Author name: vibrant colours

The limited-time collaboration introduces Ode Mumbai’s acclaimed culinary philosophy to the capital. Shangri-La Eros New Delhi Ode Mumbai Collaboration this August, reaffirms its position as one of the capital’s leading culinary destinations as it welcomes Mumbai’s celebrated restaurant, Ode the restaurant by the Hospitality arm of Aditya Birla Group, Aditya Birla New Age Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. and award-winning Chef Rahul Akerkar, for an exclusive three-day pop-up at the award-winning Sorrento from 7 to 9 August 2026.Together, the two acclaimed dining destinations will present a thoughtfully curated menu that celebrates seasonal ingredients, refined techniques, and contemporary Italian flavours. Shangri-La Eros New Delhi Ode Mumbai Collaboration Brings Ode to Sorrento The Shangri-La Eros New Delhi Ode Mumbai Collaboration brings together two renowned dining destinations to deliver an exceptional contemporary European culinary experience. Known for bringing world-class dining experiences to Delhi, Shangri-La Eros New Delhi continues to curate exceptional collaborations that place the hotel at the forefront of the city’s evolving gastronomic landscape. Uniting two restaurants known for their love of European cuisine, the collaboration presents a specially curated menu created exclusively for guests in Delhi. Chef Rahul Akerkar is widely recognized as one of the architects of Indian hospitality. A trained biochemical engineer with degrees from Franklin & Marshall College and Columbia University. Guests attending the Shangri-La Eros New Delhi Ode Mumbai Collaboration can enjoy an exclusive menu inspired by seasonal ingredients, refined techniques, and authentic Italian flavours. From dishwashing to managing the floor, he learned the business from the ground up, cooking under chefs like Anne Rosenzweig, Jonathan Bennett, Zarela Martinez, and Michael Romano. Today, Rahul continues to mentor young chefs, speak at global forums, and shape the conversation around food, wine, and hospitality design in India. In 2026 he published his first book, Biting Off More Than I Can Chew. Over the course of his 35-plus-year career, he’s received titles like Chef of the Year, Restaurateur of the Year, Culinary Icon of the Year, and has represented India on platforms from Rome to Singapore. Chef Rahul Akerkar has carefully curated the Shangri-La Eros New Delhi Ode Mumbai Collaboration menu to showcase signature dishes alongside specially created recipes for the Delhi pop-up. During this exclusive collaboration, guests can look forward to a specially curated menu that unites Ode’s contemporary European cuisine with the warmth and authenticity that define Sorrento. The signature selection features Charred Prawns, Grilled Ozzie Lamb Chop, Fried Calamari, Ode’s barbeque spiced chicken, Confit Duck Leg, Spinach and Goat Cheese Agnolotti, Braised White Asparagus.The menu concludes with desserts such as The Best Damn Tarte Tatin, Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake and Ode’s Salted Caramel Tiramisu. The Shangri-La Eros New Delhi Ode Mumbai Collaboration will be available for both lunch and dinner from 7–9 August 2026 at the award-winning Sorrento restaurant. “This collaboration presented a wonderful opportunity to create a menu that celebrates the strengths of both Sorrento and Ode. Built around seasonal ingredients, refined flavours and thoughtful craftsmanship, the menu offers guests a distinctive modern European dining experience that is both familiar and exciting. We are delighted to bring this exclusive culinary journey to our guests at Shangri-La Eros New Delhi,” said Chef Gagandeep Singh Sawhney, Executive Chef, Shangri-La Eros New Delhi. Food lovers looking for a premium dining experience should not miss the Shangri-La Eros New Delhi Ode Mumbai Collaboration, one of the capital’s most anticipated culinary events of the season. “Bringing Ode to Shangri-La Eros New Delhi for these three days in August is an opportunity to share that experience with a new city. We will be cooking the dishes that define us alongside a few created especially for this pop-up, using the best produce we can find and letting the season guide the menu. Whether you know our food already or are joining us for the first time, I hope you’ll come hungry, stay a little longer than you planned, and leave with the kind of memories that only a really good meal can make,” said Culinary Director Rahul Akerkar, Ode Mumbai. The special limited-time menu, featuring both curated set menus and à la carte selections, will be available for lunch and dinner from 7 to 9 August 2026.

