Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
Weaving a revolution
I did something recently that gave me more satisfaction than a vacation. At the Sampoorn Handicrafts fair held at Chitrakala Parishad in Bangalore—similar to Dilli Haat and Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda festival—I spotted a beautiful khadi salwar kameez swaying in the wind. It was off-white, simple and beautifully cut. I had to have it. Unfortunately, they didn’t have it in my size. “All these are cut to Italian sizes, madam," said the volunteer manning the stall. “Why don’t you go next door and buy the fabric?" This was how I discovered Malkha cotton, which brands itself as the “freedom fabric". At [...]
What to do if your apartment is taken over by bees
The solution is surprisingly simple: leave them alone 5 min read. Every year, my apartment building in Central Bangalore gets taken over by rock bees in the summer. They come when the weather gets hot and leave when there are signs of cold. During the early years when we had this "bee infestation" we all got really scared and looked at options. The below is a piece I wrote for my column for Mint Lounge years ago-- in 2010 that is. The "problem" still persists in that the bees visit us each year and then leave. A battle against [...]
Look at art intently, and with patience
Profile of Professory B.N. Goswamy 5 min read . Prof. Brijendra Nath Goswamy is in Bangalore to deliver Tasveer Foundation’s inaugural lecture. I have been allowed to take him out for an hour. Where does one take a man who is arguably India’s foremost art historian? I consider a ride in our new Metro to Angadi Silks or Vimor to buy a sari for his wife. This is a man, after all, who invited three of the country’s top dancers—Bharatanatyam’s Malavika Sarukkai, Odissi’s Madhavi Mudgal, and Kathak’s Aditi Mangaldas—to perform at his wife’s 65th birthday. They agreed. I want a similar [...]
About tennis and Bjorn Borg
What makes a professional scorecard? 5 min read A professional scorecard can mean different things and often, different timelines. A fund manager is measured every day, in fractions—the number of basis points his fund is up or down when the market closes. For the CEO, it is in quarterly earnings reports and annual revenues. For the politician, timelines are even longer—the stealth reforms that Manmohan Singh made when he was finance minister, along with the nuclear deal he orchestrated, might well be his most lasting legacies. For the scientist or inventor, timelines don’t matter. They can work for years to [...]
Mathematics– beautiful?
About Sujatha Ramadorai and the delights of pure math 4 min read . I have become obsessed with mathematicians. I see them as rare creatures—all the more inspiring because they toil in a field that is completely above my comprehension. Actually, ‘toil’ is the wrong word. As J.H. Poincare of the famous Poincare’s conjecture said, “The mathematician does not study pure mathematics because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it and he delights in it because it is beautiful." Consider Ramdorai Sujatha. Winner of the 2006 Ramanujan Prize given to young mathematicians in developing countries, Sujatha, 44, [...]
Do spouses compete or coexist?
Mr vs Mrs, or how to compete and co-exist 4 min read . Hillary Clinton was in town and brought to the fore a question that I have oft pondered: Do women compete with their husbands? The short answer is either “yes", or “depends on what you mean by compete", depending on who you are or who your spouse is. It also has to do with life-stage. Clinton certainly competed with her husband when he was in power. He, on the other hand, withdrew when she came to prominence. He’s had his turn and now, it is hers. Both are older. [...]
The sari worth all your lust
About the Kodali Karuppur Saree 5 min read . The first time I saw a Kodali Karuppur sari was on Geetha Rao, a textile expert. I met Geetha at the Bangalore Black Tie, where a group of foodies pay to have a structured tasting with paired wines at some of the city’s best restaurants. Geetha’s husband, S.L. Rao, is a renowned economist, but I usually gravitate towards her, mostly because of her lovely saris. There are women like this everywhere in India. You see them at weddings and events, looking [...]
Are Robert Parker’s 100-point wines worth it? for Mint Lounge
An amateur tasting notes from a 100-Point dinner in Bengaluru, which featured wines that were awarded 100 points by Robert M. Parker Jr, arguably the most influential—and reviled—wine critic of our time. 16 people around a table at the Shangri-La-- to sample some exquisite wines: a 2010 M. Chapoutier Ermitage de l’Oree Blanc; a Chateau Larcis Ducasse, Saint-Émilion 2005; Sine Qua Non ‘Shakti’ Grenache 2014; Clarendon Hills Astralis Shiraz, McLaren Vale 2010; Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port 1992
Profile of Puneet Chhatwal: CEO of The Taj hotels
The new Taj CEO's first media interview -- with me. Can a hotel brand be both iconic and hugely profitable, I ask Puneet Chhatwal. “Why not?” he asks back. “We are already iconic. Now we just need to be profitable.” The 54-year-old took charge as the CEO and managing director of Indian Hotels Co. Ltd (IHCL), which runs the Taj chain of hotels, in November and is charting the next phase of growth for one of India’s oldest hospitality brands.
My father’s take on wine and the poetry of Omar Khayyam
A wine nerd weaves the realms of high poetry, family banter, and memorable evenings spent in the company of a fine grape. A glass of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou. I recite this verse to my father. We are sitting together drinking, as it happens, a glass of chilled white wine. My dad is 87 and the only things that interest him these days are words and poetry. He quotes entire verses from memory and can connect words to legend and history effortlessly.