Weekend Retreat/Jeroo Mango

Rolling hills and long walks make the perfect weekend getaway for Jeroo Mango, owner of the Danai chain of bookshops. And so it is her hometown that beckons every time she feels like getting away from the crush for a holiday. The added advantage is that her hometown is picturesque Mahabaleshwar.

“I’m also used to it, having grown up there,” she says. If she doesn’t choose to spend time by the seaside, it’s because she lives opposite the beach. “The sea has no appeal for me, since I see it every day. So it doesn’t make sense for me to go Daman and places like that, which are most frequently visited. I love walking, and Mahabaleshwar is full of woody walks which are really good. Furthermore, my maternal home is still in Panchgani. And Mahabaleshwar is still one of the most beautiful places around,” she says.

The visits, however, are not restricted to regular getaways. “I mostly go between October and December, when the weather is pleasant and things are a little quieter than they are in what is knownas the tourist season,” she says.