Tea: Good ol’ ‘chai’, that’s what. Don’t miss your cuppa, even if it’s summer. And if you don’t wanna do lunch or dinner but really want to impress the ladies, have them over for high tea. Bring out your best crockery, serve light snacks and desserts, play some light music, make sure the seating is real cosy and then lay it on. From green tea to orange pekoe to a plum mint medley. Or serve it iced...

Uttar Pradesh: Get your fill of soul food at Varanasi, relive age-old traditions at Lucknow, check out the Taj Mahal by moonlight, Chitrakoot, Bundelkhand or the Dudhwa National Park or Lord Buddha’s last abode - Kushinagar.

Call the local Directorate of Tourism or check out their website www.up-tourism.com. Don’t forget to unwind after a hard day’s work and don’t you forget to bring out those colourful umbrellas to beat the soaring heat! Slap on some sunscreen, put on those sunglasses and walk the distance in cool comfort.

Violet: This summer, paint your lips a voluptuous violet, the colour of the season. Preen, pout and pamper your mouth. The Maybelline range has a great variety to choose from - Violet Beam (962), Berry Wine (952), Violet Grapes (845) (Price Rs 109). Do check out Jewels and Berries also from Maybelline’s Wetshine Diamond range. No price is too great for those lovely, luscious smoochy lips. Slurp!

Vacations: Set out for the hills or choose an easy destination abroad. How about Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand? People swear by Phuket and Langkawi. If bliss is holidaying by exotic beaches, go do the Goa call. And do Nilaya — the classy hideout by the Arpora hillside — while you’re there. Don’t ask how much? It’s your holiday and your money. Nilaya (0832 276793/94).

Watermelons: Slice them, dice them or just juice them. Any which way, watermelons herald summer brilliantly (Rs 15 to Rs 25, available at fruit marts, on carts and pavements).

Wendell Rodricks: Wear his diaphanous rhapsodies in chiffon and fine jute. He’s done it in grey-greens and he’s also picked the brights like orange. Check out his frayed edges and frills. (Available at Oorja, Model Town, Hyderabad; and Wendell Rodricks Design Space, Altinho, Panjim, Goa. Price Rs 2,400 onwards).

Water: Good heavens! Is there anything that can be more heavenly in summer than water? Sip, shower in, dip and dive into...

Wine: Ummm... Summer evenings turn delightful when toasted with well-made wines. Make your own or buy them off the rack, but reach out to them. Try Riviera (red and white wines), Figuiera, Crystal, Marquise De Pompadour, Moet & Chandon. (Available at most wine shops. Rs 400 onwards).

White: No colour in summer quite takes it like white does. The ever-appealing pure white looks serene and pretty in voile, chiffon, organdy, organza or even the humble mulmul.

X-hale: ...the heat out. It’s a priceless way of beating soaring temperatures.

X-foliate: With St Ivy’s Apricot Scrub to rid yourself of grime and dead skin. (Available at most cosmetic counters, Price Rs 180 to Rs 240).

Yellow: Wear the brilliant sunshine yellow cotton pin-tucked ‘kurta’ from Fabindia, or scourge around for great bargains at the flea market at Anjuna, or the Saturday Night Bazaar, Goa.

Yakkity yak: Non-stop, cell-to-cell. The service providers are offering great deals and very often it comes free!

Yoghurt: Try the Pascula pack (Rs 99 for four cups). They have ‘hazaar’ flavours. Some of our favourites are strawberry, blueberry, tropical fruits and red cherries. Including low-fat packs too! If it’s not there, pick up Amul’s yoghurt (Rs 14 for 400 g) and flavour it with some strawberry crush. All Foodworld outlets in Hyderabad have it. And so does Q-Mart (Banjara Hill, Hyderabad).

Zardosi: ‘ Zardosi’ and ‘zari’ are ‘in’. Little ‘batuas’ embroidered with silver zari make delightful purses in which to carry mobile phones and credit cards. Also must buy Vidhi Singhania’s Kota saris with pure zari for this summer. Lovely colours and pretty designs make this awesome collection.

(Available at ALSO, Lifestyle Building, Hyderabad. Range starts from Rs 2,000).

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz: Catch those precious naps. The all-important summer recovery tactic just never fails. Snooze the weekend afternoons away, and watch how summer sidles by...

With inputs from Ethel Da Costa, Goa; Namita A Shrivastava, Hyderabad; Reshmi Chakraborty, Delhi; Jeena Mitra-Banik, Kolkata; Priya Nair, Pune; and Madhuri Velegar K, Bangalore