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Hindustan Times: Visiting Chefs

To be a good chef, you have to have knowledge, opinion and confidence. Few professions are as unforgiving as a chef’s chosen job. You get feedback instantly. If the dish isn’t good, it gets sent back to the kitchen. Reviews appear on platforms and word-of-mouth criticism spreads like wildlife. No wonder most chefs develop an armour to shield and protect them. Recently, a number of star-chefs have been visiting Bengaluru. Here then, is my take on the ones that I have dined at.

Fearless after 50: for WisdomCircle

What is it about women over 50 that makes them particularly suited for entering or re-entering the workforce? Perhaps the largest impetus is the mind-space that older women gain once their children are grown and gone. The second reason could have to do with hormones. But one advantage that age gives women is a certain confidence that comes from not having to prove anything to anybody.

Hindustan Times: Dance in Bangalore

Bangalore is blessed with a multitude of classical dance forms relative to say, nearby Chennai where Bharatanatyam reigns supreme, or Hyderabad where Kuchipudi takes pride of place. In Bangalore, you can find Kathak, Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and other dance forms, all of which mesh together in this melting pot of a city. Why is not dance more popular than music?

Destinasian Magazine: Indian craft chocolate

This post is about the flowering of Indian craft chocolate using local ingredients. Really lovely to see an idli-grinder as part of the chocolate making process. The article began after a trip to West Godavari district to see how Manam chocolate works with farmers to harvest and make artisanal chocolate.

WisdomCircle: how much money

When I was at the Columbia Journalism program in 1995, two professors invited a bunch of us students to their apartment for dinner. After a few drinks, one students asked— what’s the number? How much do you need to live like this?

Hindustan Times: Theatre in Bengaluru

Karnataka, like every other Indian state also has a robust night life beyond the pubs nightclubs which includes theatre, music performances, and processions, all of which are linked to religious institutions.

Old favourites that I wrote for Condenast Traveler (US edition)

For Condenast Traveler US on China

I have come to China from my home in Bangalore, India, to find a tai chi teacher. My pursuit of tai chi has been punctuated by such cultural challenges. When I informed my conservative Indian family that I was interested in tai chi, they were appalled. Why was their Indian child, heir to an ancient and proud tradition of yoga leaning toward an alien discipline?

For Condenast Traveler US on Goa

Once a hippie haven where even India's tightly chaperoned teens could turn on, tune in, and drop out, Goa has lately gone upscale. Living in a trading port for the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Europeans meant that Goans were forced to interact with the outside world far earlier than the average Indian. This has made them friendly but not overly curious about foreigners.

For Condenast Traveler US on Scuba Diving

I don't want to write about this place. Few people know of it; fewer still visit. Perhaps that's the way it should be. In this rapidly shrinking world, there ought to be somewhere that remains remote, even obscure; set apart in space and time; offering the promise of mystery, the romance of discovery. Lakshadweep—the name comes out in a sigh.

For Condenast Traveler US on bargaining

The thought occurred as I eyed a stunning Persian carpet in a downtown Manhattan shop. The Mogul-inspired piece looked terrific but cost thousands more than I wanted to pay. The smile on the manager's face suggested that he was willing to bargain. But where to begin? Middle age brings with it the sobering realization that you can actually learn something from your mother.

For Condenast Traveler US on Cambodia and Laos

Cambodia is like a lotus bud concealing an onion—serene on the surface but eliciting tears as you peel back the layers. The scale of the Angkor temples contrast with the photos of skulls in the Genocide Museum. The peace of a Buddhist monastery gives way to the raucous din of tuk–tuks. I am in Cambodia to meet a monk and to travel the Mekong.

For Condenast Traveler US on National parks

Bangalore is home. I didn't always live here—until two years ago I lived in New York. But now this is the city where my kids go to school, where I hail auto rickshaws for bone-rattling yet perversely exciting rides to work and meetings, where I prowl pubs and malls in search of stories and sales, and where I go to Namdharis Fresh supermarket to buy organic grapes, too-hard bagels, and much-too-soft cream cheese in an attempt to replicate the Sunday morning brunches at my Upper West Side apartment.

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