Model Tarun Raghavan is splashed all over the place these days. If he is not in the press ads, you can catch him, in the flesh, with girlfriend Sangeeta Chopra eating at The Konkan Cafe. Other than his marvellous physique, he is always wearing a smile - but if you had the female fan following Tarun does, even you would sport an ear-to-ear grin. And in this case, we cannot their good sense (and good taste). Tarun is really a model choice. You must have seen Tarun in Sonu Nigam's video Deewana? Guess what? He actually did that dare-devil drop from the helicopter himself. Which is not surprising as this Delhiite was heavily into adventure sports till three years ago. No body doubles for this body beautiful!

Designers Bobby & Manju Grover go techno this summer. The last lap of the millennium has inspired them to work with micro fibres and new-age sheens that blend with natural chiffons and georgettes. "Internationally, designers are moving away from the natural,steeped-in-traditional look. And we decided, in this millennium year, to move from the mould of traditionalism to bring forth the look that our label is synonymous with: modern, futuristic yet practical." Their range is dominated by icy colours with a few warm tones thrown in. Silver, icy blues, greys and greens are the hip and happening colours in their collection. And yet, the ever classic summer theme: White on white and beige on beige are also there for those who like their clothes muted.

Bobby & Manju Grover at Vama, Pedder Road.

Cool comfort

Last week, Studio Sinita launched it's spring/summer collection for women called Summer Spirit. Designed by Kaushik Shrimanker, the collection consists of semi-formal and casual outfits in sunflower yellow, aqua blue and other bright summer shades -- to beat the heat. The line consists of shorts, drawstring pants and wrap-around skirts. The range begins at 690 bucks for tie-up bustiers to Rs 3,000 for virgin white dresses with fine selfchecks. We don't care if we have never heard of the designer -- the clothes looked just fine and the prices sound perfect. Now ultra cool can be bought at a price that does not make you sweat.

Studio Sinita at Bhulabhai Road, Opposite St Stephen's Church.

Sun blocks

With the sun rays taking on a completely hellish tone, there are a slew of products that promise to protect you from the soaring mercury. From air conditioners to fans that will rake up a cyclone, marketing men are flooding the bazaar with heat blockers. The latest in line is Laboratries Garnier's Synergy Sun Control Moisturiser. Its sun control formula is supposed to be the best in the world. And it protects your skin from UVA and UVB rays... In case you're wondering what they are -- they're the evil strains of light that cause aging (UVA) and tanning (UVB). In addition, this Rs 89 bottle also serves as a non-greasy moisturiser and make-up base.

And to complete the pretty picture, all you need is a deadlypair of shades that block all the evil rays of the sun from reaching your eyes -- and the delicate skin around your eyes. International brands of sunglasses -- thanks to savvy marketing men -- like Police, Rolling and Fila are now available in India. Priced between Rs 2,450 and Rs 3,650, you can now pick up "the hottest shades in the coolest stands" at places like Akbarally's, KBN, Vama and Lawrence & Mayo.

Why do we get the feeling that this is the first time India is facing the heat and before that we had temperature like Switzerland? Hot summers are, after all, such a foreign concept in a tropical country.

Swiss swish

Speaking of Switzerland -- it promises to be an Indian summer in the Apls. Last week, SOTC the pashas of package tours unveiled the Hotel Terrace at Engelberg, on the foothills of the Alps, in a new avatar as the euphemistically termed SOTC Indian Village.

Among those who attended the inauguration were the Indian Ambassador to Switzerland and Swiss consul general inMumbai, Max Heller. The revamped discotheque at the basement which promises to play loads of Hindi music was inaugurated by Bollywood starlet and one time KS model Shweta Menon.

SOTC which is heavily banking on the increasingly upwardly mobile Indian traveller promises shuddh shakahari khana, for the conservative Indian palette and loads of Hindi films and music at the Indian village which is exclusively for SOTC travellers. The refurbished hotel also offers a to-die-for view of the snow-clad Alps and the toy-town sized Engelberg.

The SOTC jamboree also offers a trip up Mount Titlis, which has been renamed as Mount of India, on the world's highest rotating cable cars and for the more suicidally inclined, the option of bungee-jumping from the cable cars. And if that doesn't suffice there's more adventure in the journey up to Jeungfrau, the highest peak in Switzerland, where you can shiver in your thermal undies and admire the exquisite sculptures in the ice museum. And if you still miss India, lookaround hard enough and in all likelihood you will espie a Govinda or a Karisma cavorting among the brightly clad and slightly bewildered Alpine skiers.

Chocaffaires

Imagine a chocolate that almost looks better than it tastes. A chocolate that you don't mind hoarding because it looks too good to bite into. Made of the finest, imported ingredients, that is the USP of Chocolaties. Put together by three ambitious women -- Shweta, Ramona and Harsha -- barely 10 days before Diwali, last year, the trio were clear they had to be "different" to succeed. A tough task in an already saturated market dominated by excess supply -- any and everybody was slapping together cocoa, sugar and milk and calling it a chocolate. In order to get that vital second look, they decided to let appearances make the point. Their chocolates are packed in everything from cane and toys to crystal and a wrist-band stuffed with chocolates. New ideas are added every day.

Guess what? While their covers are creative, theoriginal idea came from a common rut. All three women were bored and wanted something to call their own. Ramona, the MBA biz-whiz, had been with the family business for years and felt "it would be fun if I had my own li'l baby". Shweta came armed with a Home Science diploma and Harsha was a housewife. Together they combined their gifts and came up with the perfect wrapping.

Chocolaties: 557 1846 / 529 7023 / 558 7184.