Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
The Noble Useful Art of Telling White Lies
The human urge to cheat and lie goes against the desire to feel good when you look in the mirror. Yet, humans lie and cheat.
Global Village for The National
My life: the global village Shoba Narayan Oct 12, 2011 Ten years ago, I sat at the window of my Manhattan high-rise, watching a plane fly overhead and wishing I were on it. It was a cold day in November and I held my newborn second daughter in my arms. For most of my life, I had been on the immigrant treadmill - coming to America as a student, and then staying on for over a decade - getting married, getting a job, securing a green card, having babies, and finally becoming a naturalised US citizen in the year [...]
Kolkata Durga Puja for Mint Lounge
This piece came out in Mint Lounge this week. When Kolkata Turns into a Temporary Museum The Good Life | Shoba Narayan It is 1am, but the Shiv Mandir para(neighbourhood) in Kolkata is hopping. Shorts-clad young men named Deb and Dickie are working alongside about 20 artisans who are erecting what seems to be a gigantic bamboo stage set, but is in fact a homage to Ma Durga. Tall tribal musicians made of bamboo are hoisted upright as five men anchor them to the ground. About eight bamboo musicians stand at the entrance to the pandal, serenading a multi-hued peacock made by [...]
Art collector Anupam Poddar profile for The National Abu Dhabi
This is a profile of Indian art collector, Anupam Poddar, who has one of the best collections of Indian Contemporary Art. As the piece suggests, it could well become an Asian art collection in the near future. Here is the URL of the profile in The National Here is the PDF upload.Poddar Page 1Poddar Page 2 Here is the URL of a column I wrote for Mint
Song List
I visit Music India online a lot. It is a great site and allows you to filter music according to likes. Here's what's on my current playlist. Character Dheela: Has a nice mixture of rap and melody. Like the lead instrument-- trumpet? Munni Badnaam: Love the female singer's voice. Has "gaathram" or sultry imperfect depth Nee Korinaal (Tamil song): Nice melody and nice sound effects. Sri Suktam: I love Sanskrit chanting but only of a particular kind. I am in love with this man's voice and am trying to find out who he is. He chants the Sri Suktam so [...]
Religion for The National
This piece came out in the My Life column I write for M magazine. My Life: Shoba Narayan Shoba Narayan Sep 14, 2011 Can you value your traditions without being overtly religious? It is a dilemma many of my 30- and 40-something friends face. We have grown up in fairly religious households. We are immigrants who have lived in many countries. This is the problem. As you get older and live in different cultures, other traditions start resonating with you. My friend Ayesha grew up Muslim in Pakistan, but as a mother living in New York with a Jewish [...]
Survival of the Tastiest for Mint Lounge
Headline writing is a fascinating exercise. When I write a column, I try to come up with headlines. Mint's team always do better (naturally). What is the skill that one needs to be a good headline writer, I wonder. I mean, you have to take the essence of an article and combine it to make a catch few words. And you'd think that since I am the writer of the piece, I'd be good at making up a headline, right? Wrong. So I'll keep trying and the day I come up with a better headline that Mint's for my pieces, [...]
Women on top: for The National Abu Dhabi
A woman's touch is exactly what is needed in today's politics Shoba Narayan Sep 6, 2011 As Moza Al Otaiba begins her Federal National Council campaign, one of many women moving into the UAE's public sphere, I have some good news for her. Recent research suggests that putting women on a team, committee or council improves its overall performance. In other words, it is not enough to get a group of smart people together to solve problems. In politics or in the workplace, enthusiasm, motivation and cohesion leave something lacking - that crucial woman's influence. A recent study by US [...]
Nagging is Easier
Subtle persuasion? Sometimes nagging is just easier Shoba Narayan Aug 25, 2011 I am studying Russian-style arm-twisting with a group of Bangaloreans who want to clean up this city. How to get people to stop dumping their rubbish on the road? How to get more people to recycle? Arm-twisting or persuasion is an art, but now - thanks to numerous studies - also a science. You can get people to do what you wish simply by modifying your message. One woman became the best-selling salesperson on a television channel by modifying her last line from, "Please call. Our operators are waiting to speak to you", to "If you [...]
A harbinger of hope for Kolkata’s poor
This ran during the Ramzan-Eid season in The National, Abu Dhabi