Indulge for Jan 2012

January 2012

Horse Power A status report on Indian polo

Page

16

New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune*

2 | mint Indulge | September 2011

Top Trends

New Faces

Page

Page

What will be cool in 2012?

The experts tell us

8

Some of the best preview watches from SIHH 2012

20

editor’s note

Contents Indulge January 2012

4| Profile

Horsing Around

Y

ours truly has just returned from the first of the year’s many—by which I mean two, maybe three—visits to Switzerland to peruse the latest watches and time-keeping devices to be launched in 2012. You can catch a sneak preview of the novelties launched at the SIHH fair in Geneva earlier this month on pages 20-21.

Besides being a heady, somewhat intoxicating week of thinking, talking, debating and discussing watches, the fairs are also a good time to get a sense of how the luxury year is going to pan out. This time last year, the watch industry was boiling over with enthusiasm. In a trend that later seemed to extend to all luxury goods and services, watch companies in early 2011 were shipping more watches than they had ever before. Some companies were set to overtake records set during the heady days of 2008—a lifetime ago in economic terms.

By the time SIHH took place, confidence had tanked again.

Interviews and interactions leading up to the event suggested that brands were really scared. And initial indications were precarious, launches seemed muted, the crowds were very poor, and few brands were really doing anything audacious with tourbillons and minute repeaters and the like.

This, I am led to believe, is not good for the world economy at large.

Luxury retailing is something of an early responder to ups and downs.

The market plunges on the whiff of a crisis, and then zooms back well before the rest of the world has stopped burning. The reason, to an extent, is because the people who buy watches that cost 30,000, 50,000 or 250,000 Swiss francs seldom go broke overnight. They defer purchases, I am told, but never cancel them. In fact, the brands that tend to do worst are the ones that cater to the segment a few steps below: CEOs, bankers, consultants, etc.

Things looked ominous. But only till the end of the week. By the time the watch fair closed, there was optimism everywhere. “Even in Spain,” one excited salesman for a brand told me.

“Even in Spain we are booking record orders! What the heck is going on!”

Who knows what the heck is going on? Maybe the economy is all set for a revival, one that is so far only visible to the oligarchs, oil barons and commodity kings.

Meanwhile, this month we indulge in some horseplay (pages 16-19) and in some trend forecasting (pages 8-10). Don’t buy a thing till you read what our experts have to say.

SIDIN Vadukut issue editor

When it comes to buying and selling the world’s best whiskies, few do it better than Sukhinder Singh and The Whisky Exchange

6| Interview

7|

Lindberg CEO Henrik Lindberg talks about the launch of the eyewear maker’s Precious Collection in India

11| Column

Madhu Menon on how to cook seafood properly

16| Cover Story A look at the state of polo in India, the people, the players, the beasts and more

20| Preview

The Lindberg Precious Collection profile

8| Trends

Industry leaders talk about the key trends of 2012 across sectors

Indulge showcases some of the best preview pieces from SIHH 2012, the first major international luxury watch exhibition of the year

22| Column

Joel Harrison on the evolution of hip flasks

NOTE TO READERS The Media Marketing Initiatives on Pages 14 and 15 are the equivalent of paid-for advertisements, and no Mint journalists were involved in creating these. Readers would do well to treat them as advertisements.

Cover design: uttam sharma

Cover image: Getty Images

Issue editor: SIDIN Vadukut; Editorial coordination: Pradip Kumar Saha, neil rodricks; Design: abel robinson, Uttam Sharma, Venkatesulu. Mint editorial leadership team: R. Sukumar (Editor), Niranjan Rajadhyaksha (Executive editor), Anil Padmanabhan, Tamal Bandyopadhyay, Priya Ramani, Nabeel Mohideen, Manas Chakravarty, Monika Halan, Shuchi Bansal, sidin vadukut, Jasbir Ladi, Sundeep khanna. ©2012 HT Media Ltd, All Rights Reserved

profile

The Singhs of

Hanwell When it comes to buying and selling the world’s best whiskies, few do it better than Sukhinder Singh and The Whisky Exchange. And it all began with an off-licence in Hanwell.

By Sidin vadukut

T

sidin.v@livemint.com he office and warehouse of Specialty Drinks Ltd is in the kind of sterile business park in which terrible things happen in Scandinavian crime novels. Located in the Park Royal suburb of north-west London, miles away from any parks or royalty, Space Business Park is located on Abbey Road (not that Abbey Road).

When I go to meet Sukhinder Singh on a cold, windy December morning, there is no sign whatsoever, at least initially, that I am anywhere near the offices of the most successful, respected and sophisticated online spirits retailer in the UK. Maybe even the world. At any given time, Singh’s website, The Whisky Exchange (TWE), www.thewhiskyexchange.com, sells around 2,500 different whiskies. And an equal number of other spirits.

Though Singh later informs me that they have around 8,000 whiskies or so in their catalogue.

Sometimes, he says, TWE gets its hands on a case or two of some exotic bottling. Which then promptly sells out in 15 minutes. “I have no idea how people know that we’ve put something on sale,” he says. “Maybe they sit all day with our website open in a window on their computers.”

Things become more evident as I approach Singh’s office block, the seventh in a line of a dozen or so brutal, prefab warehouses. Outside, employees seem to be unpacking, or packing, cartons of spirits. I spot a case of Talisker out front. And then behind them, cases upon cases of the good stuff.

Singh buzzes me in, makes me a cup of tea, and then escorts me into an empty, unlit conference room.

Through windows and glass doors, I can spot employees in jeans and sweaters scuttering around with papers or hunched over computers. At first glance, it looks like the office of a tech or gaming start-up that is slaving over an

04

INDULGE | January 2012

idea, in a humble office, sitting on a tiny pot of VC funding that is being spent judiciously.

But the posters on the walls are a give-away: prints, photos and etchings of distilleries, and old promotional posters for brands such as Dewar’s.

As he switches on the lights in the conference room, I fully expect to see a standard issue beige, brown, black and wood varnished room with a dirty whiteboard in a corner.

Instead, I walk into a massive room with almost every inch of the four walls covered in bottles of whisky. There are hundreds upon hundreds of bottles: old, new, rare, common, small and large, and containing whisky in every hue from blond to the near-ebony tones of Bowmore Black.

Singh has a mild, restrained manner about him. He is dressed in a thin sweater over a plaid shirt, and jeans. He wears a no-nonsense turban, and sports a well-used Rolex Explorer II on his wrist. But the conference room, golden light everywhere, is pure statement. A reminder of the fact that Sukhinder Singh is, in many different ways, a master of the single malt. Besides TWE’s dominance of the online retail business, Singh is also an avid collector, evangelist and ambassador for Scotch whisky. Singh’s company even independently bottles its own brand of single malt, the rather popular Port Askaig, available in four expressions, including a 30-year-old that costs £150 a bottle.

Sukhinder Singh’s association with spirits in general, and whisky in particular, starts with his family’s old business in Hanwell, around five miles from his current office. The Singh family ran an “off-licence”—or convenience store that sold alcohol— called The Nest. Started in 1973, Singh describes it as a labour of love. Several times during our conversation, he talks about how his father, brother

Photograph: @WeHeartWhisky

master collector: Sukhinder Singh (above) and his conference room (top).

At any given time, Singh’s website, The Whisky Exchange, sells around 2,500 different whiskies.

Raj and he himself ran the store with a commitment to keeping their customers happy. “We had a great selection of spirits, considering we were an independent store, and people came all the way from central London to buy from us,” Singh recalls.

The Nest enjoyed tremendous loyalty. In much the same way TWE operates today, customers depended on the Singhs to keep their finicky thirst quenched. “People would walk in and immediately we knew what they were looking for.”

It was a relationship that, years later, Sukhinder and Raj would come to be very thankful for. In 1992, The Nest won the Off-licence of the Year award. “This was remarkable. We were an independent store. Competing with the chains. And far away from the city.

And still we won.”

Singh’s personal fascination with whisky began sometime in his teens, when he first began to collect miniatures. It all started with a customer who introduced him to a club of miniature collectors. Singh, still a teenager and a non-drinker, was hooked. But what truly tipped him over the edge was when one day he got a call from someone desperate to offload a massive collection of thousands of miniature bottles. Singh was sure he didn’t have the wherewithal to make a competitive bid. “I was sure they would ask for several thousands of pounds, a huge amount of money in those days.”

Nevertheless, on the day bids were being opened, Singh called the seller and asked him what the bids were like. “‘Nothing’, he said. They hadn’t received a single bid. He asked me to bid anything at all.”

A shocked Singh bid £1,000. And closed the deal for a few hundred more.

“Now, I had no idea what to do with these bottles. I didn’t have enough space at home.” So he decided to trim the collection down by focusing on whisky.