Café Akasa, the onboard meal service of Akasa Air, is celebrating the Parsi New Year with the second edition of its Navroz Special Meal, inviting travellers to experience the distinctive flavours of Parsi cuisine in the skies. The meal features Parsi Chicken Kheema Pie served with a Patra nu Chicken Salad, Saffron Rice Pudding, and a beverage of your choice. Available throughout August 2026, this meal can also be prebooked on Akasa Air’s website  or mobile app. Café Akasa Navroz Special Meal Celebrates Parsi New Year Navroz meaning “new day,” is a festival associated with renewal, gratitude, and togetherness with food playing a central role in celebrations. Inspired by traditional Parsi culinary heritage, the menu has been thoughtfully crafted to bring the spirit of Navroz onboard, allowing customers to savour an authentic taste of the festivities while they travel. With specially curated limited-edition menus introduced throughout the year, Café Akasa continues to enrich the onboard experience by celebrating seasonal moments and evolving customer preferences, ensuring there is something new to look forward to every time they fly. Since launching operations in August 2022, Akasa Air has been committed to offering specially curated meal options that reflect regional specialties associated with various celebrations. From Makar Sankranti to Valentine’s Day, Holi, Eid, Easter, Mother’s Day, International Yoga Day, Navroz, Onam, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, Diwali, Children’s Day and Christmas, Café Akasa continues to enhance the flying experience with festive meals. The airline also offers a pre-selection of cakes on its regular menu for flyers who want to celebrate special occasions with their loved ones in the skies. Café Akasa’s frequently refreshed menu is thoughtfully curated to include a variety of gourmet meals, snacks, and refreshing beverages, ensuring there is something to cater to a wide range of dietary and culinary preferences. The menu offers 45+ meal options, including fusion meals, appetisers with a regional twist, and decadent desserts, all exclusively curated by reputed chefs from across India.

Onam 2026 begins with Atham on August 16 and builds over ten days to its grand finale, Thiruvonam, on Wednesday, August 26. Kerala’s biggest festival is inseparable from two things: the 2,000-year-old legend it commemorates, and the extraordinary Sadhya feast that marks its climax. Together, Onam culture and food tell the story of a festival built on generosity, homecoming, and abundance. The Legend Behind Onam Culture At the heart of Onam is the story of King Mahabali, a demon king (asura) whose rule over Kerala is remembered as a golden age of prosperity and equality. Threatened by his growing power, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Vamana, a dwarf Brahmin, and asked the generous king for three paces of land. As Vamana grew to cosmic size, his first two strides covered the earth and sky; for the third, Mahabali offered his own head, sending him to the netherworld. Impressed by his humility, Vishnu granted him one wish — to return to his people once every year. The inspiring story of King Mahabali continues to make Onam 2026 one of India’s most cherished harvest festivals, celebrated with devotion, culture, and community spirit. Hindi tip / हिंदी टिप: ओणम सिर्फ एक त्योहार नहीं बल्कि राजा महाबली की वापसी का उत्सव है, जो समानता और समृद्धि का प्रतीक माना जाता है। The Ten Days of Onam 2026 Celebrations Atham (August 16): The festival begins; the first small pookalam is laid. Days 2-9: The pookalam grows daily, and Athachamayam — a grand cultural procession in Thrippunithura — kicks off the festive mood with elephants, folk performers, and musicians. First Onam (August 25): Family gatherings begin in earnest. Thiruvonam (August 26): During Onam 2026, families decorate their homes with beautiful Pookalam designs, wear traditional attire, and welcome King Mahabali with prayers and festive meals. Onam 2026 Cultural Performances Onam culture is expressed through some of Kerala’s most spectacular performing arts: Vallam Kali (Snake Boat Race): Massive wooden boats race through Kerala’s backwaters with hundreds of rowers — the Nehru Trophy Boat Race in Alappuzha is the most famous. Pulikali (Tiger Play): Performers painted as tigers and hunters dance through the streets of Thrissur — a raucous, colourful spectacle unique to Onam. Kathakali and Mohiniyattam: Classical Kerala dance forms performed at cultural venues and temples throughout the festival. Thumbi Thullal