How to lounge this weekend

Modern take

After almost a two-year-long renovation, Taj Connemara, south India’s oldest hotel dating back to 1854, is reopening on 20 October. The refurbished hotel features architectural influences from the colonial era, art deco and elements from architect Geoffrey Bawa’s “Tropical Modernism". The idea, says Puneet Chhatwal, MD and CEO of Indian Hotels Co. Ltd, is to showcase the hotel’s “illustrious past whilst offering patrons a distinctive, modern and individualistic experience". The renovation cost around
₹90 crore. —PKS

Auction alert

Fancy having an S.H. Raza in your home? It doesn’t have to be on the walls. A new exhibition in Mumbai curated by Brinda Miller displays the works of India’s finest artists in an off-beat medium—carpets. A collection of woven and tufted wool and silk designs, cARTpet reproduces the works of 22 artists, including Raza, Jehangir Sabavala, Anjolie Ela Menon and Sudhir Patwardhan. Presented by Art & Soul Cancer Foundation and NGO Passages, the exhibition aims to create breast cancer awareness and raise funds for patients. —SD

cARTpet is on display at Gallery Art and Soul, Mumbai from 22 October to 1 November.

Just arrived

What’s in a loaf? At the Singapore-based BreadTalk, baking is both science and art. The bakery chain’s maiden store in Delhi is filled with goodies, from the best-selling floss buns and pumpkin loaves to sweet cheese tarts and marble cakes. India will also have an eggless range, and local flavours are in the works. —SD

BreadTalk is located at Select Citywalk, Delhi. Prices start at ₹ 125 for a loaf.

Page-turner

Cold Truth by Nikhil Pradhan

(Harper Black, ₹ 250)

Nikhil Pradhan’s Cold Truth begins with the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl from East Delhi, but by the time the mystery is solved, the reader has travelled into the depths of Antarctica via the murky corridors of Moscow. Ambition is writ large over this slick thriller. From its disrupted narrative (told in quick bursts of interviews, emails, WhatsApp calls and fragments from the dark web) to the plot, which revolves around dodgy biological experiments, it will keep you hooked till the end. Or very nearly so, since it unspools a bit in the end. But if you’re looking for an instant adrenalin rush, this is the kick you need.—SG