This brought the collection down to a few thousand. Still too large for Singh’s bedroom. He had to filter it down further. “In the shop, we always kept the single malts on the top row, right in front.

They were the highlights of our stock.”

Thus, Singh decided that he would only keep the single-malt miniatures.

The rest of the bottles he sold or gave away. With a starter collection of some 700 bottles of single-malt miniatures, Sukhinder Singh was caught hook,

line and sinker. Eventually, he would graduate to bigger bottles and serious, adult collections. In October 2010, Singh paid £100,000 for a bottle of 64-yearold Dalmore Trinitas whisky, one of only three bottles ever launched of this whisky. At the time, this was a record.

Today, Singh reckons he has over 20,000 bottles in his collection. He still keeps an eager eye on spirit auctions and private sales, but with business booming, there is little time for leisure.

Things started, however, in much more humble circumstances. TWE started in his bedroom. In 1999, Singh convinced his parents to sell the store and retire. Competition was building from chains such as Tesco, and he didn’t think the family was equipped to last the onslaught. But before selling everything, Singh set aside a little stock.

A seed stock, if you will, for his new venture—a mail order spirits retailing business from home. “That first year was very, very hard,” Singh recalls. He did everything: buying, packing, billing, working the phones, and walking to the post office to send the bottles. But thanks to some loyal customers of The Nest, he was able to keep things going.

“I can’t tell you how much I owe to those guys. Just a handful of them kept us going month after month.”

Many of these early tipplers, Singh says, are still friends.

When I ask Singh why TWE became so successful—it is not uncommon for the website to pop up right on top if you type in the name of a whisky in Google—he points to luck and timing.

“We were the first, in 1999, to set up a website and sell whisky online. And things just took off from there.”

But on pressing him a little more, Singh admits that customer service and design play a big role. “Every day, I open the site and look at it as if I am someone who knows little or nothing about whisky.” Also, he adds, they spend a lot of time on the design and content. He takes the example of one of the newly highlighted sections on the site: the Top 20 whiskies of 2011.

“We spent three hours drawing up that list. Some of them were my suggestions. And some of them were made by my guys. But each whisky on that list was chosen after a lot of thought.”

Which is probably why the TWE website is so welcoming and, comfortingly, posh in an accessible way. Browsing it is somewhat like eating at one of Jamie Oliver’s gourmet restaurants. Everything is of the highest quality, but somehow, even as you dive into a pulled pork shoulder main, you never feel conscious of yourself.

Besides, there are whiskies here for everyone and every budget. From light, oaky bottles at £20 each to big, heavy, punch-in-the-stomach peaty Islay malts that cost five or six times as much. But most of all, Singh seems to care about his whisky. Educating the consumer, he says, is crucial. People need to know not just what the good brands are, but what makes them special. Which is why Singh has started to organize master classes and tasting sessions at the store, and even an annual event, the TWE Whisky Show.

And this is also why he now has his eyes trained on doing something in India. Singh is tight-lipped about his plans. But his passion shows. “It is such a pity that for a country that has a culture of drinking, we are perhaps the only that does not have a traditional spirit that is sold internationally. The Japanese have sake, the Scottish have whisky, the Americans have bourbon, the South Americans have so many spirits...but India still doesn’t have one.”

To make things worse, he says, most of the spirits made locally are poor. So there is much that needs to be done. “Perhaps I am saying this because of emotional connections.

My family is Indian, of course. But I’d rather go to India right now than buy my own distillery in Scotland.”

Sukhinder Singh sells some of the world’s best whisky to drinkers and collectors from the US to Japan. His next stop is home. I

Interview

Luxurious Simplicity Photograph: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

Since the launch of its first AIR Titanium frames in 1985, Lindberg has come a long way in the designer eyewear segment and the company is now known for its almost weightless frames and the use of diamonds in place of screws for joints and hinges.

The Danish luxury eyewear maker has won 49 international design awards in the past 27 years and is present in around 100 countries.

After the success of its basic models the company brought to India five years ago, Lindberg officially announced the launch of its Precious Collection in the country. Over a cup of coffee during the launch, Henrik Lindberg, the comany’s chief executive, told Indulge about the brand’s legacy and its growth strategy in India. Edited excerpts:

(smiles). But also, it gives us the opportunity to educate the optician about the possibilities in our system of customization.

How long have you been present in India?

Five years.

How has your experience in the country been?

The experience is that there is a huge market. And there is a market for more expensive frames than I had expected.

And this is your official launch of the Precious Collection here.

Yes. We have a good retailer here who has been selling our Precious Collection, much better than I had expected. He has been doing it for two years. Huge success.

How mature do you think the Indian market is?

It is huge. And a very interesting one because they are a little bit more advanced in the way they are using colours.

How do you see this market growing in the future?

There is only one way—up. And it is a very interesting middle market where you will see a lot of different combinations. It could be a Gucci bag and a very cheap T-shirt you know, and that’s fun.

By Pradip Kumar Saha

T

pradip.s@livemint.com

ell us something about the brand’s legacy.

Everything started 27 years ago. My father, an ophthalmologist, had reached an age where it was necessary for him to wear glasses and he could not find frames that fit him well. He couldn’t find a frame that was light enough...or which would not spoil his face.

So, together with a very good friend, Hans Dissing, an architect from Copenhagen, he actually made the first Lindberg frame that was made out of wire, an ordinary steel wire. I had just started working as an architect then—I have studied architecture and design— when my father approached me... He thought there was an opportunity (in frame manufacturing) and maybe... with the proper kind of work, we can come out with a product that was different from what was available in the market.

How did titanium come into the scene? Lindberg is one of the pioneers when it comes to making frames with titanium.

Titanium was not a part of the product initially. But when I was trying to figure out about the final design of the product and about the kind of material we will be using, we thought it should be titanium. We were actually the first company to start manufacturing the frame in titanium.

Because, at that time, it was used only in the space industry. But we could see there were a lot of advantages with the material. It was extremely light, extremely strong and extremely flexible.

So we started with this product called AIR Titanium. From the very beginning, it was actually a building system, that means it gives the optician a lot of opportunities to make the proper size, the proper design of the bridge, proper design of the lengths of the temple, and then temple design and so on. And there was also a huge range of colours—that is another advantage of working with titanium.

And finally, and very importantly, titanium is hypoallergenic. That’s why you also use it for all the implants.

What are the other specifics? Why

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INDULGE | January 2012

What are your future plans for India?

Future plans are to get the right, most advanced opticians who understand the philosophy of what we are doing. It is not the question of going to a mall and finding an optician.

You’re my man! No. It is about finding the right salesman and technician in the optician because we are making semi-finished products.

should anybody pick Lindberg?

We have followed some rules right from the beginning. Like never use a screw. A screw is something that will always fall out. It is just a matter of time. So we had to find another way to fix the hinges, etc.

And, at the same time, keep it as simple as possible, which was in keeping with the Scandinavian or the Danish design tradition. Don’t make it more complicated than necessary.

Since then, we have also used many other materials such as the plastic material called acetate.

Anyway, it was very important for us, first of all, to have a huge collection that will give the optician a lot of possibilities. Secondly, work directly with the optician, thereby removing the distributors. And finally, have a set-up in the company that will make it possible for us to deliver and even customize a frame in just five-six days.

And we are now selling in more than 100 countries…we have so many customers in Europe, we are not adding fresh ones, because we don’t want Lindberg to be all over. No, that is not the goal for us, definitely not. And today, 85% of what we are selling are unique pieces.

What makes Scandinavians so good at design?

I think it is a part of life. It’s the way

of living. Keep it simple, minimalistic and elegant. That’s it.

How does one go about choosing a frame?

The most difficult thing in this world is to make something for yourself. It’s much easier to make it for other people. But basically, you look at the face, and you talk with the person behind the face.

How is the person? Does he want to actually show who he is? And then look into the eyes and the lines and then the face. And then you decide on the design. And here again we differ from other brands, all our frames will fit everyone, you can customize it to fit a Roman with a long nose and, at the same time, add elements to it so it will fit a woman from Shanghai with a small one.

But there has to be a collaboration with the end-user. It’s easier these days to pick up a pair of trousers

The average price per frame is higher in Asia, including India, compared with the West.

The world economy is slowly headed to another recession, especially Europe. Are you also facing the heat there and joining the looking-East club?

No. The funny thing is we are selling more expensive frames than ever. You know, it should be the other way around, but it isn’t (smiles). We, in fact, registered a growth in the expensive frames, in numbers.

And which are your strongest markets?

Germany and the US. Hong Kong in Asia. And Japan. We have been in Japan for 20 years. Hong Kong also, we have been there for many years.

In fact, our best customers are from Hong Kong.

How do you differentiate between markets in the West and the East?

I would say it this way. The average price per frame is higher in Asia, including India, compared with the West. The interest in making something unique is bigger over here.

How many frames do you have in your closet?

