A smooth beer
Bengaluru’s craft beer scene offers an unparalleled experience. During a recent visit to the city, I went beer-hopping—trying brews at Seven Rivers, at the Taj on MG Road. But the beer that will remain with me for a while is Smooth Criminal, available at the Arbor Brewing Company on Magrath Road, Ashok Nagar. This spiced ale is brewed with honey and lavender flowers, so the beer has hints of lavender in its aroma and finish. Don’t take the beer lightly, however. It has an ABV (alcohol by volume) level of 8% and all the makings of a potent brew. There are some other brews at Arbor—Easy Rider, an American pale wheat beer, and Raging Elephant, an Indian Pale Ale-American beer—that taste great too. But Smooth Criminal is an absolute winner, a must-try if you visit Bengaluru. — Nitin Sreedhar
'Tathastu': Relatable and funny
Over the last couple of years, Zakir Khan has emerged as one of the country’s foremost comedians among Hindi-speaking stand-up comics. His comedy too has evolved—from sharing tales of being a “sakht launda” to more nuanced, often philosophical stories of success, failure and humanity. In his latest special, Tathastu, Khan takes a deep dive into nostalgia, sharing anecdotes of growing up in a joint family and being influenced by his grandfather, sarangi maestro Ustad Moinuddin Khan. Though the punchlines do tend to fizzle out towards the second half, it’s all heart, with a sprinkling of jokes, poetry and a life lesson or two. Tathastu is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. — Debasree Purkayastha
A small museum of marvels
One of the delights of staying at Colaba in Mumbai during a recent trip was the sheer proximity of a number of cultural landmarks. Specifically, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalaya, the erstwhile Prince of Wales Museum. This is a fantastic small museum with an excellently curated collection. The highlights are many but my personal favourite is the Himalayan Art gallery. A treasure trove of Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhist art, the pièce de résistance is a bejewelled plaque from Nepal depicting the mandala of Chintamani Lokeshwara, a form of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara. — Bibek Bhattacharya
In bread we trust
In Srinagar, every neighbourhood has a kandurvan, or a baker’s shop, where you can get freshly baked breads for breakfast and afternoon tea. Recently, a cousin took me to a kandur shop in Gurugram’s Sector 44. It was around noon, bakeerkhanis, katlam, kulcha, roth and more were on display—I was soaking in the warm, nutty aroma of my childhood. Like the French baguette—which recently got Unesco heritage status—the Kashmiri bread is intrinsically connected with the rhythms of daily life. There’s a bread for every occasion. Post-wedding, for instance, the bride’s parents send her the ghee-laden, silver foil studded, dry-fruit rich roth, which is distributed among relatives. Roganjosh and the flaky bakeerkhani are served to the son-in-law on his first visit after the wedding. My favourite is sesame-crusted telvor, buttered generously. — Nipa Charagi
