Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
Secular India
A tolerant and secular India is a myth to make real Shoba Narayan (Writer) Mar 29, 2010 While the roots of Hindu-Muslim enmity in India run deep, every now and then - and dishearteningly, with increasing frequency - certain events serve as touchstones. These events become both symbols and a shorthand; a single word or phrase that encapsulates a community's anger. For my parents' generation, it was partition; for mine, it was Babri Masjid, the demolition of a mosque in 1992 by a large group of Hindu fundamentalists. For today's thirty-somethings, the event was Godhra, where 59 Hindus aboard a [...]
Microfinance
Microfinance has become a big deal for India's poorest Shoba Narayan (Writer) Aug 7, 2010 For all the controversy surrounding SKS Microfinance's initial public offering (IPO) last week, its shares were fully subscribed. SKS is India's largest and arguably most successful micro-lender. It began as a non-profit organisation in 1997, lending as little as US$10 (Dh36.73) to women weavers, cow herders, farmers and electricians before reinventing itself as a profit-making concern in 2005. When the company announced a few months ago that it was looking to raise $350 million from the market, it disconcerted people - and not just those [...]
Cappadoccia
Cappadocia: wonders above and below Shoba Narayan (Writer) May 29, 2010 next previous When my father-in-law turned 70 a few years ago, he had two wishes: to visit Turkey and Angkor Wat. Angkor made sense for this gentle scholar of history and geology. But how to navigate Turkey as a Hindu vegetarian family spanning three generations: the "birthday boy", my mother-in-law in her sari, my husband and I, and our two daughters. I planned the trip with some trepidation, mostly by e-mail, sounding out several Turkish tour companies before settling on Argeus, based in Urgup. We had three requirements: rocks, [...]
Money Buys Happiness
Money makes the world go round and can buy happiness Shoba Narayan (Writer) Aug 28, 2010 Experiences bring more happiness than objects. Last week, I did something I have never done before. I took out my credit card bill and categorised my payments into two columns: experiences and objects. Going to a restaurant was an experience; buying a Zara dress was an object. The reason for this curious exercise was a research paper, recently published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology with a provocative title "If money doesn't make you happy, you probably aren't spending it right". Written by Elizabeth [...]
Quintessentially and its use in India: The National Abu Dhabi
India's super-rich a quintessentially complicated bunch Shoba Narayan Sep 26, 2010 I have a request for Paul Drummond, the boyish co-founder of Quintessentially, the UK-based luxury concierge service: can he get me into elBulli before it closes forever? If he can, here is one Indian who will sign up for his company's services on the spot. Mr Drummond was in India recently to drum up (sorry, couldn't resist) clients for his bespoke concierge and luxury lifestyle group. As a fast-growing economy, India is "a very serious market for us", he said. To that end, Quintessentially has tied up with [...]
Indian Pharma
A dose of Indian state support will keep drug firms healthy Shoba Narayan Oct 3, 2010 Indians are not pill poppers. Or so I thought until a report in the Lancet Infectious Disease Journal linked an antibiotic-resistant "superbug" to India. In a somewhat dubious compliment the new "genetic mechanism" is even named after us: New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 or NDM1. The report, published in August, caused uproar in the Indian and international medical community. The Indian health ministry has appointed a committee that will frame and monitor policy on antibiotic use. Hard as it is to believe, India really [...]
Indian Pharma
A dose of Indian state support will keep drug firms healthy Shoba Narayan Oct 3, 2010 Indians are not pill poppers. Or so I thought until a report in the Lancet Infectious Disease Journal linked an antibiotic-resistant "superbug" to India. In a somewhat dubious compliment the new "genetic mechanism" is even named after us: New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 or NDM1. The report, published in August, caused uproar in the Indian and international medical community. The Indian health ministry has appointed a committee that will frame and monitor policy on antibiotic use. Hard as it is to believe, India really [...]
Oberoi Hotels
White knight to old man's rescue when black-tie party's over Shoba Narayan (Writer) Sep 4, 2010 next previous Hotel insiders in India have been wondering about the fate of the Oberoi hotels group for some time now, given that its octogenarian chairman's succession plan appears to have failed. In a recent press conference in Kolkata, Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi, or Biki Oberoi as he is better known, conceded as much when he indicated that his son and nephew, both joint managing directors of the company, would not work together after him. "So what happens to the Oberoi hotels after the [...]
Indian Exuberance is misplaced
Indian exuberance is misplaced Shoba Narayan Oct 10, 2010 The odious comparison comes up all the time, especially during the recent run up to the Commonwealth Games. Every time a walkway collapsed or an official complained about filthy toilets, India collectively sighed and mutely acknowledged the elephant in the room: the Beijing Olympics. Across the globe, in Indian blogs and usenet mailing lists, Indians engaged in a collective, heartfelt and oft-repeated comparison between the two most populous nations on earth. As I prepare to spend 10 days in China, I wonder if the Chinese indulge in as much soul-searching [...]
Indian Exuberance is misplaced
Indian exuberance is misplaced Shoba Narayan Oct 10, 2010 The odious comparison comes up all the time, especially during the recent run up to the Commonwealth Games. Every time a walkway collapsed or an official complained about filthy toilets, India collectively sighed and mutely acknowledged the elephant in the room: the Beijing Olympics. Across the globe, in Indian blogs and usenet mailing lists, Indians engaged in a collective, heartfelt and oft-repeated comparison between the two most populous nations on earth. As I prepare to spend 10 days in China, I wonder if the Chinese indulge in as much soul-searching [...]