Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
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. [...]
Bangalore Talkies: Uniquely Bangalore: the nipattu
About the much-loved crunchy snack that Bangaloreans reach for When the monsoon makes its appearance in Bangalore, as it has done now, the oil starts sizzling. South Indian kitchens keep their tryst with their gastronomic destiny, not wholly or in full measure (given the number of people who are on intermittent fasting diets these days) but very substantially. When it rains, South Indian kitchens start taking out their deep-frying kadhais. This moment comes, not rarely because every South Indian Mami (Aunty) worth her salt will deep-fry papad or ‘happala’ pretty much everyday. It is a neat trick, performed in most [...]
Let’s talk about South Asian mental health
Just because mental health issues are not visible doesn’t mean they don’t exert a pull on your psyche. For a culture that is supposedly warm and family-oriented, many families here in India are adept at dismissing individual feelings and emotions, all in the name of being practical and rational.
Food as a gateway to heaven
interview Shoba Narayan’s new book shows food as the gateway to heaven By Dipti D August 6, 2021 ‘Food and Faith, a pilgrim’s journey through India,’ as its author Shoba Narayan says, is “largely about Hinduism written by a (skeptical) Hindu who seeks to answer larger questions about faith”. And she finds food to be the least contentious medium to discuss the role of religion in one’s life today. Being an atheist as a teenager and agnostic as a young adult, Shoba says she turned to religion late in life. [...]
Bangalore Talkies: What does Karnataka’s new CM like to dine on?
BENGALURU NEWS Bangalore Talkies: What does Karnataka’s new CM like to dine on? By Shoba Narayan PUBLISHED ON JUL 30, 2021 04:05 PM IST Through a variety of channels, the answer was the same. He likes Uttara Karnataka’s banana leaf lunches. The ingredients are well-known: jolada-rotti (jowar rotis), badanekayi palya (brinjal sabzi), kadalekai chutney (groundnut chutney) and curd What does Karnataka’s new Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai like to dine on, I asked my journalist friends in Bangalore. Through a variety of channels, the answer was the same. He likes Uttara Karnataka’s banana leaf lunches. The ingredients are well known: jolada-rotti [...]
A question of faith: book review
So lovely to get this email and this review. Dear Ms Narayan, I trust you are well. I wanted to write to you and tell you how much I loved your book - Food and Faith. It really spoke to me - I felt so at home and seen when reading it. It also helped me to think about where and who I am, and to understand more about Hinduism, vast faith that it is. I was inspired to write something for my blog, drawing on your book. I blog about about food and religion, having grown up as a [...]
Interview in Expert Hour podcast about Food & Faith
Where I am interviewed about things of beauty, food, and faith-- by an art gallery steeped in all of these things. Expert Hour with Shoba Narayan JULY 20, 2021 Download LISTEN ON Apple PodcastsSpotifyOvercastAmazon MusicPodcast AddictCastro+ SHARE EPISODE Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn SHOW NOTES She’s dabbled in it all - art, food, wine, fashion, travel, culture, spirituality and writing. Shoba Narayan wears many hats, but what she’s known for most are her eclectic written works - more specifically non-fiction memoirs. Her varied experiences reflect brilliantly in the words she pens, her thoughts are deep, yet easy to [...]
Bird Podcast: new episode: about Caracaras
A most remarkable creature: the hidden life and epic journey of the world's smartest birds of prey: the Caracaras. Listen to Bird Podcast's latest episode here