Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
About Rajat Parr/Sommelier India
The unbridled pleasure of orange wine If you ask wine writers or sommeliers to pick a wine that goes well with Indian food, you get a few-- somewhat trite, tried and, one must add, tired-- answers. “Pick a beer,” is what many will say. The logic is that spicy Indian food will overpower delicate wines. Most sommeliers will choose white wines over red. If they choose red, it would be medium-bodied slightly spicy wines over others. Ask wine directors at fancy Indian restaurants in Europe and the UK and their responses will have a thread but also reflect their personal [...]
Emojis/Hindustan Times
This was a fun piece to write. Inspired by a man I know who uses emojis in a cute, funny way. The one covering the face with the hand for instance. There are all these facial exercises going around. Maybe we just imitate emojis? Or better yet, meet in person and actually emote.
Jonathan Franzen interview
In which I interview Jonathan Franzen about his birding journey. Click here to listen to the interview for the Bird Podcast Read more about his birding adventures by listening to it on anywhere podcasts are-- Stitcher, Google or Apple podcasts.
Moral policing/Hindustan Times.
At the end of the day, it is a bad-news story, but like much in this contradictory country of ours, it is also a good-news story. The only way that this particular moral policing story is different from the countless others that are sprouting up all over India is that it is a social media phenomenon
Indian fermented pickles
How many times have you shelled out Rs. 300 for a bottle of kombucha and wondered why there was no Indian equivalent? Where were all the gut-friendly, probiotic fermented drinks (and foods) in Indian cuisine? Of course, there are. As with anything in India, every state has its own variations. In this piece, I write about Rajasthani Kanji and Karnataka's Karindi.
Foreign languages/Harvard’s Nieman Storyboard
Do you think in English or your native tongue? I wrote this complex essay about mother tongues, foreign languages, and how they influenced-- and continue to influence-- my writing. Also whether you can use them to improve yours. For this, I listened to stories and poetry in my mother tongue, Tamil. I also listened to Pablo Neruda in Spanish and Russian poets in Russian. I don't understand these languages but they helped my writing. Read the post to know how :)
Raj Parr profile/Mint Lounge
Some time ago, I drove three hours from San Francisco down the coast of California to a picturesque town of Cambria-- to meet iconic winemaker, Raj Parr. As you will read my profile of him here, Raj Parr can identify wine varietal, vintage and producer by simply smelling the wine. Which to me is the thrill of tasting wine. The nose is an under-used organ and wine-tasters have figured out how to make it work for them. Read about how Raj Parr does it.
Dance Conference- Maya Rao
When the multi-talented Madhu Natraj asked if I would chair a dance conference in her mother's name, I was honored and touched. I am a failed bharatanatyam dancer. But I love dance and the world of dance. So I happily accepted. For the last several weeks, we have been planning. And here it is-- happening on Saturday, September 18th from 10 to 3 at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC). You have to register for the event to be there in person at the BIC. Details in the post and on the BIC website.
Personal essay/Harvard’s Nieman Storyboard
Harvard University's Nieman Foundation has a wonderful website called Nieman Storyboard, which is a terrific resource for anyone who wants to learn how to write. I wrote an essay about using a global event as a hook for hanging a personal essay or memoir.
The Bengalurean snack that nobody has heard of
About the wonders of the Kodubale and the Maddur Vada There are some snacks that have a pan regional jurisdiction, while there are those that are authentically linked to one particular state. Mention chivda and quite a few North Indians from different states will perk up. Mention chakli and the same will happen to South Indians. But if I say “Kodubale, anyone?” all I get is a “Huh?” or a “Kodu-what?” Which is a shame because this snack, much like Congress peanuts, or avarekalu mixture is beloved in Bangalore and all over Karnataka. Kodu refers to an elongated shape. [...]