BPBWeekend - Brown Paper Bag - Pune Weekend Guide, Food & Drink, Shop, Events, Services, Feel Good, Travel, Freebies

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The NH7 Weekender music fest is coming to Laxmi Lawns, Pune this weekend where it will camp from November 18 to 20. Coming with them is a bevy of cool music artists including Grammy-award winning singers and musicians, interesting product vendors and yum treats. Don't have three entire days to spend at the fest? We tell you what acts, packs and bazaar racks you shouldn't miss.

Basement Jaxx: Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe form the house duo that is Basement Jaxx, and won a Grammy for Best Electronic Album.

At Eristoff Wolves Den, Friday, November 18, 9 pm.

Menwhopause: An alternative rock band from Delhi, these boys know how to get the girls swooning and the boys wishing they could croon.

At Bacardi Black Rock Arena, Saturday, November 19, 6 pm.

Imogen Heap: If you saw her on The Dewarist's TV show and can't wait to watch her perform live, here's your chance. Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Imogen.

At The Dewarists Stage, Saturday, November 19, 9 pm.

The Bazaar: bpb is curating the bazaar at NH7 Weekender, where stalls will feature fun lifestyle products from fun brands like Quirk Box, Play Clan and Pop-Att, jewellery by Meera Mittal and boxer shorts  from Cheap Sex.

Tattoo Republic: There's also Tattoo Republic, a convention featuring a whole bunch of international tattoo artists from around the world. Sync with their ink.

Getting there: Bacardi NH7 Weekender, Laxmi Lawns near Magarpatta City, Pune. 

Designerds Come to Pune!

Ankita Patel, a commercial art graduate from Rachna Sansad and founder of fashion label Designerds, sees her work as an attempt to convert colour into products that look pretty and are fun to carry  - a simple enough concept which results in collections that are distinctly hip and very well crafted.

Slinging '60s

Patel’s vintage collection, inspired by the beauty in dog eared books, yellowing honeymoon pictures and hornrimmed glasses, features cute parrot sling bags (Rs 700), and rose motifs. They make up for the fact that your mom didn't save any of her uber cool stuff for you.

Pop Tales

bpb loves acrylic pins which come in funky shapes like lips, elephants and pop art mustaches (Rs 125) and the Wall-E inspired robot tote (Rs 700), a welcome respite from the same-old glam bags. We also dig the pink parrot tote that is fun to take for a shopping trip or an evening out with the girls.

Hoot-ers
If you’re an owl fan, check out Designerds’ parliament of birds, which fly onto bags, wallets and photo frames. Look out especially for the brown suede sling with a little metal owl (Rs 1,550) and the funky pink owl laptop bag (Rs 1,475).

So push up your glasses and get your fill of this Nerdy Nancy.

Getting there: Bliss, Phoenix Market City Mall, Viman Nagar, Nagar Road, call 30950596

Event Round-Up: November 11 - 14

November 11: Blue Fantasy, an abstract painting exhibition by Suchita Tarde at Bliss Art Gallery, Viman Kunj Society, Lane-E, Koregaon Park, call 9890657757, 9 am - 6 pm.

November 12: iLLBiLLY HiTECs from Germany combine dubstep, jungle, breakbeat and hip-hop at High Spirits, 35A1 North Main Road, Koregaon Park, call 9823855484, 8 pm.

November 12: Bacardi NH7 Weekender Pre-Party featuring DJs Nasha and Clement at Area 51, Pancard Clubs, Baner Hills, Aundh, call 66033251, 9 pm.

November 12: Arties Festival by the Poona Music Society at Mazda Hall, Sardar Dastur School, Camp Cantonment, call 26362633, 7 pm.

November 12: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, a Mexican food festival at La Brasserie, Le Meridien, Camp Cantonment, call 26050505, 7 pm.

November 12- 13: Weekend Aromas Festival with beer, wine, BBQ, and dance at Aromas Cafe, ABC Farms, Survey No. 35/36, Koregaon Park Extension, Ghorpadi, call 64015229, 1 pm, Rs 600.