Actually, not many...hmm, 10.

And how often do you change them?

Every second month or something.

Sometimes during the week also.

Which is your favourite?

At the moment, this one (takes off the black full-rim one he is wearing).

It’s made of buffalo horn and is very different.

When was the last time you got one?

Three weeks ago, this one (smiles). I

profile Photographs: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

Eye on the Market In India, apart from its Precious Collection, Lindberg also sells the following lines: The price: • RIM (rim wire around frame) The cheapest Lindberg piece • STRIP (strip plate titanium in India is the 911 in black and frame) white at around €2,230 (around • SPIRIT (rimless frame) R1.45 lakh). But the cheapest • SUN (sunglasses) piece Lindberg has in its collecion is the Spirit gold at €1,740.

Material used: • 18-carat solid white/yellow/ Where to buy: rose gold and platinum All Lindberg products are • Top Wesselton VVS diamonds available through select retail in various sizes, including partners. white, black and pink • Horn in different colours from beige to black and white• Mammoth tusk • Musk ox horn

Precious Spirit with temple 63 Material: Diamond combination D38 in

18-carat solid yellow gold

Temple: The temples are covered with 26x

0.005 carat and 70X0.01 carat diamonds Diamond combination: VVS, top Wesselton Price: €4,470 + VAT

Precious Spirit Unica with temple U001 Material: 18-carat solid white gold or

platinum and diamonds Temple: 3x0.02 diamonds in each temple Diamond combination: VVS, top Wesselton Price: Price differs depending on colour and quality of diamond. Price for white gold with white diamonds is around €2,000 + VAT, and for platinum with white diamonds is around €2,700 + VAT

Trends

Top Trends From bikes to footwear to apparel to grooming and travel, what will be the hot trends of 2012? Indulge speaks to industry leaders on what they think will be trending this year.

BIKES

CLOTHING

The year of the weekend gateway

2

more choice now in 012 will be Stand-out the market, discerning the year of trend of 2012: buyers will migrate the weekend Embarking on towards globally proven getaway—venturing global riding iconic models from out of the city early experiences in trusted brands. Along and often to escape the India, Europe and with the right look, boardroom and urban sound and feel of the grind. People will look Asia with friends, in motorcycle, riders towards indulging in authentic leather will demand stability premium riding and riding gear. for the highways and travel experiences with comfort for their family and friends. loved ones riding pillion. The other As we see more and more riders trend which is starting to catch-up extend their weekly trips on Sunday fast is customization. Being able to morning to full weekend escapes, and select accessories that reflect your epic week-long journeys, what you ride will be as important as where you individual style will be an important part of the ownership experience, go and with whom you travel. especially when it comes to colour, fit We are already witnessing and performance, as demonstrated at some interesting trends in terms of this year’s Delhi auto expo. Designs design and styling in the premium that resonate well will be those with motorcycle classic paint schemes and fluid lines, segment. One is with high-quality leather and chrome the demand for accents. classic global As told to Neil Rodricks via email models. With

Anoop Prakash,

managing director, Harley-Davidson India

There will be emphasis on richness of the material Zegna

A

mid the top trends for springsummer 2012, focus will be on the richness of the material and comfortable clothing. Colour blocking is another trend that has come up recently and we see it picking up pace this year.

It can be within the same garment or differently coloured separates. People are also looking for clothes with a wrinkled effect. Seersucker (a thin, puckered, all-cotton fabric, commonly striped or checkered) with shine and other such materials will be in top demand.

Moving to the luxury segment, premium fibre blends with silk will be hot.

In casual wear, like before, whites and black overall looks will be the dominant trend. Polo T-shirts, like always, will be one of the top picks.

Talking about the colours, there are some very clear Stand-out palettes we trend of 2012: see. Blue, red, Silk with a green, white and beige variety of (preppy); grey, blends will be light blue and the fabric for Prussian red 2012. (conventional preppy); brown, ink blue and pink (urban and trendy); and neutral, white, water and light grey (summer colours) will be the trending palettes.

Above all, pure silk has been developed and treated to produce interesting tactile effects: shiny and matte, ironed and creased, organic and super-technical.

As told to Pradip Kumar Saha by a company spokesperson via email

WATCHES

Men’s watches are going back to classic

2

Yashovardhan Saboo, CEO, KDDL Ltd, and CEO, Ethos Swiss Watch Studios

08

INDULGE | January 2012

and thick, in-the012 is going Stand-out face watches. That to be another trend of 2012: is changing and year of steady Mechanical watches are going growth. I don’t think watches in the back to classic, which the Indian market range of 43mm, means simpler dials, for luxury goods in case in rose gold, not necessarily general and luxury smaller but not watches in particular dial in various outsized any more, will be hurt at all by shades of mother and getting thinner. the macroeconomic of pearl and brown.

And above all, there slowdown. The market is a simplicity on the for luxury watches will face of the watch. continue to grow at the current pace The trend in ladies’ watches is of 20% year-on-year in 2012. somehow completely opposite. They There are a couple of very clear are getting bigger. trends that are emerging. One is back Another trend specific to India is to classic. that men are opting for mechanical The past five years were watches. And, at the extreme high dominated by extremely large

end of luxury, people want something very exclusive.

In term of colours, new shades are coming up. For example, we now have various shades of mother of pearl. It’s not just pink and white any more. There are various new shades coming up even in the men’s segment. Another colour that will be very popular this year is chocolate.

Pink gold (or rose gold) is going to be the rage. Yellow gold is out of favour, and the other thing that’s going to happen to gold in India is that the demand for white gold will pick up. And white gold has never been popular here. That will eventually lead to platinum.

As told to Pradip Kumar Saha

Trends GADGETS

The year of customization

T

Gurvinder Singh, managing director, Global Gadgets

his is going to be the year of customization and personalization. There are some very clear trends that one can see in the sector. The hottest trends will be in wireless devices at the top of the list: lifestyle electronics, Internet-based multimedia services, connected homes, applications (such as money transfer as well as browsing, health monitoring, payments, advertising, instant messaging and music on mobile phones), tablets and devices for streaming content.

Another fast emerging trend is in the television sector. Internet TVs, smart TVs (TV beyond HD) that

behave like computers are proving to be a big hit.

And again, there is a great possibility of markets being flooded with ultrabooks and tablet computers in 2012, along with a plethora of phone launches, with quadcore and fourth-generation phones becoming the equivalent of computers. And of

HOSPITALITY

course, accessories galore…

In terms of looks, simple and ultra-sleek gadgets will be there, with the technology hidden from the user.

And in terms of design, manufacturers will move to customization of devices and services, even if people have similar models.

As told to Neil Rodricks via email

Stand-out trend of 2012:

Lifestyle gadgets with customization and personalized experience will be the rage.

REAL ESTATE

Digital technology is changing the way we experience the world

T

Dilip Puri,

managing director, India, and regional vice-president, South Asia, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels and Resorts

experience the world oday’s tier-II Stand-out and how quickly we markets are trend of 2012: share our experiences. tomorrow’s tier-I, Use of technology It is ultimately the and we want to be in in changing the ability of the hotels these markets before to recognize the use they reach the point experience for of this technology of inflection. Some customers is the in changing the of these markets are emerging trend. experience for beginning to create customers that we demand with newer believe is an emerging trend. There segments purely because of the kind is a lot of information that exists of hotel that exists. in social media about our guests, We have seen how the global their needs and expectations, their slowdown hit markets such as the feedback. It is quick and in real time, US and Europe. For us, the whole but more importantly, it is viral. question boils down to this: if Also, the review mechanism today the British, the Germans and the is getting more and more powerful. A Americans aren’t travelling, then who lot of people go to travel portals and is? Clearly you can see a lot more see the ratings before finalizing plans.

Asians travelling. We don’t see the We are the first hotel company to reduction in demand from traditional open up our websites for ratings and markets as a big concern because reviews. The best use of social media they are clearly being substituted by is in marketing, making the presence the emerging markets within India of the brand felt across the platform. and Asia Pacific.

For us, this is essentially the next big We recognize that digital thing. technology, which includes social As told to Neil Rodricks via email media, is changing the way we

The definition of luxury is evolving

D

espite a drop in sales across the Stand-out nation, demand for luxury housing trend of 2012: has not declined. But luxury Theme-based housing doesn’t come cheap. So when luxury projects will people ask for a luxury condo or a villa evolve as the trend with an opulent garden, or a penthouse, of the year. it has more to do with the perfection in all the aspects of the house. We need to have the right mix of product, weaved around specific services. And the meaning of luxury keeps changing from time to time.

Around five years back, luxury meant only huge condominiums with Italian marble and premium brands of sanitary fittings. The definition has evolved since then. Luxury housing these days revolves around a theme in addition to five-star services. It could be sports or games, wellness, healthcare or tourism. For instance, M3M has recently launched its project weaved around the theme of polo.

