Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
TVS Family
An intimate profile of one of the matriarchs of India's most distinguished families.
ArcelorMittal Orbit: The sprinter and the marathon man: for Mint Lounge
The sprinter and the marathon man The ‘ArcelorMittal Orbit’ is a flight of fancy that arose from a fit of bravado - a product of using time and circumstance wisely The Good Life | Shoba Narayan Posted: Fri, Jul 20 2012. 1:15 AM IST Its genesis is serendipitous enough to be the stuff of Shakespearean farce. London’s motormouth mayor Boris Johnson runs into steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal in a cloakroom during the 2009 World Economic Forum. Johnson corners Mittal, whom he is meeting for the first time, and describes his plan for a giant erection at the centre of the [...]
Shazia Mirza
Mirza takes on all the taboos about Islam and flips them around as jokes. She tells us what we are thinking, with a punchline
What after you have seen 1,000 moons? for Mint Lounge
What after you have seen 1,000 moons? Life for many of us is not about artistic genius or business impact. It is about small pleasures, rich relationships and the ability to make peace with your soul The Good Life | Shoba Narayan Posted: Fri, Aug 17 2012. 8:32 PM IST In the last six months, I have participated in five sathabhishekams-as 80th birthdays are called in my community. Milestone events help you mark time and take stock. For the Hindu 80th birthday, the date is usually fixed after the person has seen 1000 full-moons. Both my father and father-in-law celebrated [...]
Mayer’s Miscalculation
As a feminist, I was troubled by the brouhaha that erupted when Mayer announced her pregnancy. This piece for Mint is a reaction. Columns Posted: Fri, Jul 27 2012. 10:31 PM IST Mayer’s miscalculation While Mayer announced her pregnancy in an interview, it was the casual Twitter announcement that opened her up to scrutiny and criticism. The Good Life | Shoba Narayan Ten years after Betty Friedan was dismissed from her job for being pregnant with her second child, she wrote the bestselling book, “The Feminine Mystique,” that sparked the second wave of feminism. One day after Marissa Mayer, the [...]
Return to India
It has been a month of weddings. Glorious food, beautiful sarees, fragrant mogra and jasmine-- can there be anything more sensual than an Indian wedding? I returned home to an email from my editor in Delhi. She gave me the good news that my book is now available on pre-order at Flipkart. Here is the link
The Cow Chronicles: Part 1
Although this happened in December, I only wrote it now mostly because I wanted to do it right-- for my heroine, as well. The good news is that someone has written to me offering to buy her another cow. Fri, Jun 22 2012. 8:06 PM IST The cow chronicles: a loss and a replacement It occurs to me that I am hearing a new solution to lactose intolerance: Change your cow The Good Life | Shoba Narayan Sarala needs a cow. She tells me this when I chide her for giving me less milk that morning. It is 7am. The [...]
Marriage Songs
While practicing songs for my friend's wedding, I came across this rendition of the famous "Seetha Kalyana" by my guru, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna here. It doesn't have the pep of Sudha Raghunathan's Marriage Songs CD but it suits his voice.
Why you should drop your culinary crutches– for Mint Lounge
Why you should drop your culinary crutches For professional restaurateurs and chefs, introducing the element of surprise is tricky because the spontaneous creativity that leads to surprise goes against the cardinal rule of a restaurant kitchen: consistency The Good Life | Shoba Narayan Two years ago, Olive Beach, a restaurant in Bangalore, made a special tasting menu for a group called The Bangalore Black Tie, of which I am a member. Typically, these are off-menu dishes that the chef specially crafts for the group, paired with wine. Each member pays a fixed price. What was unusual about this meal was [...]
Royal Enfield for The National Abu Dhabi
Royal Enfield reinventing the wheels Shoba Narayan Jun 7, 2012 In what could have been a risky manoeuvre, the 119-year old brand of Royal Enfield redesigned its motorbikes. Beloved in India, the new motorbikes are meant to be sleeker and quieter. The drumbeat-like thump of the engine is gone but the ride is still low and heavy. The retro look remains, albeit with some mechanical liposuction. "Our design philosophy was to take all the essential characteristics of what makes a Royal Enfield bike and bring them into the 21st century," says Siddhartha Lal, the managing director and chief executive [...]