November 13: School is Cool, put on some uniforms and go wild at CO2 Live the Smoke, 322 Amba Complex, M G Road, Camp Cantonment, call 9890660904, 8.30 pm.

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.

In your pajamas on a Thursday evening and still want food from Malaka Spice or Mainland China? We have just the solution for you. Started by Shachin Bhardwaj and Sheldon Dsouza of MIT Pune, Tastykhana is a hassle free solution to all your hunger pangs. This new website lets  you order food online from a variety of restaurants, all at the click of a button.

Add to Plate

With delivery options that range from SUBWAY to Arc Asia, you can be sure you won't go hungry because your too lazy to put on pants. Tastykhana  delivers to most of the Pune area and there's even a  delivery calculator if your restaurant is on the other end of town. You can search for restaurants based on cuisine, area or free delivery.

Additionally, TastyKhana has a whole range of services, from table reservations to buffet deals - you even earn 'trinkets' when you book through them which can be redeemed at restaurants. A fancy website, with each restaurants menu nicely laid out, it simplifies that eternal question 'what should I eat'.

Table For Ten

Can't bother to co-ordinate with your friends? TastyKhana's table reservation tool lets you add friends mobile numbers or email addresses, and sends them details of the reservation you made. Nifty, right?  Also book parties, attend special events at restaurants and even write reviews about food you love or hate.

Bon appetit!

Getting there: Visit www.tastykhana.com or call 02033006464.

What to do this weekend:

November 4: Pentagram Live at High Spirits, 35A1 North Main Road, Koregaon Park, call 65250559, 9.30 pm.

November 4:  Trance-Formations, an exhibit by MIT design professor Shirish Kathale at Balgandharva Art Gallery, Deccan Gymkhana, JM Road, 25532959, 11 am.

November 4: DJ Rackish live at KUE Bar, The Westin, Koregaon Park, 67210000, 8 pm.

November 4 - 6: Shahi Dastarkhwan food festival at Barbeque Nation, Solitaire Building, Kalyani Nagar, Yerawada, call 32327788.

Bhagyashri Dixit is founder and CEO of www.sheepstop.com, a cool website that mixes shopping with gambling to sell fun T-shirts (see more information here). Follow this ISB graduate's baa-d ass Pune recommendations!

Bhagyashri's Flock of Five

Pune's Best Food: Malaka Spice in Koregaon Park hits the spot nicely - I loves the kari kapitan. I also enjoy eating at Deccan Rendezvous, hidden on the backside of FC Road, a cozy corner to dine at.

Getting there: Malaka Spice, Lane 5, Off North Main Road, Koregaon Park call 9823064050; Deccan Rendezvous, 1202/3, Apte Road, Shivaji Nagar, call 25612345.

Best Service in Pune: Tasty Khana is an online service that offers home delivery from your favorite restaurants, table reservations, awesome freebies and helps you look for food when your out of ideas.

Getting there: www.tastykhana.in

Favorite Online Store: Besides SheepStop, I also browse Beaute Naturelle, a Pune start up that has a fresh range of beauty products handmade entirely from natural ingredients. They also come in really cute bottles and packages.

Getting there: www.sheepstop.com, www.naturelle.in

Pune's Local Favorite: Sweet Chariot near FC Road does a whole range of cakes from black currant to choco-beetroot extravaganza. They also do really awesome custom cakes that are perfect for special occasions.

Getting there: Sweet Chariot Cafe, F.C. Road, Shivaji Nagar, call 9730044619.

Favorite Stores in Pune: I swear by Bliss at Phoenix Market City for all things quirky and fun and Pyjama Party in Wanowrie, which has a huge collection of goodies for all my party needs.

Getting there: Bliss, Phoenix Market City Mall, Viman Nagar, Nagar Road, call 30950596; Pyjama Party, Shop No. 41, Sacred Heart Town, Wanowrie call 985003905.