LOUNGE LOVES

Things to watch, read, hear, do—and other curated experiences from the team

Ulla Johnson ‘Gallia’ Printed Cotton-blend Voile Mini Dress

“Gallia” dress in a loose, gathered silhouette featuring a flowersand polka dots print. Available on net-a-porter. com; ₹49,352

Make a striking vacation statement in this “resortee” that comes in a relaxed fit. Available on shivanandnarresh.com; ₹19,950.

LShivan & Narresh Surocco Crew-neck ResorTee A WINE WITH GRAVITAS

ast weekend, at the Sip & Savour wine festival in Mumbai, I tasted a Syrah and Merlot blend, vintage 2021, by the Indian winery Vallonné. The ripe red fruit notes of the grapes remain intact, pronounced tannins add heft, and some ageing—six months each for the Merlot and syrah—lends a distinct oak flavour. The full-bodied, dry style makes it perfect for smokey foods like roasts. There are hints of peppery aromas to elevate the food experience. It doesn’t have a flamboyant personality; maybe, even wine shops won’t push you to buy it. But, if you are looking for a well-made wine with sophistication, bring home this bottle. Make an evening of it by turning on some Leonard Cohen’s music or a Cillian Murphy movie. Sipping it while tending to tedious chores, like laundry and dishwashing, will make them a tad pleasurable. —Jahnabee Borah

AEVERGREEN ELEPHANT Fairbanks Mocha Panama Men’s Hat

Mocha-coloured Panama hat handcrafted from 100% Ecuadorian toquilla straw. Available on lockhatters.com; ₹83,150.

ADune Homes Frosted & Textured Tall Glasses

Elevate your party with this set of four textured tall glasses. Available on perniaspopupshop.com; ₹1,680.

FOOD TRAILS

ll of us have an elusive food memory—a dish or drink that embodies perfection but we just can’t recreate or find again (in my case, it’s my great-grandmother’s besan ladoo). That’s the premise of the charming best-seller The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hishashi Kashiwai—people who can’t forget a dish they’ve eaten just once find their way to a café in Kyoto where a father and daughter listen to slippery memories, ask questions, investigate and recreate the dish. As every story shows, food is linked to joy, dreams, circumstances, even closing a chapter and moving on. There is much else to savour in this book, from the delicate descriptions of food to the tableware and the changing of the seasons. —Shalini Umachandran recent visit to the bank became a good excuse for me to walk down to a restaurant nearby, one that I hadn’t visited in over a decade: Rogue Elephant. Located in Basavanagudi, a south Bengaluru neighbourhood, the open-air restaurant is picture-postcard pretty. And it’s also, I think, one of the city’s best kept secrets. Because while you may not see many mentions of it on social media, it’s a name that conjures up smiles among those who have stepped into its lush surroundings and enjoyed its continental fare. In a city where new restaurants and cafés open every second day—and disappear at an equal rate—it was a small wonder to see an old, beloved place, still standing. As things change, some things, mercifully, remain the same. —Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran

EA CHARMED CARRY-ALL

ver since I bought the Daily Objects’ Pole Convertible Totepack, I’ve secretly wondered if Hermoine (from the Harry Potter universe) graced it with a cheeky extension charm—a spell that expands the internal dimensions of an object without changing its outside, while also making it lighter. Impossibly, it fits everything I need on chaotic days, including a water bottle, a coffee flask, a couple of books, a few vanities accompanied always by more than a few forgotten lip balms, as well as my bulky laptop. Even with all of these things in it, this bag has also somehow been able to accommodate a change of clothes. On days my back is especially creaky, I use it as a matter-of-fact backpack, and on days I feel younger, I pull up the straps to make it a relaxed tote. It’s the closest my muggle self has come to a bit of practical magic.

—Vangmayi Parakala