Hot Spot

LIVIN’ OUT LOUD As a pulsing center of Asian nightlife, New Delhi has long been up there with, say, Pyongyang. Excluding five-star hotels and private clubs, there are only five bars and three nightclubs in a city of almost 14 million people. And yet, tired of tales from glittering Bollywood parties or raging Bangalore pub life, New Delhi’s society writers are now peddling the rumor that theirs is fast becoming a happening capital. So is it? Simply, no. The bitter truth is that the only place ever to have known a paparazzi stakeout is T.G.I. Friday’s. But whereas five years ago New Delhi was dead, now, on the right night, it is possible to detect the faintest cosmopolitan pulse.

Time your visit to coincide with one of the occasional Cyber Mehfil parties put on by DJ duo Midival Punditz. As awful as a night with the “New Delhi Drum ‘n Bass Posse” might sound, this is without doubt the best club from Bangkok to Beirut; for more info, go to cybermehfil.com.

For places to stay, two hotels stand out. The city center’s Imperial Hotel on Janpath, tel: (91-11) 334 1234, has resurrected itself from a shabby, colonial relic to a polished celebration of marble, huge ceilings and fine carpets. There are three great restaurants and a huge bar that packs in the young on weekends. But the truly chic should head for The Manor, an 18-room boutique hotel set in a secluded southern garden in Friend’s Colony. The owners have combined modish veneer, glass and low lighting with traditional Indian textiles and a hint of colonial style to produce India’s first designer hotel. The menu alone, featuring exotic smoothies, mango salads and even lobster, is worth a stay. For reservations, call (91-11) 692 5151.

In fact, hotels are just about the only place that will serve up good international fare. But if you’re itching to go stand-alone, New Delhi boasts two independent Italian bistros: Senso in Vasant Vihar and Diva in Greater Kailash II. At both eateries, the dcor is stylish, the food so so and the music dreadful. But, hey, this is New Delhi, and one out of three isn’t that bad.