and Kaikottikali: Traditional group dance forms performed by women during community celebrations. Onam 2026 Food: The Grand Sadhya Where Onam culture builds anticipation, the Sadhya delivers its climax — a 20-to-28-course vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf, typically enjoyed on Thiruvonam. What’s on the Sadhya Leaf A traditional spread includes rice, sambar, avial, thoran, pachadi, pickles, banana chips, and finishes with payasam. The meal is traditionally eaten in a specific sequence — starting light (rice, parippu, ghee) before moving to spicier and richer dishes, a structure that aids both flavour progression and digestion. Hindi tip / हिंदी टिप: साध्या में हर डिश थोड़ी-थोड़ी मात्रा में लें, ताकि आप सारे 20+ व्यंजनों का स्वाद ले सकें बिना ओवरईटिंग किए। Where to Experience Sadhya Beyond the Home For those in Delhi NCR, several restaurants recreate the Onam Sadhya experience each year, including Mahabelly (Saket), Dakshin Canteen (Lajpat Nagar), Cafe Lota (Pragati Maidan), and Sana-Di-Ge (Chanakyapuri) — a reminder that Onam food culture now travels well beyond Kerala’s borders, wherever Malayali communities gather. Onam Beyond Religious Lines Onam has grown into a celebration embraced across communities — Kerala Christians and Muslims participate widely, and Malayali communities in the Gulf, the US, and the UK organise their own Sadhya and cultural events, making Onam as much a marker of Malayali identity as a religious observance. Why Onam 2026 Culture and Food Matter Together Onam also marks the Malayalam New Year (Kolla Varsham) and Kerala’s official harvest festival, celebrating the year’s rice crop — which is precisely why the Sadhya, built almost entirely from the season’s harvest (rice, coconut, banana, vegetables), sits at the very centre of the celebration. The Kerala government’s Onam Tourism Week further ties culture and food together, drawing visitors to experience both the performances and the feast at their most vibrant. Quick Onam Culture & Food Checklist 2026 Atham begins August 16; Thiruvonam falls August 26 Legend of Vamana and King Mahabali’s yearly homecoming Athachamayam procession, Vallam Kali races, and Pulikali performances Sadhya: 20-28 dishes on banana leaf, eaten light-to-rich in sequence Payasam as the traditional finale to the feast Onam 2026 is a reminder that Kerala’s biggest festival tells one continuous story through both its culture and its cuisine — of generosity, homecoming, and the shared abundance of the harvest.

Krishna Janmashtami 2026 falls on Friday, September 4, marking the birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, at midnight in Mathura. Also known as Gokulashtami, Krishnashtami, and Ashtami Rohini in different regions, this is one of the most spiritually significant festivals in the Hindu calendar, combining fasting, midnight worship, and elaborate food traditions. Krishna Janmashtami 2026: Significance and Spiritual Importance According to Hindu belief, Lord Krishna was born in a prison cell in Mathura to end the tyranny of the demon king Kansa, his maternal uncle. His birth is celebrated as the triumph of dharma (righteousness) over adharma, and Krishna’s later life — from his childhood pranks in Gokul to his role in the Mahabharata and the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita — is central to the festival’s devotional retellings. The Ashtami Tithi (eighth day of the dark fortnight) in the month of Bhadrapada, combined with the Rohini Nakshatra, is considered the exact astrological window in which Krishna was born, which is why the Nishita Kaal (midnight) puja holds special importance. Krishna Janmashtami 2026 Puja Rituals The celebrations of Krishna Janmashtami 2026 begin with fasting, devotional prayers, and beautifully decorated temples where devotees gather for the midnight birth celebrations. The core rituals of Janmashtami centre around the midnight birth of Krishna. Devotees typically observe a day-long fast, some abstaining from food and water entirely, others allowing fruits and milk. Homes and temples decorate a jhula (swing) with a Bal Gopal idol, and at midnight, the idol is bathed in a Panchamrit (a mixture of milk, curd, honey, ghee, and sugar) in a ritual called Abhishek, then dressed and placed in the decorated cradle. Bhajans and kirtans are sung through the evening, culminating in an aarti at the exact moment of Krishna’s birth, after which the fast is broken with prasad. Krishna Janmashtami 2026 Dahi Handi: The Festival’s Most Energetic Tradition Dahi Handi, especially popular in