Vernika Awal
Deputy Editor
A very happy festival of lights, folks. Just like you, we at Team Traveldine have enjoyed some very well earned rest and revelry. But this was only the first chapter of the festive season — the proverbial kickoff for the upcoming months. There is an unmistakeable nip in the air, and who wouldn’t want to savour the joys of the season when the sun is gentle on your skin, and the evenings are perfectly inviting for cosy house parties on Fridays?
True to the flavour of the season, Mumbai hosted a two-day festival for all things alcohol. ProWine ’22 brought together over 150 liquor brands from across 19 countries, who showcased over 1,000 brands of whiskey, gin, vodka, wine… you name it. The event was a true celebration of those who love their drink and are up for experimenting with new tastes and flavours. It also brought together people from all fronts under one roof, making for two nights of celebrating the season and creating new bonds with creations such as a new breed of light Japanese whiskies, peach-flavoured gin, and wines from Australia!
For Mumbaikars, the revelries went a step further as The Sir Ratan Tata Institute, a behemoth establishment for timeless Parsi fare, wound back the clock to offer eternal Parsi fare on their tables. One of the most recognised names for Parsi cuisines, their new menu will have you swooning over the heritage that is regularly celebrated in Parsi food. Interestingly, the Parsi cuisine has remained largely true to its roots, and the new fare is good enough even for the purists.
Up north, the Taj Group has opened doors to a new restaurant that serves North Indian cuisine, but–wait for it–it’s not just Punjabi food that’s being served! At Loya, the new concept chain at the Taj group of hotels, the idea is to create an experience of the old bazaars of the northern hills, foothills and plains. With winter approaching, this was perhaps the best time to launch an experience that is defined by the foggy, expansive lands that are rich in diversity and heritage.
And with that, we sign off for this week. There’s an ample amount of value that each of these experiences over the past two weeks have added to us, and as the next week unfurls, we’ll be taking cues from them to decide where we’d be eating (or drinking) in the coming days!