Let someone else paint the town red this month. Take your palette and set off instead for Serenity, a work-in-progress eco villa community in Mahagaon, 100 kilometres from Pune. Here, artists from around the world will be participating in a three-week Art in Nature residency program starting November 19. On the weekends, you can go up to the green valley and visit, participate in workshops and even stay the night. (S)lumber party!

What the Artists Will Do

Artist and curator Shilpa Joglekar has picked a bunch of artists from around the world - Tomasz Domanski (Poland), Urs Tewllmann (Switzerland), Ryszard Litwiniuk (Canada) Myriam du Manoir (France), Prashant Jogdand and Raman Adone (India) – who will bunk together and build sustainable art works from locally sourced materials like bamboo, stone and soil. These structures will go on to be permanent fixtures at Serenity, green foot prints left behind by the artists and conservation reminders for guests.     

What You Will Do

Feeling left out? You can pile on too, for weekend workshops on clay modelling, painting and sculpting taught by abovementioned artists. Meanwhile, they’ll put you up in fun eco-chic tents and feed you locally prepared food. I’ll have one part of art, please.

Getting there: Art camp at Serenity Villas, to book call 9820110539 or visit www.serenityvillas.in, Rs 6,000 for a workshop including one night stay and three meals.

A Long Way Down

Journey to the Centre of the Earth: have you watched the film? Now do the trip. High On Travel, a new online vacation curator does its own version of the movie – caving in Meghalaya, an activity that involves slippery slopes, vertical drops, wading through pools and belly crawls to get to middle Earth. Whoever said the Stone Age was simple!

Started by an IIT Bombay graduate, High On Travel claims it can make ‘your travel fantasies go real', promising to check elements off your dream holiday list. Want to live in a Portuguese villa, learn to fish and cook your catch? They call it Angling in Goa, we call it the early retirement plan. Other special vacations currently on the roster include the Nubra camel safari in Ladakh, a photography tour of Bandhavgarh and visits to Batalik villages, where the entire population has descended from Alexander the Great!

Bumpy rides in sunny yellow taxis, pineapple pastries from Flury’s for breakfast, civilised screwdrivers and chips at Tolly, pandals strung with a thousand fairy lights: this Scouter caught the tail end of Pujo in Kolkata, when the city shakes off its year-round torpor and is at its dazzling, ripest best. Notes from a weekend in the City of Joy:

Special thanks to Ashok and Bharti Haralalka for their time, hospitality and many, many drinks.

Eat

Despite multiple trips and much gluttony, we’ve barely managed to skim the surface of the culinary cauldron that is Kolkata. These restaurants however, are good places to start if you’re visiting the city: Bhojohari Manna, with its multiple branches and austere vibe, for authentic Bengali food (get luchi, aloo dum, posto, ilesh, chola daal and Rajbhog); Zishaan for kathi rolls; Girish Chandra Dey and Nakuri Nandi for fresh gud (jaggery) sandesh and Floriana at Russell street for a tub of Naturelle Nolen Gud ice cream. Also super delish is hand-churned Cappuccino Crunch ice cream available at the Alipore branch of the legendary Kookie Jar - remember to grab a sinful mocha biscuit and chocolate boats while you’re there.  Be still, my eating heart.

Other favourites: Flury’s for puffs, above mentioned pineapple pastries and old world charm; Fire & Ice for thin crust pizza; Chinese at Red Hot Chilli Pepper and Zen; Bistro By The Park for iPad menus.

Bhojohori Manna, Plot No. X, Block EP & GP, Sector 5, Salt Lake City, call 03340011211; Zishaan, near Park Circus Tram Depot, Sayed Amir Ali Ave, Circus Avenue, call 03366343397; Girish Chandra Dey, Ramdulal Sircar Street, Shyambazar, call 03322410048; Floriana, 13D, Russel Street, opposite Bengal Club, call 03322293531; Kookie Jar, Enclave No. 17, Belvedere Road, Alipore, call 03324490863.

Still hungry? Find more Kolkata cuisine recommendations here.

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The Butterfly (Stroke) Effect

While studying architecture and journalism in Manipal, Tushar Pathiyan and Ishita Malaviya developed an odd extra-curricular activity, one that has seldom been seen around these parts – surfing. “We got into it and were stoked right away,” explains Tushar, who talks (and we hope, looks) like the quintessential surfer boy. After a couple of years of exploring the sport, they began to offer friends lessons, and the great response they received led to the Shaka Surf Club Surf Shack, which formally opens for business this season. Wave hello!

