What: Watson Fitness, 891, Notan Classic, 1st floor, opposite Ensemble, off Turner Road, Bandra (W), call 65848422, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.watsonfitness.com, start at Rs 18,000 for 3 month membership.

Why: Once a coveted celebrity sweat shop, Watson Fitness has a new avatar that is open to everyone. We (bench) pressed them for a pre-tour which revealed an expansive gym, long balcony cafe and numerous classes including yoga, mat pilates, fit wall and boot camp.

When: (Tread)milling on the gloss begins mid-September. Memberships currently open.

Listen up! bpb introduces a monthly podcast of our favorite tracks. There’s plenty of rhyme but no reason for our selection – just songs currently playing at the bpb office and in our jalopy as we drive around scouting Mumbai.
 
Download the podcast or listen online here. This is where you thank us for the music!

Horchata – Vampire Weekend
Start A War – The National
Sham – Aisha
Jackie Big Tits – The Kooks
She’s Got You High – Mumm-ra
Walking on a Line – Pony Pony Run Run
Strange Love – Koop
Sour Cherry – The Kills
Lucky in Love – Jason Mraz
Where Do You Go To My Lovely – Peter Sarstedt

Have a favourite song? Send us your recommendations at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and if we love them, we’ll add them to next month’s track record!

Fast and the Curious

CrossFit, a high intensity workout used by police academies and tactical operations teams, arrived in Mumbai four months ago with the moniker CrossFitOM (we were the first to tell you, remember?). Instructor Dheepesh Bhatt creatively turned Bandra – church steps, steep slopes, parks and building rooftops – into a giant gym, mixing cool venues and unusual props with a combination of gymnastics, sprinting and weight lifting to devise a series of super intense workouts. Now, after months of (literally) earning his street cred, Dheepesh has finally a found his merry band of Crossfitters – locals, professionals and Bollywood stars - a home in a brand new Juhu studio. What, no more hunky himbos on the street? Sigh.

What: Kenjutsu – Samurai sword fighting classes at MP Shah School, Sarojini Road, next to McDonalds, Vile Parle (W), call sensei Mehul Vora on 9820055730 or log on to www.samuraiindia.com, Rs 6,000 for six months.

Why: This Japanese sword fighting class is the closest you’ll come to Killing Bill in Bombay. But before you go blade ballistic, licensed Kenjutsu  instructor Mehul Vora will put your ego, fat arms and work stress on the hit list. Plus, you get to wear hakama pants and everything! Hattori Hanzo would be proud. 

When: You want to take the edge off. Tuesday and Thursday, 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm.

What: CVADO1502 chocolate club, visit www.cvado1502.com, Rs 2,750 for a month’s membership. 

Why: Super pretty and handmade in Europe, thanks to CVADO1502 chocolates are the new handbags. Become a member and a batch of twenty treats will arrive at your home every month, along with a tasting menu. 

When: You want your own Coco(a) Chan(n)el.

bpb’s guest Scouter and stand up comedian Padmini Harchandrai reviews the newly-launched Comedy Store at Palladium.

Get Up, Stand Up

After much delay and speculation, the UK based Comedy Store is finally in Mumbai, and located in what’s quickly becoming a lifestyle hub. It might be good business to set up shop in the swish Palladium mall, but quite honestly, the traffic and parking situation in the area is such a nightmare that by the time I'm in the Store, I feel like I'm hung over. And then you have to fight the rip-out-your-eyes-irritatingly slow walking shoppers to get to the place. I'm thinking a flyover directly to the Store would be nice. Although, some singers might have a problem with this.

This Little Shop is Serious Business

What: Finish Tarla’s movie, a donation driven animated film by Project Nanhi Kali, visit www.agirlstory.org to watch clip and contribute.

Why: Right now, Tarla is a little girl who can’t go to school. But with your help, she can break through the barriers of gender bias and poverty to earn a stellar education, discover the cure for procrastination and save the world!  But her story, endearingly captured in this fictional animated series, progresses only if you donate to the cause of the girl child. 

When: Now. The fate of our future superhero is in your hands!

What: Yogacara, Rewa House, Bulabhai Desai Road, opposite National Garage, Mahalaxmi, call Radhika on 9833198371, Rs 6,800 monthly membership for 12 yoga, 4 meditation and 2 massages sessions.

Why: Traditional yoga classes, meditation sessions, massage facilities and a stunning view of the ocean all live here, at this quaint cottage in Breach Candy. This new “healing centre” lets you indulge in Thai, Shiatsu and energy flow rubs or learn aasanas from experts who teach spiritual courses at Mumbai University.  Ommm-y God!

When: You want to breathe inn. Go before June 30 for a free yoga/meditation session. 

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

Owned and developed by filmmaker and restaurateur Prahlad Kakar, 14C Boran Road has turned into quite a random house. In this pretty cottage, you’ll find a dive shop, a marine conservation NGO, a kitchen that caters to outdoor shoots, a bakery, and a prop shop in the attic.

Eau Baby!

Pretty mosaic fish tiles and an aqua door lead you to The Dive Shop, an offshoot of marine lifestyle company The Life Aquatic with Lacadives. Designed to look more like a living room, this “store” displays bright yellow and pink snorkel masks and diving glasses on a grand piano, features a book case filled with volumes on marine information, and allocates a generous amount of space to comfy seating. Even if it means relegating the actual rack of dive equipment to a nondescript corner, which stocks wet suits, underwater cameras, bag packs, candy coloured flippers and other accessories. But what Life Aquatic instructor Jurgen van Duffel really wants to show off is a shipment of underwater computers – watch-like gadgets that give you details about your dive – expected to arrive soon. 

What: Sunday archery workshop by Never Grow Up, Asmita School, off the Western Express Highway, ten minutes from the domestic airport, Jogeshwari (E), to register call Asif on 9892338317 or visit the website here, Rs 1,550 per person.

Why: At this six-hour class you get to string up a bow, shoot arrows and compete against other participants - all under the eagle eye of Subhash Nair, national level archery coach. Ten seats reserved for bpb subscribers!

When: It’s time to take a bow. June 13 at 10 am.