But the project in itself cannot sell simply because it is a “themebased” project. Thus enter other elements of style, brands and a brand ambassador.

A number of developers are taking up such themes now. So you have projects coming up around cricket, tennis and other sports.

They have tied up with celebrities in these fields. But, having said that, people investing in these projects require five-star services around their living. So a lot of associated luxury is amalgamated with the project. Thus, you will find luxury projects having a famous restaurant, a famous educational institute, a famous healthcare service brand and other Kunal Banerji, on-call services. president, M3M India As told to Devesh Chandra Srivastava January 2012 |

INDULGE

09

Trends Travel

LUGGAGE

Offbeat destinations will become the next big hit

T

Nikhil Ganju,

head, TripAdvisor India

People really want to he choice of holiday Stand-out come back and talk about destinations in India trend of 2012: an experience they had as well as abroad Social media will which is different from is not going to change play a very imporothers. much. The UK tops the tant role in deciding Travelling off-season, destination list outside the destination and not only to sneak in the country, followed by some discount, but also Thailand, Singapore, the US sharing the experito avoid crowds at major and China. Rajasthan tops ences one returns holiday destinations will the list of luxury travellers with. be another trend. People within the country, closely are choosing to stay away followed by Kerala and from the Middle East due to the political Goa. Exclusivity, like most other luxury upheaval in general, but the sovereign products, will be a key agenda. Travelling debt crisis in Europe might result in some to offbeat, off-the-radar places is going nice deals in places like Greece and that to catch up with Indians like their global will make such places more attractive. brethren. The Top 10 will remain the Economic conditions back home same, but if you go down the list, you will have affected the travel pattern of Indians find places like South Africa, Vietnam or and it is going to stay that way for most Cambodia coming up. of the year. The search for international A common thread will be unique experiences, whether in terms of choosing destinations has declined in the past few months, whereas typically between a destination or finding a hotel or what September and December you see an you are doing on a holiday. Luxury travel across the board rise of around 25%. In is not only about immersing yourself the same time, the search for destinations in luxury for the sake of it...but they within India has grown. (destinations) are getting unique as well As told to Pradip Kumar Saha and I think that’s going to be the trend.

STYLE AND GROOMING

The year of studied indulgence

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Ravi Bajaj,

fashion designer

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012 is going to be the year of studied indulgence.

There are some very clear trends which one can see, especially in the men’s luxury footwear segment. One of these is the use of vivid colours. The other trend which is starting to catch up fast is the use of exotic leathers even though they are banned in India. And then there is the classic shoe that is now becoming more relevant with sartorial elegance.

In terms of material, natural fabrics such as wool, silk, linen and their blends are in fashion.

To talk about design…well…slim shapes, very tailored. There is lots of mix and match of patterns such as plaids and stripes and floral prints, Stand-out very “out there”. trend of 2012: Indian men Unhurried luxury is going are investing to be the underlining more time element in Indian and money on consumer behaviour as grooming than even the women we get a bit settled with these days. the realization of having Grooming is more ‘‘arrived”. important than clothes and so it’s high time they did so.

Style-wise, one can see the return of the “modern dandy”.

As told to Pradip Kumar Saha via email

INDULGE | January 2012

At the heart of this season is the new nomade leather Louis Vuitton

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ouis Vuitton has been synonymous with the art of travel since the very inception of the brand in 1854. Travel has been a part of the DNA and remains faithful to the core values.

The key theme of the Louis Vuitton SS12 men’s collection focuses on the insouciant, practical and luxurious style of a modern global traveller. At the heart of this season is the new nomade leather, softer and revisited in a rich palette of olive green, burgundy and tobacco. Its simple and classic construction in a variety of styles points to the spirit of the house Stand-out trend of 2012: and punctuates this collection throughout. It also features Simple and classic the most traditional and the construction in a personal of all the logos in the variety of styles. classic “V”.

Understanding the importance of unique products available in today’s dynamic market, Louis Vuitton has started offering personalized luggage—Mon Monogram personalization and hot stamping. Artistic lettering personalization does more than just identify luggage, it gives travel bags, handbags and accessories a unique character. It is a tradition that Louis Vuitton seeks to perpetuate today.

Painting customers’ initials on the bags makes them unique and adds a personal touch.

The Louis Vuitton pioneer spirit is supported with very innovative products. The Keepall Carbon is among the most recent examples of Louis Vuitton’s efforts and investments in technology.

As told to Sidin Vadukut by a company spokesperson via email

FOOTWEAR

A study of forms that combine design and softness

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uper-soft calfskins, suedes, patent/ suedes, distressed-effect leather are Stand-out trend of 2012: going to be the materials of choice for the year. In casual wear, unlined leather New colours, slippers with ultra-flexible soles—footwear two-tone soles, that translates the comfort and lightness of and other techniFerragamo models into male versions—will cal details will be top the list of buyers. the top trends.

We have also come out with some innovative technical solutions that we think the industry will fast catch up on.

These include the active carbon insoles and special water-resistant rubber soles with perfect grip on the ground.

Sailing shoes sport our collection’s latest colours, with two-tone soles and contrasting leather ribbons. New colour combinations enliven sneakers with elastic laces in the new faded models, made of raffia or jacquard fabric. The new colours of the season are green, olive, brown, beige and navy.

New rubber rain boots with prestige Massimiliano calf lining and an absolutely British look, Giornetti, spiced up with some extremely unusual creative director, details on the rubber: perforations, zips Salvatore Ferragamo and elastic at the sides.

Prestige materials include crocodile and ostrich foot.

As told to Pradip Kumar Saha via email

column Photograph: iStockphoto

Fish Tales

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ive a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. But teach a man how to cook fish properly and you keep him licking his lips for a lifetime. With such brilliant philosophy to inspire me, I dedicate this column to giving you tips on making sure your seafood comes out juicy and flavourful.

Fish is a great source of healthy lean protein in our diet, and even the fattier fish give you healthy omega-3 fatty acids. They don’t have a lot of tough connective tissue and heavy skeleton like land animals, because the water provides buoyancy, and they can remain almost weightless by simply storing a layer of oil or gases lighter than water in their bodies. This makes their flesh leaner, milder and softer than land creatures.

But it’s because of that very reason, however, that the number one reason for ruining a fish dish is overcooking. Fish cooks quickly enough to go from nice and juicy to dry and leathery in minutes. Sadly, I’ve seen far too many people cook it the way they would cook chicken or lamb, which is tragic.

There isn’t enough space in this column to explain the myriad ways in which you can cook fish—pan-frying, deep-frying, steaming, braising, grilling, baking and sauteing—so I’ll try to stick to a couple of important ones.

If you’re using a dry heat method such as sauteing, make sure your fish fillets are ½1/2- to 3/4-inch thick. Heat the pan and add oil. If you’ve marinated the fish, shake off any excess marinade before you put the fish in the pan. This is necessary because something called the Maillard reaction happens only when the surface of the food is dry.

In layman’s terms, that’s the browning of the meat surface when dry meat meets a surface hot enough.

This browning causes the creation of delicious new flavour compounds and increases yumminess (yes, that’s the scientific term for it). I’ll leave you to google the term for more info if you’re interested in the science, but the important thing to remember is that dumping marinade into the pan will not let the fish brown until the marinade boils off completely, at which point the fish could already be overcooked.

The ideal time for fish fillets to spend in a pan is

madhu

menon Chef

about three minutes on each side. After three minutes, flip the fish and cook it for another three minutes. Don’t flip too often because the fish will fall apart. Factors that will change this time slightly are the thickness of the fish piece (thinner cooks faster), whether it is with bone or boneless (bone is an insulator and increases cooking time slightly), and the temperature of the fish before you start cooking (ice-cold fish will make a mess and take longer). Very thinly sliced fish fillets don’t need to be flipped over at all. This isn’t an ISO 9000-style absolute guide. The kind of fish you use will also affect cooking time. Fattier fish will take a little longer; leaner fish, not so much. ‘‘Cook’s instinct” plays a big role in turning good food to great food.

Without being a slave to a kitchen timer, there is a simpler method to check the fish while it’s cooking.

When you’re nearing the total cooking time and have about a minute to go, poke a small corner of the fish with a fork or a toothpick. Properly cooked fish will be opaque all the way through and should flake into nice chunks. It will also appear moist. Fish that’s not quite done won’t be fully opaque. Fish that’s overcooked will be opaque but will flake into small, dry bits.

If you use a wet method of cooking such as Indian curries, your fish will take a little longer to cook because it’s not in contact with anything hotter than the boiling water, but it will still cook fast enough and long cooking times such as an hour will dry out the fish. Thinly sliced fillets will still cook in a few minutes in curries, while larger pieces will not take longer than 10-15 minutes.