What Do You Sink?

Now, Tushar and Ishita offer surfing lessons to anyone interested in the sport; in fact, the beach that they operate out of, located about 20 minutes from Manipal, is ideal for beginners – the waves are gentle, and there are no rocks or reef, so even if you take a tumble, chances that you’ll hurt yourself are slim. “Surfing is not dangerous, as long as you understand your skill level and stick with what you can handle,” explains Tushar. Still, even beginners need to have certain skills, like knowing how to swim and being comfortable in the water. “We don’t work with non-swimmers,” Tushar says firmly. And although they concentrate on training beginners, The Shaka Surf Club holds advanced-level courses as well, conducted by experienced international surfers travelling to India.

Grow a Pair

So what are you doing this weekend? Oh, having a ball. That old plan again! How about this Saturday you climb into a ball, get pushed down a hill and scream as loudly as you can.

Just 3.2 kilometres from the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, this is Della Adventure, a park where you can go zorbing (abovementioned activity that requires balls) as well as indulge in a host of adventure sports like paragliding, biking, rappelling, jet skiing and zooming around in an ATV. For the faint hearted, there’s always the more prosaic paint ball, archery, golf and the chance to fly radio controlled planes. Add ons do not include hot air hostess, unfortunately.

There are cafes and restaurants for when you're hungry, but we suggest you don't try Della’s adrenaline offerings on a full stomach.

What: Trips Gone Crazy, call 42666651 / 9870000653 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , approximately Rs 1 lakh including airfare, accommodation, VIP club entry, airport transfers, visa, travel insurance.

Why: If you have to let someone bash you up, it should be these guys: Trips Gone Crazy is a new party tourism company whose travel agendas includes pub crawls, VIP clubs, carnivals, full moon parties, beach blowouts and beer fests around the world. And if you manage to wake up in the morning, there’ll be sightseeing too. Bookings now open for Ibiza trip and Spanish tomatino festival.

When: The time is ripe from August 31 to September 7. Bookings open now.  

What: Rainmaker’s Shack, a secret lodge, Hippie Hills, 24 kms from Lonavala, call McMathew on 09860388804 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , view the Facebook group here,  starts at Rs 3,000 a night and Rs 1,500 for three meals.

Why: When the Rainmaker’s Shack at Lonavala started gaining too much attention, owner McMathew shut shop and moved to a secret jungle location across Pawna lake. Prior registration and approval (recommendations and common Facebook friends help) will get you a map that leads to two deck rooms and a log cabin on a water-facing property. Here you can cycle, barbeque, swim, fish, trek. Also, knowing a certain “Jim Morrison” (listed as the manager on their Facebook group) is bound to open up a few Doors.

When: You want to figure out lodge-istics.

What: Super trips (join theirs or get one customised) by White Collar Hippie, call Vikrant on 9820644720 or view the Facebook group here, price on request.

Why: White Collar Hippie is fresh off the boat, and we were on the docks waiting to receive it. Run by adventure junkies Sachin Parikh and Vikrant Chheda who want people to “travel, not vacation”, this company designs the coolest group trips: travelling to a music festival with a band, learning to build a boat and climb coconut trees while kayaking in Kerala, surfing on a secluded beach with sand sculpture classes and astronomy lessons in a Rajasthan dessert. Watch their Facebook page for trip dates.

When: You want world piece.

What: Gypsy House service apartments, 11, Lane no 1, Koregaon Park, call 09850812711 / 020 26052299, start at Rs 5,000 (rates flexible depending on your time of visit) includes morning tea /coffee and toast.

Why: When in roam try the Gypsy House, service apartments that come with cute, clean rooms, Wi-fi, laundry service, patches of green and a jogging track. Besides the peaceful location – a two-minute walk from the Osho ashram – we love that they let you order in food from any Pune restaurant. One chocolate mousse from Dario’s, please.

When: You are wandering where to shack up.

What: Live in a tree house, The Machan, 20 kms before Lonavla, call +91 8080877420 or visit www.themachan.com, Rs 10,000 a night per couple, including breakfast and dinner.

Why: Imagine this: four gorgeous, eco-chic tree houses rising 40 feet above the Jambulne forest, complete with glass ceilings, outdoor baths and wooden decks overlooking the valley. Wild fig trees made lush with monsoon, in which vultures, falcons and Malabar Whistling Thrushes live. What are you waiting for, you high flyer?

When: You need to let off some neem.