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With growing concerns over deteriorating air quality and rising pollution level in our cities, there’s no time like the present to develop green fingers. And since the hot weather is doing us no favours either, we thought long and hard about how we could create our own fresh oxygen zone at home. No, we aren’t talking about air purifiers. Instead, we are looking at indoor plants that are easy to maintain and don’t just help cleanse the air, but also add a lively touch to any setting. Use this as a ready reckoner and start today!
Dendrobium Orchids
Native to Asia and Australia, the plant produces tender and colourful flowers several times a year with an average blooming period between three to four months. Commonly referred as denphals, they are amongst one of the easiest orchids to grow in India’s varied weather conditions.
Mamta Bargale from Orchid Tree suggests, “Avoid putting them in large pots, as they flower better if tightly potted. Also, since the flowers last for a couple of months, they are a popular choice amongst orchids.”
Expert Tip: Direct exposure to sunlight will extend their longevity.
Season: They can survive around the year, but keep them in the shade or cooler parts when it#39;s really hot.
Cost: Rs 200 to Rs 550 per plant
To buy, click here
Japanese Green Maple Tree
A widely cultivated breed in various versions of small trees, large shrubs, container plants and bonsais – the Japanese maple is a bonsai plant that comes in different hues of red and green. While the breed has its own traditional benefits, the great thing about these tiny trees is that they survive indoors, need minimal attention and will add a fresh life to your décor.
Nidhi Singh from Nursery Live adds, “If you are planting it in spring, try to avoid disturbing any plant parts that have recently broken bud, as that means it’s in the process of producing new leafs.”
Expert Tip: Make sure the soil is drained, as to much water can kill the roots.
Season: Round the year
Cost: Rs 199 to Rs 450 per plant
To buy, click here
Boston Ferns
The Boston Ferns act as a natural humidifier that gets rid of formaldehyde and in turn purifies the air. Believed to be one of the best indoor air cleansing plants, the bright green colour also brightens up the place.
Nidhi Singh suggests, “These make good house plants, but require bright, filtered light and humid air. Of the common cultivated ferns, the Boston fern is the most tolerant to drought and thrives best in humid conditions, so when grown as a house plant, it becomes necessary to mist them when relative humidity falls below around 80%.”
Expert Tip: Partially expose them to the sun a few hours every day.
Season: Round the year
Cost: Rs 299 per plant
To buy, click here
Philodendrons
A popular indoor plant, this one is easy maintenance and its leaves act as a natural indicator of the plants health, hence even a gardening amateur can cultivate one. Another plus point that comes with the plant is that it can survive in shade as well as varying temperatures.
Anand tells us, “All philodendrons have the ability to survive neglect and adverse conditions. They enjoy an occasional stay outdoors in a shady spot when the weather permits, which also gives you a chance to flush the soil with plenty of fresh water and clean the leaves.”
Expert Tip: Monthly feed of balanced liquid foliage fertilizer would extend the life of plants by couple of years.
Season: Round the year
Cost: Rs 299 per plant
To buy, click here
African Violet
One of the prettiest indoor blooming plants, the flowers bloom round the year with only a small amount of care and effort. They come in a wide variety of options ranging from bold violet hues to those with white rim flowers.
Sumit Vishwakarma from Plants Guru warns, “Avoid over watering these plants, as once in two days is suitable for this variety.”
Expert Tip: Avoid watering the leaves directly as it will lead to brown spots.
Season: Round the year
Cost: Rs 449 per plant
To buy, click here
Asilo at St Regis plans on transporting you to Mexico with their latest food festival by putting together the best experiences in music, food and cocktails.
Chef Cyrus Irani and his kitchen team have created a refreshing menu featuring unique Latino treasures such as the Quinoa Smoked Beet Taco with Roasted Sunflower Seeds and Avocado Ranch, Lobster Nachos with Salsa and Gruyere and a Scallop, Salmon, Tuna and Prawn Ceviche with Avocado Pico. End your meal on a sweet note with Baked Apple Cinnamon Enchiladas served with Vanilla Sour Cream and Churros with Tequila Chocolate sauce.
In keeping with the season, the Mumbai Express deli at the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel will host a mango festival with a special menu featuring a spread of mango-based pastries, pies, chocolates and other scrumptious desserts.
Welcome spring with an alluring Italian menu crafted by Chef Matteo Arvonio with season’s special ingredients. Each course incorporates the perfect blend of seasonal vegetables, aromatic fresh herbs and blossom such as artichokes, asparagus, green pea, zucchini blossom and finocchietto, santoreggia.
Indulge in seasonal Italian dishes such as Amarena and ricotta cake, Sicilian style marinated prawns, orange and fennel salad, Smoked eggplant and pecorino ravioli, Tagliolini octopus and aetichokes, cuttlefish ink and more.
This exhibition brings together five artists from Bengal, selected by the Kolkata-based CIMA Gallery, whose works explore the idea of urban India from a postmodern context. Participating artists include Sumitro Basak, Kingshuk Sarkar, Pitambar Khan, Sangita Maity and Shreyashi Chatterjee.
