Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
Food and Faith book review in the Deccan Herald
Thank you Rashmi Vasudeva for this generous review. Clear here for Food and Faith Review in Deccan Herald
Khabar Magazine review of Food & Faith
View here online and below Khabar magazine food and faith book review
Street Art in Malleshwaram, Bangalore
Bangalore Talkies: Conservancies changed face of Malleshwaram It is art that has drawn me to Malleshwaram several times during Covid. Walking through streets where the artists have painted an ode to their neighbourhood is nothing less than a joyous and healing experience by Shoba Narayan Art holds a dubious place in many circles. There are those who say self-righteously, “I just don’t understand this modern art.” There are economists and investors who put a price tag on this deep human instinct to paint and express -- just visit the Bhimbetka caves in Madhya Pradesh to see early rock art. [...]
Food & Faith: Shoba Narayan Walks Us Through the Spiritual Food of India
Conversation in Soft Power Magazine In her book Food & Faith: A pilgrim's journey through India Shoba Narayan combines her two loves cuisine and spirituality. A journalistic offering, she shares her experiences with sacred food in shrines across India _ Puri’s bhog, Amritsar’s langar, Palani’s panchamirtham, Mathura’s pedas, Ambalapuzha’s paal-payasam, Kashi’s sweets, Jaipur’s rabdi, Ajmer’s kesaria bhat, Madurai’s dosai, Jewish halva in Mumbai, and communal feasts in Udupi, Goa and the Kumbh Mela. Shoba views cuisine as a vehicle for storytelling. She has been interested in it for the last 25 years as a food writer and began work [...]
Bangalore Talkies: Of hostage negotiators in city markets
Bangalore Talkies: Of hostage negotiators in city markets Shoba Narayan on taking a crash course in bargaining from Lily Aunty and crashing, but not quite burning, at the actual task Hostage negotiators would have a hard time in Bangalore, because folks here upend the whole logic of negotiation with their bargaining. In any negotiation, goes the business saying, you have to create a win-win situation for everyone. That is anathema to the folks on Avenue Road in Bangalore, whose idea of bargaining is more like a sumo wrestler bringing his opponent to heel. [...]
What makes Bangalore special?
Amongst those who live in-- and love their cities-- and the two don’t necessarily go together-- there is often a somewhat trite parlour-game that is played, often after copious amounts of alcohol. The game relates to identity, of a city, of a person. It often begins with the question: are you a true Bangalorean? If the participants can manage to keep away the needless competition that often springs up (my city is better than yours), the game is actually a good one for it requires you to figure out the essence of your city and yourself. Who is a [...]
Blooming tabebuias and drooping jacarandas
Bangalore Talkies: Blooming tabebuias and drooping jacarandas Shoba Narayan on the lesser-known side of Bengaluru—a city of nature lovers, tree huggers and flower peckers (the bird, not the human) Have you seen ‘Wild Karnataka’, the film? It just won the national award, even though as one naturalist, rather snarkily, said, “It should have been called Wild Kabini—not Karnataka.” That’s the thing you see. Not many people know this but Bengaluru is a city of nature lovers, tree huggers and flower peckers (the bird, not the human). They hike to Rangaswamy Betta, Savandurga, Nandi [...]
Bangalore Talkies: Moonwalking at night on city streets
Bangalore Talkies: Moonwalking at night on city streets Bengaluru’s streets are like moon craters. Why bother with Mars rovers, Shoba Narayan contends, when you can barely walk on Magadi road? If you are asthmatic, don’t come to Bangalore. If you have dust allergies, this ain’t the place for you. If you have balance issues, be especially careful as you pick your way through the mounds and valleys that have now become common here. Bangalore’s streets are like moon craters. Why bother with Mars rovers, I say, when you can barely walk on Magadi [...]
The trouble with wineglasses
The trouble with wineglasses View it in Sommelier India magazine here. Take any wine group and the talk eventually turns to stemware. Recently, in Bangalore, there was a flurry of discussion, and much hand-wringing, about how to preserve and use wine glasses. People complained with “crying face” emojis about how household help was breaking their precious wine glasses. They recalled heart-stopping moments in parties when errant, and drunk guests tipped over a favourite Schott Zwiesel glass. So what’s your trick, dear reader? How do you enjoy wine without breaking the bank, or for that matter, your wine glasses? Well, [...]
Wine in an age of Covid
The joke about the lockdown was, of course, how all our wine supplies depleted rapidly. Here in Bangalore, in between zoom calls, oenophiles shared photos and compared tasting notes about varietals from the new and old world wines of course, but also new regions like Israel and Slovenia. We have all been drinking very well...at home. I opened a 1997 Latour last week in honour of a friend who we hadn’t seen in a while. The other wines that I have enjoyed were a 2012 ‘Artemis’ Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon which was beautifully balanced with scents of fennel, berries, [...]