Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
Review of Return to India in the Deccan Herald
My kids tease me that I am congenitally in favor of the underdog; that I reflexively support, yes, the underdog. This single word has been used as an accusation towards me. For example, I'll say something like, "Oh, come on. That band is not all that bad," and my daughter will yell, "Underdog." I am part of a mailing list called "Silk List" and I reflexively defend Arundhati Roy in this (largely male) group, not because I've read her stuff beyond "The God of Small Things" which I loved, loved, but because she is, in my view a maligned underdog. [...]
Business World review
And a good one here. Business World book review Title: Return to India Author: Shoba Narayan Publisher: Rupa Publications Price : Rs. 395 Most young Indians desire is to go and make a career outside India. Surely, the most sought after destination is the United States of America. Every youth would love to escape the education system in India and complete the graduation and beyond in USA. Affordability is one important deterrent. One other way to get in is to do very well and get an admission with as much scholarship as one could get. The other way [...]
The Hindu review
The Hindu review of Return to India here The human mind when faced with criticism reacts in a formulaic way-- which as a lifelong student of psychology-- interests me. There is denial, rejection, scorn, and rationalization. I went through all this as I read this harsh review. The first bit is true. Lots of people have said that the immigrant phenomenon is old and overdone. Agreed. But this is a book that I had to write and so I did. It is the second bit that I found mean-spirited, particularly when Ms. Roy calls me "daft" and my husband balanced. [...]
Bald Men
Inside the brave new world of the bald Why going bald is an epidemic Shoba Narayan First Published: Thu, Oct 25 2012. 06 45 PM IST Smooth operator: Down south, Rajinikanth’s lead role in the film Sivaji supposedly triggered the craze for going bald. RELATED Waiting for the next Zubin Mehta The power of navel energy A space for gender-bending realities Customized cupcakes and south Indian tiffins We are witnessing the beginning of an epidemic. Let me give you a clue. What do the following men have in common: poet and novelist Jeet Thayil, dancer Akram Khan, musician Chris Daughtry [...]
Waiting for the next Zubin Mehta for Mint Lounge
Waiting for the next Zubin Mehta Why haven’t any of India’s great institutions produced world-class Western classical musical talent? Shoba Narayan First Published: Fri, Oct 19 2012. 06 00 PM IST A concert in progress at Mumbai’s NCPA, home to the The Symphony Orchestra of India. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint RELATED The dramatic and soulful orchestra men The Bangalore School of Music is celebrating its silver jubilee. The Delhi School of Music is close to its golden jubilee. The Calcutta School of Music, founded in 1915, is even older. Chennai has two recent institutions dedicated to non-Indian music: A.R. Rahman’s KM [...]
About aging
Some articles I agonize over. Some are a gift from the muse. This one was the latter. I dashed it off in half hour in the midst of hectic activity. Click here for the piece Life's grandest challenge: watching those we love age Shoba Narayan Oct 21, 2012 My father shuffles. It pains - and irritates - me to watch him. But that's how he walks these days. He is 80 years old, more fit than my mother and my in-laws, but still not the lithe vibrant man he once was. When I ask my dad if he has any [...]
Indian Express Bangalore
Here is the Bangalore version Lack of good samosas can cause angst: Shoba Author: Prajwala Hegde | ENS Published Date: Sep 25, 2012 9:03 AM Last Updated: Sep 25, 2012 2:34 PM You might have the best fast food chains and restaurant from across the world in your vicinity, but you would still crave for that simple dal chawal prepared lovingly by your mother back home. However, definitely not the biggest of worry for an Indian immigrant living abroad, when they have to worry about getting a Green card, paying mortgage or enrolling their kids for that weekend Bharatnatyam classes (just [...]
Indian Express Chennai
My childhood friend called and said that this appeared today. A love song to a country Author: Prashanti Ganesh Published Date: Oct 15, 2012 8:59 AM Last Updated: Oct 15, 2012 8:59 AM Bangalore-based columnist and writer Shoba Narayan says that her latest offering, Return to India - A Memoir, is based on a fundamental passion for India...the smells, sights and more She started her journey 10 years ago as a young girl who wanted to run away from home to a foreign land, where she could be free from the “countless number of aunts, uncles and cousins who somehow [...]
Indian Express Delhi
Thank you, Shekhar Gupta-- and Indian Express for your support. Coverage appeared in the Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai editions. Print Close Window The Return of an Immigrant Pallavi Chattopadhyay Posted online: Sun Oct 14 2012, 01:32 hrs If you are one of those who wonder why scores of NRIs give up their six-figure salaries and return to their homeland, then Shoba Narayan’s latest book Return to India: A Memoir might interest you. “This book is written by an immigrant for an immigrant,” stated the Begaluru-based author at the book launch at The Park hotel last week.Written over a period of ten years, [...]