If your curry needs to be simmered for a long time to bring out flavour, I suggest you do that without the fish at first, and add the fish only towards the end. (I shall write about techniques such as grilling, deep-frying, steaming and handling whole fish in a future column.)

Since we’re talking about seafood, let me throw in some knowledge about cooking prawns and squid, too.

They need more attention simply because if you turn

away for a few seconds while they cook, you could be left with pieces of leather to eat.

Prawns: Prawns are ideal for quick cooking methods like stir-frying because they get done in no time at all.

That they taste good even with just a bit of salt, and pepper is a bonus. If you throw prawns into a hot pan and stir them around with your seasoning, they are usually done in about a minute and a bit. If you’re stirfrying them, it’s closer to 30 seconds. Luckily, you can simply watch for them to change colour. When they’re done, their flesh will turn opaque and there will be a bright orange hue to their tails. This can also appear as orange rings on their body, though this will vary depending on the geographical origin of the prawns.

When you see this happen, wait no more. Immediately take them off the heat. If you overcook them, they can’t be salvaged unless you then cook them on medium heat for another 15-20 minutes. Don’t worry about it being undercooked. The heat from the pan will continue to cook the prawns for another 30 seconds or so. So slightly undercooked prawns will be just fine and dandy when they’re being served.

Squid: A lot of people don’t like squid. It’s far too easy to mess squid up and the result is too unappealing for anyone to give it a second chance. What a pity, because squid is both relatively inexpensive and also yummy when done right.

Squid will be done in about 30-60 seconds on medium heat and about 15 seconds on a hot wok. As with prawns, keep a keen eye on the squid. The instant it turns opaque, stop the cooking. This will capture the squid at its most tender, giving you a dish that’s a treat. If you are using squid in a dish that needs slightly longer cooking, cut the squid into bigger rectangular pieces rather than the rings they’re usually cut into.

As with prawns, if you miss the chance to get them out early, you’ll have to wait for another 15 minutes on medium heat before the tenderness returns.

I hope this guide to cooking fish has proven useful.

In the next few columns, I’ll be writing about how to cook meat and vegetables just right. Until then, enjoy your lean protein. I

Madhu Menon is a chef, restaurant consultant and food writer.

Respond to this column at indulge@livemint.com January 2012 |

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Sport Photographs: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

Horse

Power In India, polo is a game steeped in dynasty, where pedigrees are applicable to the players as well as the animals, and polo fields are fertile hunting grounds for society magazines. Indulge reporters, over two events and various interviews, try to fathom the state of affairs in Indian polo.

Cordelia Jenkins attended the British Polo Day between 9-11 December and Pradip Kumar Saha attended the Maharaja of Jodhpur Golden Jubilee Cup between 29-31 December.

By Cordelia Jenkins

O

cordelia.j@livemint.com

n the Jodhpur Polo ground, eight horses form ranks like rugby players lined up for a throw in. Nostrils flared and muscles straining, they prance impatiently under their riders. A white ball is tossed into their midst by a very, very important person and, in a sudden ripple of horseflesh and a muffled pounding of hooves on turf like fingers drummed on felt, the game begins.

For the next seven minutes, the animals perform a series of feats of fantastic grace and agility, the riders leaning almost perpendicular to their steeds as they reach their sticks towards the ground, the horses bursting from standstill to full gallop in a matter of seconds, thundering up and down the 300ft pitch. Once the first chukka (sevenminute period of play) ends, they canter back to the shade, heaving and dripping with sweat and are swapped for fresh animals.

It’s an impressive sight, gladiatorial in scale and atmosphere, but few of the spectators are taking much notice. They chat desultorily, stroll in crisp linens and floating

chiffon between the bar and the gift stalls, occasionally shading their eyes against the afternoon sun as they peer out towards the melee and turn back, not much the wiser. But despite their apparent lassitude, few of the spectators would have given up the chance to be present at the inaugural British Polo Day in India—a stylishly executed weekend of social and sporting events in Jodhpur in December, comprising polo matches between Eton and Mayo Colleges, the final of the Umaid Bhawan (the residence of the Maharaja of Jodhpur) Cup and the main event: a match between the Jodhpur Eagles and the British Army.

The event, which hopes to become annual, intentionally harked back to the sport’s glory days, when the Rathore princes rode with the British viceroys. Polo is a game steeped in dynasty, where pedigrees are applied to the players as well as the animals, and polo fields are fertile hunting grounds for society magazines.

With the launch of the British Polo Day in India, the organizers, who have previously taken British polo teams to Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, promised “to bridge British and Indian culture and strengthen international friendships through polo”.

The polo season starts in September and finishes by March.

Tournaments September: Jaipur and Hyderababd October, November: Delhi December: Jodhpur January: Jaipur February: Delhi March: mumbai

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INDULGE | January 2012

Sport If that sounds rather grandiose, it should be remembered that polo is much more than the sport that is played out on the field. It also has historic social, economic and political impact—especially in Jodhpur. In 1922, a match between the Jodhpur team and its arch rival Patiala became famous for cementing Jodhpur’s reputation and crushing the Patiala team so absolutely that they were ordered to set their horses loose in the streets and burn their sticks, disbanding forever. Rao Raja Hanut Singh, a doyen of Indian polo, described the scene in Delhi thus: “Imagine—a crowd of 150,000 people around the polo field, among them the future king of England, the viceroy, some 50 maharajas and princes, dozens of generals and high government officials and all the ladies dressed as if they were going to be received at court. Such an atmosphere naturally added to our determination to win.”

Little has changed since then. The night before British Polo Day was to begin, the current Maharaja Gaj Singh II’s son, Yuvraj Shivraj Singh, who was badly injured on the polo field a few years ago, had a daughter.

The excitement in Jodhpur was palpable, as was the 21-gun salute and fireworks.

It must be said that polo is not much of a spectator sport unless you are an aficionado of the game and know exactly what to look, or listen, for. Karanvijay (K.V.) Singh, the captain of the Jodhpur Eagles— tall, genial and given to making gnomic pronouncements about his sport—says that he can tell from the sound of a ball as it connects with a stick whether it has gone between the goal posts. Unless you are gifted

Neil Macdonald, brand director, Chivas brothers

Here, it is about the place

By Pradip Kumar Saha pradip.s@livemint.com

C

hivas Brothers has been associated with the Maharaja of Jodhpur Golden Jubilee Cup polo for the past three years. Brand director Neil Macdonald tells Indulge about his experience in India and the brand’s future plans. Edited excerpts: You have been associated with this polo event for the past three years.

That’s right. This is the third year of our involvement. It’s quite interesting because we started (our association with) polo really around 2007 in Shanghai, with the Nine Dragon Hills club. And this was the second polo event we were associated with. So for us, it’s very special in the sense how we have expanded our presence with polo worldwide.

What other polo events are you associated with?

Since 2007, we have gradually expanded and now we are active in four continents. We have done polo events in China, India, Dubai, Brazil, the UK, the US and, most recently, in Sydney.

How has been the experience in India different from that in other nations?

Here, it is about the place.

Particularly with the renaissance of polo here in Jodhpur, since we became involved, for all the guests that come here, you take away not only the experience of polo but polo played in such fantastic setting within the scenic Jodhpur.

How has the reception been in India?

Fantastic. To start with, it was on a very small scale, but now we have been able to invite more guests.

And we hope that in the years to come, we can invite more and more people here to enjoy this wonderful experience.

How do you see the future of this relationship?

At this point, I think, we have a good relationship here...with all the various people involved in organizing the tournament, we think we are part of something really special and we really want this to continue. Obviously, India itself has much greater polo opportunities but that’s something we will look to expand on once we are really developed the most we can from this association.

Any plans to associate with any other sport?

Not as of now.

Torquhil Ian Campbell, Duke of Argyll

We are playing really in the homeland of polo

By Pradip Kumar Saha pradip.s@livemint.com

T

orquhil Ian Campbell, the 13th Duke of Argyll, plays elephant polo, and under his captaincy the Scottish national elephant polo team has won the world championship twice.

On the sidelines of the Maharaja of Jodhpur Golden Jubilee Cup, he spoke to Indulge about the clan Campbell and his association with the sport. Edited excerpts: Tell us something about the Campbell clan.

My title is Duke of Argyll, I am the 13th duke in our family. It was first granted to the family in 1701. My family has always been very strong in politics and over time, the family became one of the most powerful in Scotland. We represent the British Crown in Scotland. Today, clan Campbell is one of the biggest Scottish families. There are in the region of 13 million Campbells around the world, which is quite a big family, and, as the Duke of Argyll, I am also the chief of the Campbell family. That’s a huge responsibility. Our family traditionally came from the west coast of Scotland, which is now known as the County of

Argyll, a beautiful part of the world. We are big in tourism and, as a Scotsman, I am very proud of the Scotch whisky and that’s what brings me to India. And, in fact, has brought me to India many many times since 2002.

