• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Menka Shivdasani

It's the time of the year when Mumbai residents head towards Goa for a holiday. And the ongoing International Film Festival adds to the attraction.

If you are trying to get away from everyone you know in Mumbai, then there is one place you absolutely do not visit at this time of the year — Goa. Most Mumbai residents, at least those who don't have to worry about going to work, head for this favourite hotspot in December, and apart from bumping into the same people you meet at all the parties in Mumbai, you can also be sure you won't get good hotel rooms for love or money.

This year, there is a special reason for Mumbai citizens to be packing their bags. The big question on the social circuit will be, `So were you at the International Film Festival?' and God help you if you answer in the negative. Instant ostracism, that's what will happen to you...

Konkani plays, fusion jazz, salsa dancers, bangle makers, a vintage car parade, even balloon sculptures... you will find all this and much more in Goa over the next few days. All of Goa seems to be involved, trying to show off its culture and heritage, and special festival stages have been created to make the general public part of the entire festival. Of course, just in case you forgot, there are movies too, including the Inspired Movies UK-produced Take 3 Girls, an English film, which premiered in the Cinema of the World section on November 30. The film, written by that brilliant writer Farroukh Dhondy, stars Kabir Bedi and Soni Razdan, and is directed by UK-based Baz Taylor. Taylor, in fact, visited Mumbai to talk about the film, just before going off to Goa. I haven't seen the film yet, but it sounds like it would go very well with the Goan scene as it's all about youth and music.

Head for Goa once the frenzy of the film festival ends; if you are a harassed Mumbaikar, there is no better antidote than a long walk on a palm-fringed Goan beach...

Si cigar?

Meanwhile, back in Mumbai, there have been some rather serious activities, like cigar rolling. Godfrey Phillips got Master Torcedor Jessica Maria Travieso Irizarry from the Dominican Republic to display her mastery over this delicate task, making what is described (in hyperbole, presumably) as "one of the world's most exquisite handmade cigars", the Don Diego Anniversario. Jessica took 45 minutes to take Mumbai's celebritiesthrough the 65 different processes that form part of the cigar rolling process. The celebrities included Ash Chandler, Sivamani, Nisha Jamwal and Gayatri Joshi, among others. How many of these people smoke cigars is of course another issue, but in Mumbai any excuse is good enough to party!

You would think that only a very small number of people in the city actually smoke cigars, but the trend seems to be catching on. In fact, one of Mumbai's newer hotels, the glitzy InterContinental near Sahar Airport, even has a cigar bar, Cingari, and a hotel representative says there is a growing demand for cigars among Indian customers.

Smoking is politically incorrect, did you say? Sure, but there are lots of people who think cigars add panache to their personalities. Wonder why...

City slick

With disposable incomes on the rise and people increasingly wanting upscale global lifestyles, one trend that seems to be catching on is that of interior décor. Between Diwali and New Year, you will find several décor exhibitions in the city. The most recent was the Inside Outside Mega Show at the Bandra-Kurla Complex, with more than 200 companies, occupying one lakh sq ft of space.

I went to the exhibition on the second day, November 26, and found myself jostling past the crowds. It was also interesting to see that the lecture hall was full, though the topics did not directly deal with personal home décor issues. The talks were about building with mud and natural material, heritage conservation and transplanting architecture.

What made this event special was the fact that it was not merely a home décor exhibition; accompanying it was the Inside Outside Designer of the Year Award, with the theme this year being `Restoration and Revitalisation'.

Architect T.M. Cyriac won the award for his Travancore Heritage project in Thiruvananthapuram. Cyriac salvaged and relocated 23 heritage buildings in a resort environment, retaining the flavour of traditional Kerala architecture.

Another Thiruvananthapuram project, the restoration of the Fort Precinct by Professors Eugine Pandala and N. Ramaswamy, received a special commendation. A Mumbai project, the Fabindia showroom, also won honours; architect Shimul Javeri Kadri has designed this space on the ground floor of a colonial building. Mumbai is full of spaces that need to be restored, sensitively, and awards like this one will go a long way towards encouraging such conservation.

Response can be sent to life@thehindu.co.in

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Children with HIV/AIDS

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line