This month’s edition of PlugUnplug – a showcase of indie acts in either an unplugged outdoor setting or a plugged indoor setting – features Mumbai-based guitarist and singer-songwriter Nikhil D’souza. His musical style can be loosely defined as eclectic acoustic guitar based pop, and features the use of alternative tunings, favoured by artists like Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley. He will be supported by Nihar Manwatkar aka A Dog Without A Bone, from Delhi.
Entry: Free
Best in Stand-Up presents a carefully curated line-up of some of the country’s best and funniest comedians. Tickling your funny bone this edition are Daniel Fernandes, East India Comedy’s Sahil Shah, and Amogh Ranadive.
Tickets: May 18th - Rs 600; May 20th – 22nd - Rs 750
Tickets available at Bookmyshow.com
Presented in collaboration with the Netherlands Consulate, this exhibition features photographs by Dutch photographer, Martin Roemers, of different cities around the world such as Guangzhou, Lagos, and Mumbai. These images showcase the enormous diversity of these cities, in which traditional street trades, ancient customs and old vehicles share space with urban elements such as modern roads, subway stations and railways.
With growing concerns over deteriorating air quality and rising pollution level in our cities, there’s no time like the present to develop green fingers. And since the hot weather is doing us no favours either, we thought long and hard about how we could create our own fresh oxygen zone at home. No, we aren’t talking about air purifiers. Instead, we are looking at indoor plants that are easy to maintain and don’t just help cleanse the air, but also add a lively touch to any setting. Use this as a ready reckoner and start today!
Dendrobium Orchids
Native to Asia and Australia, the plant produces tender and colourful flowers several times a year with an average blooming period between three to four months. Commonly referred as denphals, they are amongst one of the easiest orchids to grow in India’s varied weather conditions.
Mamta Bargale from Orchid Tree suggests, “Avoid putting them in large pots, as they flower better if tightly potted. Also, since the flowers last for a couple of months, they are a popular choice amongst orchids.”
Expert Tip: Direct exposure to sunlight will extend their longevity.
Season: They can survive around the year, but keep them in the shade or cooler parts when it#39;s really hot.
Cost: Rs 200 to Rs 550 per plant
To buy, click here
Japanese Green Maple Tree
A widely cultivated breed in various versions of small trees, large shrubs, container plants and bonsais – the Japanese maple is a bonsai plant that comes in different hues of red and green. While the breed has its own traditional benefits, the great thing about these tiny trees is that they survive indoors, need minimal attention and will add a fresh life to your décor.
Nidhi Singh from Nursery Live adds, “If you are planting it in spring, try to avoid disturbing any plant parts that have recently broken bud, as that means it’s in the process of producing new leafs.”
Expert Tip: Make sure the soil is drained, as to much water can kill the roots.
Season: Round the year
Cost: Rs 199 to Rs 450 per plant
To buy, click here
Boston Ferns
The Boston Ferns act as a natural humidifier that gets rid of formaldehyde and in turn purifies the air. Believed to be one of the best indoor air cleansing plants, the bright green colour also brightens up the place.
Nidhi Singh suggests, “These make good house plants, but require bright, filtered light and humid air. Of the common cultivated ferns, the Boston fern is the most tolerant to drought and thrives best in humid conditions, so when grown as a house plant, it becomes necessary to mist them when relative humidity falls below around 80%.”
Expert Tip: Partially expose them to the sun a few hours every day.
Season: Round the year
Cost: Rs 299 per plant
To buy, click here
Philodendrons
A popular indoor plant, this one is easy maintenance and its leaves act as a natural indicator of the plants health, hence even a gardening amateur can cultivate one. Another plus point that comes with the plant is that it can survive in shade as well as varying temperatures.
Anand tells us, “All philodendrons have the ability to survive neglect and adverse conditions. They enjoy an occasional stay outdoors in a shady spot when the weather permits, which also gives you a chance to flush the soil with plenty of fresh water and clean the leaves.”
Expert Tip: Monthly feed of balanced liquid foliage fertilizer would extend the life of plants by couple of years.
Season: Round the year
Cost: Rs 299 per plant
To buy, click here
African Violet
One of the prettiest indoor blooming plants, the flowers bloom round the year with only a small amount of care and effort. They come in a wide variety of options ranging from bold violet hues to those with white rim flowers.
Sumit Vishwakarma from Plants Guru warns, “Avoid over watering these plants, as once in two days is suitable for this variety.”
Expert Tip: Avoid watering the leaves directly as it will lead to brown spots.
Season: Round the year
Cost: Rs 449 per plant
To buy, click here
Directed by - Vipul Patel
Cast - Namrata Vaswani, Varsha Vasyani, Tanya Malviya, Pratik Shukla
Mahek and Aad are in a perfect relationship and everything seems like they are made for each other. They care for the other other’s happiness and more, but a turn of events leads them to fight amongst each other, spoiling everything and taking it to the verge of a break-up. Surprisingly, both of them are silent on the matter despite loving each other. As the plot progresses, their friends Meeta and Abhinav try to reunite them and figure out the root cause of the fights and arguments.
