Dries Van Noten turned to Japan for inspiration for his spring show, but India is a recurring motif for the Belgian designer. Among the saris he's collected, two stand out: a vintage style printed with images of Indian Ambassador cars and another in fuchsia emblazoned with gold brocade. Van Noten's favorite sources are the Calcutta markets, including the old (it opened in 1874) New Market, housed in a red-brick Victorian Gothic building with a clock tower. New Market, 19 Lindsay St., Calcutta Photo: Isopress / SIPA     Kumarakom Lake Resort is the retreat of choice for the diverse and celebrated. India Hicks and Deepak Chopra, Ms. Universe and Indian Cricketer of the Century Kapil Dev, have all been guests at Kerala's five-year-old, five-star resort. Set on 25 acres of land on Kumarakom, a cluster of little islands on Vembanad Lake, this secluded spot features a 250-meter meandering pool that guests can access from their bedrooms. Loath to share? The presidential suite has its own pool. More information available at Kumarakom Lake Resort, www.klresort.com. Photo: Courtesy of Kumarakom Lake Resort     For something wild, Deep Kailey recommends a trip to Madhya Pradesh, the "heart of India." The London-based stylist and managing director of Kim Jones' label stayed at a guest house in Kahna National Park, where "getting out really early in the morning meant seeing tigers." Hampi, left, is up next for this adventurer. The onetime capital of the large, rich Vijayanagara empire, it was destroyed in 1565 by marauding Moguls. The ruins are now a World Heritage Center—and a destination for today's time travelers. More information available at Kahna National Park, www.kanhanationalpark.com. Photo: Courtesy of India Tourism, New York     Franco-Indian relations are cheery, thanks in part to Jean-François Lesage, the expatriate son of François Lesage, the famous haute couture embroiderer. While la mode occupies the elder Lesage (Chanel bought the family business in 2003), the son, a former art auctioneer, focuses on interiors. "We do not do fashion," he asserts. Instead, his company, Vastrakala Exports, has been supplying embroideries made in a converted house in Madras to museums, as well as the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Catherine Deneuve, and Steven Spielberg. Visitors to the balmy city can call ahead to tour the workshop. More information available at Jean-François Lesage, Paris, 011-33-1-4450-0101. Photo: Jacqui Hurst / Corbis     When London-based illustrator Tanya Ling returns to Calcutta she stays at the 125-year-old Oberoi Grand. Its neoclassical façade houses a host of modern luxuries, including a beautiful full-size pool in which Ling's youngest daughter learned to swim. For a locals-only experience, Ling suggests making friends with a member of the Saturday Club. "It's just like it sounds," she says, "a club where it's a child's vision of Saturday every day." Colonial flourishes are evident throughout, from the ballroom to the tennis courts. "It feels very Raj-y," says Ling. "You can still feel the days gone by there." More information available at the Oberoi Grand, www.oberoikolata.com, and the Saturday Club, www.saturday-club.com. Photo: Courtesy of Oberoi Grand     Sandy Dalal, the Perry Ellis Award-winning menswear designer, and Brooklyn-born Cliff Fong, a buyer turned fashion and interior designer, are bringing a bit of l'Inde to Paris. Later this month, they'll present a trunk show of their one-and-a-half-year-old Chatav Ectabit line at the shopping emporium Colette. The unisex label, which already counts Keith Richards and Brad Pitt as fans, is upping the luxury (and the price) quotient by creating one-off pieces hand-finished and embellished by craftspeople all over India. In Mumbai, where Dalal is based, he and new bride Julie eat at Seijo and the Soul Dish, a South Asian-fusion hot spot popular with the Bollywood Brat Pack. Chatav Ectabit available Stateside at Jeffrey New York, NYC, (212) 206-1272, and Maxfield, L.A., (310) 274-8800; Seijo and the Soul Dish, 206 Krystal Waterfield Road, Bandra, Mumbai, 011-91-22-2640-5555. Photo: Courtesy of Chatav Ectabit     Done the New York, Milan, Paris thing? You might add cosmopolitan Mumbai to the fashion trail. This bustling city already has a Project Runway-style documentary soap, Lakme Fashion House, that follows aspiring designers and stars celebrity judge Donatella Versace. (Naomi Campbell bailed.) And for the first time this year, IMG, the production company that runs Gotham's Bryant Park shows, is helping to organize and broaden Lakme fashion week. Mark your calendars; it runs from March 28 to April 1.