Maharashtra, recreates young Krishna’s mischievous habit of stealing curd and butter from hanging pots. Groups of young men, known as Govindas, form human pyramids to reach and break a pot of curd suspended high above the street, accompanied by music, dancing, and cheering crowds. The tradition symbolises teamwork, playfulness, and devotion in equal measure, and has grown into a major community event with prize competitions in many cities. Regional Variations Across India Across India, Krishna Janmashtami 2026 will be celebrated with unique regional traditions, reflecting the country’s rich cultural diversity. Mathura and Vrindavan: The grandest celebrations, centred at the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple, believed to be Krishna’s actual birthplace, with midnight Janmotsav and continuous kirtans. Maharashtra: Known for large-scale Dahi Handi events with competitive human pyramids. South India: Homes decorate their entrances with small footprints made using rice flour paste, symbolising baby Krishna entering the household, and this region often refers to the festival as Ashtami Rohini or Gokulashtami. Manipur and Assam: Vaishnavite communities observe the festival with distinct devotional song and dance traditions rooted in regional Krishna bhakti movements. Traditional Janmashtami Bhog and Prasad Recipes Preparing traditional bhog is one of the most cherished customs of Krishna Janmashtami 2026, with milk-based sweets and offerings dedicated to Lord Krishna. Food is central to Janmashtami celebrations, particularly dishes associated with Krishna’s love for milk, butter, and sweets. Makhan Mishri (Butter and Rock Sugar) The simplest and most symbolic offering, made by mixing fresh homemade white butter with crushed rock sugar (mishri). It directly represents Krishna’s childhood fondness for stolen butter and is usually the first item offered after the midnight aarti. Panjiri A dry sweet made by roasting whole wheat flour or bajra flour in ghee, then mixing in powdered sugar, dry fruits, and edible gum (gond). Panjiri is a popular fasting-friendly prasad in North Indian households, often prepared a day in advance. Kheer / Charoli Kheer A rice or charoli (chironji) based milk pudding, slow-cooked with sugar, cardamom, and nuts, is a common offering across most regions, symbolising abundance and devotion. Dhaniya Panjiri A South-North fusion variant made with roasted coriander seed powder, ghee, and sugar, believed to be especially favoured in some Krishna temple traditions and prepared specifically for Janmashtami. Fasting-Friendly Fruit Chaat For those observing a fruit-only fast, a simple fruit chaat with banana, apple, pomegranate, and a light rock-salt seasoning offers a light, energy-sustaining option through the day-long vrat. Fasting Rules: What to Eat and Avoid During Krishna Janmashtami 2026, devotees observe a sacred fast and follow specific dietary rules until the midnight puja or the completion of the Ashtami Tithi. Most devotees observing the Janmashtami vrat avoid grains, lentils, and regular table salt, relying instead on fruits, milk, dry fruits, and rock salt (sendha namak) preparations. The fast is broken the following morning, typically after the Ashtami Tithi ends, with prasad and a regular meal. FAQs Whether celebrated at home or in temples, Krishna Janmashtami 2026 is a festival of devotion, faith, and joy that brings families and communities together. # When is Krishna Janmashtami in 2026? Krishna Janmashtami 2026 falls on Friday, September 4, with the Nishita Kaal (midnight) puja considered the most auspicious time for worship. # What is the significance of Dahi Handi? Dahi Handi recreates Krishna’s childhood habit of stealing curd and butter, symbolising teamwork and playful devotion. It is especially prominent in Maharashtra, where groups form human pyramids to break a hanging pot of curd. # What food is offered as bhog on Janmashtami? Makhan mishri (butter and rock sugar), panjiri, and kheer are among the most traditional bhog offerings, chosen for their connection to Krishna’s childhood love of milk and butter-based foods. # What are the fasting rules for Janmashtami? Devotees typically avoid grains, lentils, and regular salt, consuming fruits, milk, and rock-salt preparations instead, breaking the fast the following morning after the Ashtami Tithi ends. # Why is Janmashtami celebrated at midnight? Lord Krishna is believed to have been born at midnight during the Rohini Nakshatra, so the main puja and aarti are performed during this Nishita Kaal window to