Entry - Rs 100 - Rs 200
Tickets available on BookMyShow.com
Directed by - Anil M. Sadani
A situational comedy that is based on a happily married couple - Rajan and Sharmila. Rajan who is suffering from amnesia away on a trip with his uncle and forgets to inform Sharmila about her inheritance which would grant her 33 crores. However the catch lies that she must get it registered on a particular day.
As Rajan is away on a trip, Sharmila tries to find alternate ways so that she can get her inheritance on the very same day and she is helped with by her friends and neighbours.
Entry - Rs 100 - Rs 400
Tickets available on BookMyShow.com
Directed by - Salim Arif
An adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Comedy Of Errors’, the play is about a family who has a set of identical twins and they name both of them as Ashok. They adopt another set of identical twins and they name both the infants as Bahadur.
An unfortunate incident causes the family to separate from each other leaving one child from both pairs with each of the parent. After several years, as series of events follow it leads the whole family to be in the same town, which creates a lot of confusion for everyone that knows any one of them.
Note - Two shows: 7:30 pm - 6th August
4 pm and 7:30 pm - 7th August.
Entry - Rs 300 - Rs 1,000
Tickets available on BookMyShow.com
A comedy night featuring Mohit Sharma and Ankita Srivastava, both who whom take a hilarious jab at Bollywood. They are both aspiring actors along with being self-appointed stand up comics and they feel that they are fed up of being known as Ubharte Sitare.
A mix of stand-up, sketchy and improv comedy both the artists present their views on day-to-day things like food and health care and corporates.
Entry - Rs 500
Tickets available on BookMyShow.com
Director: Anil Kakade
Writer: Anil Kakade
Artist: Minal Bal, Suryakant Gowale, Suresh Sardesai, Sanjay Khapre
This Marathi play is about a small family who have strong feelings for each other. These three members share a good bond among themselves. This happens until they get to know the true side of each other. The story gets bad when they disclose their true feelings for each other.
Director: Mangesh Kadam
Writer: Vasant Sabnis
Artist: Prashant Damle, Tejashri Pradhan
This Marathi play is a comeback after 25 years with great star cast. It is a fast paced comedy drama with meaningful dialogues. The play is based on the sweet bitter relationship of father and daughter. Don#39;t miss to watch this hilarious drama as it will make you laugh like crazy!
Catch some of the best rising comedians from across the country at this comedy jam. The line-up for the night includes Biswa Kalyan Rath; Vaibhav Sethia, a member of Kolkata- based comedy troupe Kalkutta Komedians; Rahul Subramanian; writer and comedian, Navin Noronha and Siddharth Gopinath among others.
Entry: Rs 200
Olive Bistro, Goregaon has launched a new mango-themed menu featuring a range of delectable mango desserts. Some of the dishes on offer include Mango and Coconut Panna Cotta, with vanilla-marinated mangoes, Mango Mascarpone Mousse, with shortbread, coconut sorbet, ricotta and vanilla crumble, Frozen Mango Yoghurt and Green Mango and Chili Sorbet.
Price: Rs 160 – Rs 350
The ViceVersa crew brings a night filled with hip-hop, electronica and bass music. The line-up will feature singer-songwriter Sidd Coutto, who has been associated with several popular acts such as Zero and Tough on Tobacco; bass player Rohit Pereira aka P-Man; rappers Kinga Rhymes and Enkore and bass producer, Mr Doss.
Entry: Rs 200
Catch Cyrus Broacha and Kunal Vijayaker, two of Indian comedy’s pioneering members, live as they give us their take on life post 40. Not afraid to get up close and personal, the duo are sure to have you in splits.
Tickets: Rs 100 – Rs 3,000
Note: There will be two performances of the show. The first at the Tata Theatre, NCPA (May 21st) and the second at St Andrew’s Auditorium (May 22nd).
Join Imran Ali Khan of Kiski Kahani: The Ramayana Project to go through the key moments of Valmiki#39;s Ramayana, read essays by scholars on the field, talk about its secrets and laugh at the stories we share. This lecture series is aimed at understanding this ancient but continually regenerated tale and will open up ways to engage with the array of traditions it has engendered. Khan teaches at ISDI Parsons, Mumbai, and conceptualised Kiski Kahani: The Ramayana Project in an attempt to create a repository of the vast array of Ramayana stories and encourage intellectual engagement and critical enquiry.
Cost: Rs 2,000
Get ready to experience the first solo exhibition by Prabhakar Pachputen in the city. The exhibition will showcase combination of wall drawings, sculptural additions, and light effects as well as charcoal stop-motion animations, sound and sculptural forms. He is one of the most prominent Indian artists and has international recognition as well. His work is more into investigation of mining labour and the way mining activity affects the natural and human landscape. Also his work links a complexity of historical transformations that have taken place between the characters of the rural farmer, miner, cotton mill-worker and landless labourer.