* Fort Fiesta: Remnants of the British, Portuguese and Maratha eras, four forts in Mumbai and Thane will be restored to their old glory by March—prepare to wander through Sewri, Bandra, Worli and Ghodbunder. A historical treat awaits you.

* Biz Whiz: After clinching the deal with Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus with a 6.2 billion pounds offer this year, the year 2008 will keep the Tatas active as they bid for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford Motors. Better still, India awaits the unveiling of the much-awaited Rs 1 lakh car.

* Heritage history: It’s the oldest museum in the country, with a UNESCO tag attached. The newly-restored Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum will open for public in January. Look forward to the freshly coated gold ornamentation on wall corners, ceilings, hand railings and pillars; magenta and blue colours on the pillars and 4,000 restored objects, maps and manuscripts including majestic carpets, with threads imported from Iran and weavers from Kashmir.

* Takeoff Time: As many as 31 pockets of slums occupying land belonging to the Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport will take a while to be cleared, but at least areas identified as priority pockets—for taxiways and parking bays for the expanding airport—will have to go this year.

* Trainspotting: Spacious, squeaking clean and faster than the relics you’ve had, the next generation local train has arrived. 2008 will see several more services being offered on the new rakes, especially with the quadrupling of tracks between Borivali and Virar.

* East to West: Construction will finally begin on the first corridor of the Metro Rail, the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route. After a series of hurdles with finding land to use as concrete casting yards, the decks are now cleared for work to start, almost.

*SATISFIED: For Thane-ites harried by the perpetual traffic chaos towards the railway station area, the scheduled completion of the JNNURM-funded Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme (SATIS) by December 2008 will mean a smoother ride home.