How is it different from horse polo?

There are obviously very major differences, but actually the rules of the games are pretty much the same. You are just playing on a bigger animal.

You have been the captain of Scottish elephant polo team.

Yes, I am the captain of the Scottish elephant polo team, although I haven’t had the chance to play for the last couple of years, but we compete for the world championships in Nepal.

And I am a double world champion (smiles).

Which one do you enjoy more?

I enjoy playing elephant polo, but I enjoy watching horse polo more. Let’s just say that it’s a sport that needs a lot of skill and I am not that skillful (laughs) and so I watch other people doing that.

How’s been your experience in India?

I love travelling, and promoting Scotch whisky has taken me all over the world. I must say India is a wonderful country, it’s full of wonderful people, it’s got a great history and there are so many beautiful things that you can still see in India and can’t see anywhere else in the world.

Experiences you can’t have anywhere else in the world. You know, coming to events like this—it’s magical.

How is that different from the other countries?

You just don’t have this sort of great depth of history. You have a maharaja, who is so well respected, you have this wonderful location, and you have the lovely vintage cars—we are playing really in the homeland of polo. And it’s a great honour to be here. I am here representing Royal Salute as their brand ambassador and I think life doesn’t get any better than this. This is the ultimate experience.

What is the one thing that stands out when you talk about India?

It’s the passion. Polo is a wonderful sport and is promoted all over the world and admired by many people, but here people are maybe just that bit more passionate about it. It’s great to see.

January 2012 |

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Sport

Nicholas Colquhoun Denvers, chairman of the Hurlingham Polo Association

We are very concerned about horses

By Pradip Kumar Saha pradip.s@livemint.com

T

he Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) is the governing body for polo in the UK, Ireland and many other countries throughout the world and is responsible for the rules and regulations under which polo is played. Nicholas Colquhoun Denvers, former British army officer and the chairman of HPA who remains an active player even in his sixties, spoke to Indulge during the Maharaja of Jodhpur Golden Jubilee Cup about the future of the sport in India and animal safety measures. Edited excerpts: Tell us what you think of the future of the sport.

Worldwide it’s growing very fast indeed. I notice in India, that in the 10 years that I haven’t been here, they have got a lot more sponsors, the grounds are improving. The players have always been good. But I think they need more international experience.

Are you saying that polo’s popularity is, in fact, growing across the world?

Absolutely. It’s played across 77 countries in the world. There are probably over 20,000-25,000 players registered around the world. And the numbers are growing.

Polo is a niche sport. Not everyone plays polo or follows it. What are you doing to broaden the base of the support?

I think it is a fascinating game whether you are playing it or watching it, and anyone can watch it. In Nigeria,

the most memorable game you have witnessed?

I think you have to give it to the cathedral of polo, which is the Argentine league.

you have a crowd of 40,000 people watching it knowing exactly what it is about and what a player is doing and the rest… And they are poor people.

Then you get grooms who have a good eye for the ball and are good horsemen. They get supported by the wealthier members of the sport. So yes, it can be played by all. We just want it to be seen by more people. They more people come to see the sport; the more people will get interested in it.

And what about animal rights?

If you see the rules, which we keep adjusting all the time, the majority of the rules are designed for the protection of the animal more than the player.

We don’t really care about the players (smiles). You will have length of whip, and now, in Hurlingham rules, you will see how many times a player is allowed to use the whip. They are penalized if they do it before the whistle, before the game starts and things like that.

So we are well aware of this and we are well aware of the animal welfare groups who think it is dangerous. But I have one thing to say, if you take these horses off the ground and you take all their kit off, you put them into a field together, they’ll do almost the same as they do playing polo.

They will try and outrace each other, outbreak each other, bump each other; it is a very natural sport for the horses. And they love it. And if they didn’t, that’s half a tonne of horseflesh that wouldn’t be on the field.

How do you see the scene in India different from other countries?

Well, to start, India holds a special place in my heart because it is where the modern game started. (It started in Manipur.) And I saw the Manipuri players play in Kolkata to mark the 150th anniversary of the Calcutta Polo Club, which is the oldest polo club in the world, something India should be very proud of.

And it was wonderful to see the ancient sport played in the modern times.

What are your expectations from the Indian market?

Our association with the IPA (Indian Polo Association) goes well back in the history; though in the last 10-15 years, we have been a bit apart. I’d like to bring us both together again and I have had talks on that in the hope that we can get more Indian players to come and play in Europe and get more European players to come down to India. It will help in umpiring; it will help improve the sport.

Has any animal rights group come to you saying polo is cruel to horses?

Yeah, people have said it’s cruel and then they have realized that these horses are actually very well-trained, and know what they are doing. It’s part of the sport and they do enjoy it. And that’s all I can say about it.

You have been to so many countries as the ambassador of the sport. Which is the best place to play polo? Which is

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Gear and Manufacturers

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Helmet Elbow guard Knee guard Polo boots Mallet Whip Gloves

Lead manufacturers: Polo Gear (US) and La Martina and Casablanca (Argentina) For mallets: Argentine makers such as Zappala Shyam Lal from Kanpur is an excellent choice for other leather equipment As told to Pradip Kumar Saha by Angad Kalaan, member of the current Indian polo team and former captain.

In photo: Prince Carl-Eugen Oettingen-Wallerstein

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INDULGE | January 2012

with similar perspicuity, however, you are likely to be frustrated.

The rules are simple enough in theory but, even armed with all the relevant information, the reality of scrutinizing a distant charging mass of horse, and desperately trying to construe the movement of a tiny white speck among it, is an arduous one.

Or, at least, it has always been for me. Lt Col Simon Ledger, a veteran of polo commentating and the official voice of British Polo Day, had no such qualms. It is his job to chivvy the audience into animation and he does it admirably, in a Panama hat and a pin-striped suit, the smoke from his cigarette curling over the microphone as he rattles off the plays. With the aid of his expertise, and humour, a sort of choreography begins to emerge from the blur. There are tricks, he says, that any commentator has to learn: anticipating the play of the ball and familiarizing oneself with the kit and physical attributes of each player before they begin.

And you must observe the inherent drama: “It’s theatrical to an extent,” he says. Ledger’s colourful vocabulary helps, and many of the spectators look bemused by his expressions. “That’s a real daisy cutter!” he roars as the ball flies across the grass towards the goal posts. “Fast, furious stuff with both sides playing superlative polo here today… That was so high it came down with ice on it! Oh! He’s going along at full chat but couldn’t quite turn the corner there.”

Polo is a game of two faces then: on one hand its inherent glamour appeals to luxury brands and corporate sponsors, who jump at

the chance to associate their names with a sport traditionally played by princes. The list of sponsors for British Polo Day reads like a who’s who of luxury brands, from the RBS private bank Coutts, Taj resorts, Barbour, Ettinger, Backes and Strauss and British fashion label Beulah. But despite the designer trappings, at the root is a serious sport, and for the players, and the stable managers, the coaches and the grooms, the game is the thing.

The atmosphere on the far side of the pitch, away from the muslindraped bleachers and crystal glassware is quite different. Here, there is no room for frippery; for the people on this side of the grass, polo is a way of life, a livelihood, and a compulsion. Dhananjay Singh, 26, who plays for the home side, the Umaid Bhawan polo team, and manages its horses, voices that thought in emphatic installments: “I love this sport. I don’t do it for the glamour, I love it and I love to do it well. I’ll die on the field and not in a bed. It’s an addiction.”

Dhananjay’s enthusiasm for the sport is inherited. His grandfather was an eight-goal player and the first Indian to play the Argentine open.

As he lines up the six ponies he’ll be riding in the match, calling out the order to his grooms and stable manager, Singh’s attention is drawn to an ambulance that is about to park a few yards away. He turns to a groom: “I don’t want the ambulance near my horses, get him to move away,” and then back with a smile, “I’m a bit superstitious.”

He’s not the only one. K.V. Singh lines up his three sticks on a blanket in front of him as he prepares for the match. “Three sticks are for luck,”

Sport Gaj Singh ii, Maharaja of Jodhpur

Polo needs a lot of support

By Pradip Kumar Saha pradip.s@livemint.com

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n the sidelines of the Maharaja of Jodhpur Golden Jubilee Cup polo finals, Indulge spoke with Maharaja Gaj Singh II about his family’s association with the sport and its current state. Edited excerpts: The Maharjas of Jodhpur have long been the patrons of polo in India.

Talk us through that legacy and your family’s association with the sport.

The modern game of polo was introduced in the late 1880s with the Jodhpur Lancers and Maharaja Pratap, who was a player himself, took great interest and took the first Indian team abroad in Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Jodhpur did very well in that tournament. Jopdpur polo was very dominant right into the 1920s.

Thereafter, there is one famous match against Patiala, the reigning champions, which we played in Delhi in 1922. The Jodhpur team beat them.

