction of a Bollywood song-and-dance routine, that it hit me. What I was viewing was not merely a Shiamak Davar choreographed performance enacted flawlessly by amazingly talented professional dancers. It was, indeed, the coming-of-age of  Confident India. Shunning, refreshingly so, a penchant for choosing Western elements over things indigenous, it was a real delight being in the midst of a soiree that was so…so…well, Indian.

Nothing quite says “we are like this only” as does this Kingdom of Kitsch. A must-experience.

Lonely Planet, an Australia-based travel publisher since 1973, arrived in India a couple of years ago with the sole mission of preempting and addressing the eclectic needs of the Indian traveller. A hard to ignore demographic, you have to agree. Last week, they launched the Short Escapes from Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru (the latter two have been co-authored by me) at the Kingdom of Dreams, Gurgaon. Here are some moments:

Travel is fun. Travel tales, even better. And trailblazers? They qualify as the icing on the proverbial cake. And if these path breakers constitute women, they sure make it newsworthy.

Minakshi Chaudhry has worn many a mantle through her journey of life: as a journalist, cancer survivor and prolific author. But what defines her best is her endless love for travel, especially in Himachal Pradesh, her home state. Born in Solan, she was schooled in Nigeria before landing a job with the Indian Express after completing her education. She believes the travel bug bit very early on, for when the family returned from Nigeria, her father booked hopping flights, choosing a different destination to visit each time. Her husband, an officer with the Indian administration, also shares this love for exploration; together, they have trekked virtually every inch of Himachal Pradesh and visited over 42 countries. The travel enthusiast has translated her love for mountains, lakes and forests into very many well-received books: Exploring Pangi Himalaya–A World Beyond Civilisation, A Guide to Trekking in Himachal, and Destination Himachal, a travel book on lesser known destinations in the state. She went on to collate writings from the Shimla hills in a book titled Whispering Deodars, before chronicling first the Love Stories and then the Ghost Stories from the region. While Sunshine, accords the reader a window to her experiences with cancer. Minakshi has recently returned from an all-women holiday to Singapore and Malaysia that she cobbled together with her school friends.

Epiphany Moment: Discovering the true meaning of “weekend rush” while arriving in Munich without hotel bookings. And that even soup kitchens turn away well-travelled tourists.

A few years ago, Chandigarh girl, Supreet Dhiman, nature enthusiast and Head, StoneArt at Besten & Co realised the adventure quotient of the laid-back denizens of City Beautiful needed some shaking up. Hence, the Chandigarh Adventure, Treks and Sports (CATS), the city’s first adventure club, was born. Today it boasts of all manner of members: students, doctors, bureaucrats, business managers, IT-professionals. Trekking, hiking, biking, parasailing, paragliding, rally crossing, rafting, rock-climbing, rappelling, fishing and much else; CATS has made it all easy and accessible by identifying areas around Chandigarh.  Supreet’s interest in adventure sports was ignited during her education at the University of Warwick, itself beset by thick forestland, hills and water bodies. She counts being marooned on a deserted island in the Bahamas as one of her memorable escapades. For three days, she had to fend for her food and shelter while in the company of exotic birds and animals. Supreet has raised funds for Cancer Research in England by scaling the highest peaks in England and Wales; and by swimming a stretch of 2.5miles in 40mins everyday for a month. She continues to give back through eduCATe and medicate, initiatives that collect money for education and medical care for the less privileged.

Epiphany Moment: The safest place to spend a night in Sonamarg is a police post when faced with protesters in a volatile mood. 

From Dehradun, Supriya Sehgal, ostensibly lives in Bangalore while actually traipsing around the country on work. She travels map-less and un-Googled, and loves getting lost. An occurrence, she confesses, that has befallen her with unfailing regularity over the past 8 years, since she exchanged her office cubicle for the road. As one half of the team that leads Photography Onthemove, a travel photography initiative, she finds that the addictive chaos of Varanasi has her enthralled. Supriya enjoys researching festivals of India from a filter of unique access and behind the scenes action; and counts the Kambala buffalo races of coastal Karnataka, the Champakulam Snake Boat Race & Theyyam of Kerala as most intriguing. This copious diet of hers–replete with anecdotes and chai with inquisitive locals, co-passengers, auto drivers and cabbies–qualifies her to author for the Australian publishing great, Lonely Planet. She is presently wandering around Kerala, penning down her second book for them.

Epiphany Moment: Nirvana. While witnessing non-commercial Ram Leelas from close quarters at Varanasi.

Lawyer turned journalist-turned-travel writer, Anjaly Thomas, author of Almost Intrepid, prefers the humidity of jungles to air conditioned suites. Her travel mantra is roughly based on “is hard, must do” which has led to her eating tarantulas, facing machete-wielding rebels, being held up by gun-toting soldiers in Tanzania, scaling Mount Killimanjaro and trekking in wildlife infested tropical jungles. Anjaly is from Kerala, but her day job with a radio station finds her currently residing in Dubai. She is the first Indian woman to have walked the peril-laden Kokoda Trail, a 96 kilometres long track through the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea. She does not believe in splurging on food when traveling and doesn’t mind helping herself to someone else’s plate – because she believes it breeds interactivity. A champion of solo travel, she goes it alone most times because it means freedom – to explore, to experience, to blend in, and to revel in anonymity. In step with her declaration–as long as she can put her right leg in front of her left, she will keep exploring–she is off to the Amazon next. Why? Because she once held a giant python around her neck and now she would like to try an anaconda!

Epiphany Moment: It’s best not to bite into the squishy stomach of a fried tarantula.

Kanan Dhru is the founder of Research Foundation for Governance in India, an Ahmedabad based think-tank working towards legal and political reforms. Armed with a law degree from the London School of Economics, she has worked with the National Knowledge Commission. A Fulbright-Nehru Fellow, she is a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum’s Ahmedabad Hub and was one of the 37 ‘Indians of Tomorrow’ featured by India Today in 2012. Yet, she finds the time and energy to live out her passion for the road less travelled, and mountaineering. She forged her bond with the mountain while on a holiday at Mt Abu. Soon after she enrolled herself for the Brighu Lake Trek organised by the Bangalore Mountaineering Club in 2009, and today, egged on by her trek instructor at Mt Abu, she has scaled endless peaks in India and abroad: Kumar Parvatha in Karnataka, Mt Hira in Japan, The Peak in Hong Kong–also finding time to bungee-jump from the Macau Tower–and the Yosemite National Park in the US. Kanan added to her impressive record by undertaking an eight day trek to Mt Killimanjaro last year. She is now preparing to launch herself at Mt Elbrus in Russia. The highest peak in Europe, she expects it to be quite challenging. But that’s no deterrent as she believes her passion is not just a reflection of her personality but has also equipped her with the survival instincts and toughness of character that her profession necessarily demands.

Epiphany Moment: The Delhi male does not deserve the notoriety accorded him; after being genuinely helped by three random men at New Delhi Railway Station.

It was a magical performance. A near full moon hovered above a head bobbing, foot tapping audience of music enthusiasts in the foreground of the beautiful marbled building called Chaunsath Khamba in Nizammuddin. Said to have been built by Mirza Aziz Kokaltash, one of Akbar’s foster brothers, the 17th century monument houses ten graves, two of which are those of Kokaltash and his wife. It was against this backdrop that the sitarist and his talented ensemble had us completely enthralled.

Though hazy, images from my phone will provide a sense of the ambiance. As will the short video clippings I enthusiastically grabbed before losing myself to the splendid strumming unfolding before me. The footage shows the maestro performing solo, accompanied variously by tabla players, by vocals, and by an ensemble.