How to Lounge this weekend

Travelogue: A hidden hamlet in Goa

Goa’s peak tourist season may wind down by mid-February, but even in the quieter period it can be difficult to experience serenity. One way to do so is to book oneself into Cidade de Goa-IHCL SeleQtions, along Vainguinim Beach. Though only 6km from Panaji, it is hidden away in Dona Paula and opens on to its own quiet, private beach.

The hotel, which gets its name from the original moniker for the state’s capital, was designed by the famous architect Charles Correa. With art deco flourishes, it has a series of facades in Correa’s signature, blocky aesthetic, with Portuguese-style, overhanging balcaos. Earthy and natural on the outside, the walls within are painted with murals displaying Goa’s rich cultural imagery.

The hotel serves up a diverse menu, going beyond the usual Goan pois and vindaloos. The fado, an old Portuguese genre of music, has inspired a monthly Noite de Fado, or fado night, at the hotel’s gourmet restaurant, Alfama, with an accompanying curated menu. The cuisine of the Saraswat Brahmins of the Konkan region is also available. —SL

Cidade de Goa-IHCL SeleQtions is located at Vainguinim Beach, Panaji, Goa

State of the art: Art for everyone

After its first outing in Delhi in 2018, the Centre of International Modern Art (Cima) is taking its popular Art Mela to Mumbai this year. The event, a fixture on Kolkata’s annual art calendar, always draws hundreds of visitors. From pensioners to freshly employed millennials, art lovers who don’t have the budget to buy from galleries flock to it to pick up affordable art by some of the most distinguished names in the field.

Priced at ₹5,000-75,000 (excluding goods and services tax), the artwork for the Mumbai show will be curated from the oeuvre of prize-winning artists, says Rakhi Sarkar, director, Cima. From Madhubani and Gond paintings to works by Arpita Singh and Jogen Chowdhury, visitors will be spoilt for choice. “We have had mainstream shows in Mumbai but this time we are targeting a new clientele—young collectors who have recently started acquiring art or are uninitiated,” says Sarkar. Apart from individuals, institutions like schools, offices and hospitals also make a beeline on such occasions. Be sure to get there before the world does. —SG

Art Mela will be held from 23-26 January (11am-7pm) at Nehru Centre Art Gallery, Discovery of India Building, Dr Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai

Curated by Shubham Ladha