Over the years, the Jodhpur team and the Jaipur teams came together, and the Jaipur team dominated the 1930s.

Then there was a decline in polo— after the states went, there were very few patrons of the sport. It was played only in the army. There was a complete break.

I didn’t really take to the sport because there was nothing happening at that time. Later when I wanted to join the Oxford Polo Club, I had an operation on my tailbone that put it on the back burner.

But when I returned, I was determined that because of the

tradition, I had to take it forward. So I started introducing the equestrian sports in Jodhpur. And gradually, polo developed again.

Then my son got involved in the game in 1980s.

How do you see the sport has transformed through generations?

I don’t really know that period so I can hardly say anything. But obviously, they had greater resources then to manage the sport. For us now, we need the sponsors also. And that way we will get more people to see the sport, more support. And the more support a sport gets the more it helps in the growth and experience of the players.

How do you see the future of polo in India?

Polo is still struggling. It needs a lot of support. One problem is also that the old grounds are no longer there.

Because you know, real estate is real estate after all and people see these grounds more as property.

What have you done to promote polo?

We have introduced it to the Mayo College. We have a lot of young players who learn it there. I am the vice-president at the Indian Polo Association, and they are currently discussing a proposal for authorizing arena polo. That’s something that can be done to popularize the sport.

How many horses do you have in your stable?

We have got around 20 polo ponies. We also have the Marwari horses, which are not meant for polo.

What is your favourite sport?

I am not playing much these days, but I will say tennis.

he says. “I don’t use them all. I just use this one,” he indicates the one in the middle which, to the unpractised eye, looks identical to its fellows.

“The closer the joints are the better.

It can’t be too stiff or too flexible; you should be able to connect with the ball. These are Argentinian canes—they are the best.”

There are a hundred different variables that can make or break a player’s day, from a stick falling apart on the field, to an injured horse. The previous day, Singh had played in the Mayo College team that beat the visiting old Etonians.

“My hand got cramp half-way through the game, and I couldn’t open it,” he says, making a claw of his right hand to demonstrate. “I think it’s because I hadn’t eaten any salt for a while.”

All the players know their mounts well: which one is best to play at each stage of the game.

Although there are four chukkas, a player normally keeps six ponies at the ready for a game. Dhananjay assesses his group quickly and rules out his best ponies from playing more than half a chukka each, to save them for the rest of the season.

All morning, the grooms of the Umaid Bhawan stables have been mucking out, grooming and tacking up ponies, some of which will be ridden by the visiting British players.

In a circle in the stable courtyard, they sit soaping and polishing great masses of tangled leather, stirrup straps, reins and bridles. Each groom looks after two horses, each polo player will ride between four and six ponies in a game, and there are four players in a team. That’s a lot of leather.

The animals are nurtured obsessively to produce that charge of muscle energy as the ball is thrown in. The stables of the Maharaja of Jodhpur are a hive of industry; from early in the morning until sundown, grooms brush and shovel and shine to make it all possible. About 25 grooms (roughly the same number as there are horses) are employed by Umaid Bhawan and they are all local Rajasthani men, who are trained in the stables.

The grooms know the horses intimately and can point out a pony that is having a bad day or one which needs to stretch its legs, with ease. Many have grown up riding, their forefathers have worked with horses, and yet they have a different relationship with the sport than that of the players. As K.V. Singh points out, at the end of the day, “it’s only the people with money who

Rules

Outdoor polo is divided into 4, 6 or 8 periods of play (chukkas) of roughly seven minutes each. The four players on each team must try to score goals through goalposts at either end of the pitch. The players are numbered (from one to four), and they hold positions on the pitch from defensive (3 and 4) to attacking (1, 2 and 3). As they hit the ball up the line towards the goal they must observe one basic rule known as “the line of play”.

When a player hits the ball, the line that will be described by the ball as it travels across the field may not be crossed by another player riding in from the sides.

Another player may ride up parallel to the hitter and try to push him off course, nudging his pony off the line and capturing the right of way for himself.

Handicaps

A player’s handicap reflects his skill at the game. Handicaps range from -2 to 10 (-2 indicating a novice). When a team plays, its cumulative handicap is calculated and then measured against that of the opposing team. The difference is multiplied by the number of chukkas to be played and then divided by six. The resulting figure is the goal advantage given to the weaker side— any fractions are rounded to half a goal.

can play. That’s why it’s called an elite sport”. And yet, the number of people who are involved in creating each short moment of a 28-minute game is momentous, and perhaps it is that grandness of scale that lends the support its allure.

Polo players have to rely on their horses absolutely, and school them in various techniques to make life easier on the pitch. Ledger explains one such trick with the aid of an empty 7-Up bottle: “A flying change is when the leading leg of the horse is changed as you ride,” he says. “If the pony’s right foreleg is leading, and you are leaning right, the skill is to rebalance the pony before you lean out for the ball, so it doesn’t fall over. They’re schooled so that when there is a transfer of weight they’ll change legs automatically.”

The players must also rely on each other. Although they are allotted positions from 1-4, one being the striker and four the defence, in play their formation resembles a continual chain. “It’s like a train, if you miss, the other guy has to catch the ball,” says K.V. Singh. Some of the Jodhpur Eagles have been playing together for years.

They call each other by mockserious nicknames, like “Hunter” and “Rockstar”. The younger players such as Dhananjay Singh credit the older ones with teaching them everything they know.

K.V. Singh and his teammate Lokendra Singh were part of the relaunch of the team in the 1990s.

Before that, polo had experienced something of a slowdown, he says.

“Dad played in school. But after independence, everything finished.

The new government got rid of all the land and the privy purses were gone. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was very difficult for people to play.” In the 1990s, things started looking more hopeful. “The army was still in possession of the grounds and the horses and you started getting professionals, then a lot of the patrons and business houses got into the sport.”

It’s probably because of such patrons that polo has survived in the guise we still see it today. A unique feature of polo, says Ledger, is that it is one of the two sports at which an amateur can play alongside a professional. The other is golf. This is because of a handicap system (see box), which puts two teams of differing ability on an even footing. This system also makes it possible for a mediocre player, who nevertheless has the money and the inclination to start his own team, to do so. “An amateur who wants to play polo can pay a professional to play on his team,” Ledger says. “He agrees his contract with the players.

In high goal, which is 22+ handicap, he is probably going to be paying his eight- or nine-goal players £750,000 for a season.” The professionals are guaranteed a good income and the amateurs, a place on a prestigious side.

Even so, it remains extremely difficult for a complete novice to break into the sport. Although there are polo clubs in Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, they are not all open to new members, and usually a player would need his own horses to join an existing side, or be trained by an existing player. As a result, most players tend to have been introduced to the sport through family connections in India.

At Jodhpur, the sport now shows no sign of fading away. Col. Umaid Singh, the secretary of the Jodpur polo club, stares meditatively across the perfect expanse of green in a tweed plaid cap and a golfing jumper as the horses line up for the final match. “It’s a desert area,” he says, with pride. “Only the best clubs in England have this kind of irrigation,” agrees Simon Ledger as he raises his microphone to his lips, ready to begin. I January 2012 |

INDULGE

19

Preview

Audemars Piguet

Open-worked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Limited Edition Why it matters: This year marks

the 40th anniversary of Audemars Piguet’s groundbreaking Royal Oak collection, the first serious luxury watch in steel. Collectors are going to fall over each other to lap up this year’s pieces.

A. Lange and Söhne

Datograph Auf/Ab

Price:

Baume and Mercier

To be announced. Indulgent.

Capeland Flyback Chronograph Black Dial

Why it matters: A new

interpretation of Lange’s classic 1999 Datograph model, with a bigger dial, date, and a power reserve indicator. Also, how can you ignore a Lange watch?

Price:

Why it matters: Baume took a big gamble

last year with a fundamental rethink of what the brand means. It adopted a new seaside living theme that reflected in everything from the booth at the fair to the marketing. This chronograph is a smaller, slightly more refined version of a handsome piece launched last year.

€69,000

Price:

7,100 Swiss francs

New Faces Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, or SIHH, is the first major international luxury watch exhibition of the year. For a week in January, in Geneva, over a dozen of the best brands in watchmaking showcase their innovation and novelties for the coming year. While most brands prefer to keep their major launches under wraps until the event itself, it is customary to unveil a small collection of preview pieces

in the weeks leading up to the fair. Think of these as teasers to get the crowds in.

Indulge showcases some of the best preview pieces from SIHH 2012 and tells you why these pieces matter. Piqued?

Then watch out for in-depth SIHH profiles, interviews and reviews in the issues to come.

