Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
Washington Post review.
"Monsoon Diary" is the first book she has written, but doubtless not the last. It is notable, by the way, not just for its own quite irresistible charm but also as the perfect companion piece to Mira Nair's exquisite movie "Monsoon Wedding."
New Yorker Book Currents section review of Monsoon Diary
In South India, as Shoba Narayan relates in her memoir Monsoon Diary (Villard), food is enriched by ritual importance, from the choru-unnal (the first meal of an infant) to the elaborate feast that commemorates a marriage. When she left Madras to attend school in the United States, Narayan craved bowls of yogurt and rice to ease her homesickness: “While the foreign flavors teased my palate, I needed Indian food to ground me.”
Book Stuff
Articles about Shoba Shoba beats Jhumpa in Writing Sweepstakes Shoba beats Jhumpa in Writing Sweepstakes by Aseem Chhabra When the editors of Gourmet assigned journalist Shoba Narayan to write a piece for the magazine's January 2000 issue, they virtually gave her a carte blanche. The editors had seen some of Narayan's writing and had liked her personal style. Of course, she was told to weave in descriptions of Indian food, cooking and kitchens in the article. "I find that I write best when I am given that kind of a broad mandate to write whatever I want," Narayan, 34, says [...]
Book stuff
Books General - Monsoon Diary Apart from the rest of her literary works Shoba has also been involved in writing books. Shoba's first book, "Monsoon Diary: A Memoir with Recipes" was published in April 2003 by Random House. Monsoon Diary has received praise and acclaim from many who have read it. Praise for Monsoon Diary... "An entirely enchanting look at growing up in South India, in an exotic world populated by the iron man, the flower woman, maamis, and the colorful and opinionated members of an extended Hindu family. Food and recipes are a powerful element in Shoba's story--tokens of [...]
Financial Times: New Zealand
Culinary cornucopia in Christchurch and beyond.
Financial Times: Manila
Finding beauty and spas in Manila.
Financial Times: Asian Fusion
Articles > Newspapers > Financial Times > Asian Fusion Asian Fusion - By Shoba Narayan (This article originally appeared in January 2003) Asian fusion in all but name Shoba Narayan finds a Singapore four that can blend with the best FT.com site; Jan 23, 2004 Asian Fusion has become a bad word in Singapore's culinary lexicon, a somewhat strange occurrence given that this island-state is home to three of Asia's great cuisines - Indian, Chinese and Malay. Fusion comes naturally to Singaporeans. Where else can you find the humble English toast slathered with fillings ranging from eggs to coconut [...]
WSJ: New Zealand’s film industry
New Zealand’s film industry - By Shoba Narayan Queenstown, New Zealand -- EVER SINCE DIRECTOR Peter Jackson put his native New Zealand on the map by setting The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy there, the country has been actively marketing itself as a movie backdrop, and global filmmakers have come rushing in. The common wisdom is that "The world in one country" -- with its tropical rainforests and snow-capped mountains all within a few hours of each other -- has lured overseas producers with its natural charms. But New Zealand's appeal to filmmakers may have more to do with its [...]
WSJ: The Singaporean Paradox
Articles > Newspapers > Asian Wall Street Journal > The Singaporean Paradox The Singaporean Paradox - By Shoba Narayan WHEN LEE HSIEN LOONG took office as the third Prime Minister of Singapore last year, one of the first things he did was to announce a fresh and bold approach that would encourage Singaporeans to be less conventional. This would not seem radical but for the fact that since independence, Singaporeans have been trained to be dependent on their government. This presents Singapore's leader with a challenge: To what degree can creativity and efficiency coexist? Singaporeans are told to obey rules, [...]
WSJ: Spas vs. Tradition
Spas versus tradition - By Shoba Narayan Walk into any spa from Bali to Boca Raton, Florida, and the menu is likely to include Chinese reflexology, Tahitian fruit wraps and Thai massages. Such treatments are so commonplace these days that it’s easy to forget that just a few years ago, hardly anyone outside of their native countries had any clue as to what they where. Now, once obscure practices have the spa industry to thank for removing them from the “endangered traditions” list. Ayurveda, virtually unknown outside of India a decade ago, has become the pride of trendy spas [...]