By Sidin Vadukut

sidin.v@livemint.com

IWC Schaffhausen

Top Gun Miramar Pilot watch

Girard-Perregaux

Why it matters: Last year, IWC was all

about the bucolic Italian refinement of the Portofino collection. The booth even had an Italian gelato stand inside. This year, there is a stonking huge fighter jet—it is the year of the aviator watch. An unusual look as far as IWC goes. But a subtle reminder from the brand, perhaps, that there is more afoot at Schaffhausen than just the Portuguese.

Price:

1966 Annual Calendar and Equation of Time Why it matters: Yet another

elegant, refined piece from a company known for elegant, refined pieces. This new version of a 2009 piece has a ruthenium dial in a pink gold case. Spend hours telling your friends what equation of time really means.

Price:

R10.17 lakh

cartier

31,000 Swiss francs

Cadran Lové Tourbillon

Greubel Forsey

Why it matters: Cartier

Why it matters: When Greubel

continues resolutely on the fine watchmaking path. This may not have the quintessential elegance of a classic Cartier Tank. But it is big, bold and pretty complicated.

Promises to be part of a large, intriguing collection from the maison this year.

Price:

€95,000

GMT Forsey decides to make a watch, it pulls out all the stops. So while other brands seek to make a GMT piece with an extra hand or a clever locating ring of some kind, GF decides to insert an entire globe. But this is the thing: they pull it off. Outstanding mechanisms at prices to match.

Price:

20

INDULGE | January 2012

$650,000

Preview

panerai

Luminor Marina 3 Days Why it matters: Plenty of launches

Collection Villeret 1858 Vintage Tachydate

from Panerai this year. Enough, perhaps, for a couple of exclusive pages. But, for now, a preview piece that is unmistakeably Panerai.

Note the 72 hours power reserve and the clean, uncluttered face. Big, strong, well-made watches that, surprisingly, are popular with both sexes.

Why it matters: How far this brand has

Price:

Montblanc

come in the last few years. As recently as 2010, people were wondering why Montblanc was putting in so much effort into its timepieces. And today, it appears that the brand’s watch business is set to overtake revenue from its signature pens. This piece is a glimpse into a very broad range of launches in 2012.

The design and numbering are just the perfect amount of retro.

Price:

To be announced.

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire 40.5 JeanRichard

Diverscope LPR

To be announced.

Why it matters: Hard to not fall in

love with JeanRichard’s wonderful case designs. The brand’s products with round bezel on tonneau case deserves to be more famous. The Diverscope is based on the in-house JR1010 movement and has a cute linear power reserve indicator behind the number 12 that fills up and empties.

Richard Mille

RM 037

Price:

Why it matters: If you’re wondering

where you’ve seen one, Rafael Nadal wears one always. Even when he plays.

That is because Richard Mille makes watches that are not only solid, but also tremendously light. The RM 037 is classic Richard Mille with the signature case design, skeletonized movement and high-quality materials. There is plenty going on here, including a mode selection pusher at four o’clock that determines what the crown can adjust.

Price:

To be announced.

Why it matters: JLC, as befits a brand

that Iron Man wears in the movies, likes to do things in style. So this piece may only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to 2012 launches. Still, a handsome piece that is a downsized version of the Duometre launched last year. Also, do note the foudroyante stop seconds hand at six o’clock.

Price:

To be announced.

8,900 Swiss francs

Piaget

Altiplano Skeleton Automatic Why it matters: Nobody makes a

thin automatic movement quite like Piaget. But this 38mm watch is exceptional, with the micro-rotor giving the movement exceptionally good visibility. Oh, and the whole watch is 5.34mm thick. Crazy.

To be announced. Expected to be around $60,000.

Price:

Parmigiani Fleurier

Tonda Annual Calendar Why it matters: One of the

smaller, independent brands at the fair, Parmigiani nonetheless makes serious watches with plenty of signature quirks including the tear-drop lugs. This year’s Tonda Annual Calendar is notable for the retrograde date around the top of the dial.

Price:

To be announced.

Vacheron Constantin

Patrimony Traditionnelle 14-days Tourbillon Why it matters: There is always more to

a Vacheron than meets the eye. And the 2012 Patrimony tourbillon is no different. There are four springs inside this watch that give it a mammoth 336 hours of power reserve. With a superb movement that maintains consistent torque. All set into Vacheron’s clean, elegant Patrimony design. Very, very desirable. Very, very expensive.

Price:

€189,000

Roger Dubuis

La Monegasque Flying Tourbillon Why it matters: Roger Dubuis will

complete a comprehensive relaunch of the brand by the end of this year. In the first phase, last year, the brand launched the La Monegasque range, a superb range of muscular, masculine watches, with solid in-house movements. This year, it adds to the range with a new flying tourbillon, a piece that highlights the brand’s watchmaking ability, and the versatility of the collection.

Price:

130,000 Swiss francs

January 2012 |

INDULGE

21

column

joel

harrison

drinks consultant

On the Hip

I

n the last issue of Indulge, we took an in-depth look at different whiskies from across the globe, focusing mainly on its homeland—Scotland. However, wherever the product that you love to quaff is made, be it Delhi or Dundee, it has somehow travelled great distances to make its way into your home for you to happily enjoy it at your leisure.

But if, like the iconic Johnnie Walker striding man, you just love to get out and about and you want to take your precious hooch with you, there is one very handy solution—the hip flask. Round and thin or square and fat, engraved with a distillery logo or leather bound in club colours, the hip flask provides the perfect travelling companion. So how did this small but perfectly formed object develop into such an iconic item?

Well, the earliest versions of such containers were first seen way back in the medieval era. Travellers would carry water bottles made of leather that were designed to be slung from the saddle of their horses. Flat on one side and bulbous on the other, this increased the carrying capacity to maximum without causing undue irritation to their trusty steed.

In the second century AD, religion began to spread fast across the globe, with pilgrimages becoming increasingly

Tough questions about the good life 1. What is the best tweed in the world?

2. Does it make sense to invest in some excellent Montepulciano?

3. I think I am ready for my first grand complication watch. Should I go for the minute repeater? Or aim straight for a tourbillon?

4. Ok, I am here at Savile Row. Now what?

5. I want something that is like the Yamazaki 12-year-old single malt. But not the Yamazaki. Help!

From the perfect gift to the indulgent holiday, coming soon, the Mint Indulge team of experts, columnists and roving reporters will help solve your finer dilemmas.

Simply email your queries to indulge@livemint.com

more commonplace. Often, pilgrims would return home with expensive trinkets serving to document their arduous journey. These ornate, bejewelled vessels came to be known as Pilgrim Bottles, a fine example of which can be seen at the British Museum in London, which describes them as early examples of ‘‘luxury items”. It’s nice to know that even back then, luxury was sought after and valued.

Shortly after this period, glass became the popular choice of material for the bottles. Having a seethrough bottle not only allowed the owner to keep an eye on how much liquid they were carrying, but it also opened the bottles for use as wider containers for safeguarding holy souvenirs and icons acquired on his

travels; the Samsonite of its day, perhaps.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that hip flasks changed into something more akin to the ones we see today.

Gone were the opulent, coloured glass and bright jewels and in came sterling silver as the material of choice; a robust and desirable metal that, unlike alternatives such as copper or lead, did not pollute the contents with unwelcome metallic flavours. The refined industrial manufacturing methods, which came in at this time, allowed for complicated additions to the bottle; the most noteworthy being drinking cups that were either hidden away as a slide-out compartment on the base of the bottle or incorporated into the screw-on cap.

As the industrial revolution took hold in the West, the hip flask became the accessory of choice for many young men in the upper echelons of society.

Photograph: iStockphoto

What better way to enjoy your hunting or fishing trip than with a quick nip of Scotch from a silver hip flask, embossed with your family crest or insignia.

The hip flask became a must-have for soldiers in both World Wars. In the field of combat, a quick swig from a hip flask was rudimentary self-medication that fuelled courage, killed fear and banished pain. The contents were, of course, of paramount importance, but more so the medium: each hip flask would have been customized, engraved with a personal message from parents, wife or brothers, which served as a constant reminder of the loved ones back home.

Personally, I find a flask very useful.

My own is well used, picked up on a trip a few years back to Lagavulin, one of my favourite distilleries on the Isle of Islay in Scotland. It’s made, as most are these days, of stainless steel, bound in leather and comes adorned with four small cups that are fixed over the lid. It’s an accessory that has become as much a mainstay in my travel bag as my iPad and Moleskine notebook. It took me some time to get over the stigma that carrying alcoholic beverages around was the domain of the drunkard; of course, the volume of content in a standard hip flask shouldn’t be enough to inebriate one, but merely to provide a taster, a snifter of your chosen tipple. But these age-old luxury products are now being produced by some of the world’s leading luxury brands such as Aquascutum and Aspinal, providing an opportunity to create an heirloom in your family and share your spirit on your travels. Cheers! I

Joel Harrison is a drinks writer and consultant and co-founder of the website Caskstrength.net Respond to this column at indulge@ livemint.com