Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
Tackling Indian maternal deaths by smartphone: for Christian Science Monitor
This appeared in Christian Science Monitor. India's MMR statistics are shameful, something which I didn't know. But there is a nice report called "State of the World's Mothers" that outlines where India stands. The process is complicated because everyone has a view on how to get women into hospitals and take care of themselves. Given the number of interviews I did for this piece and the amount of information that I've collected, I imagine that I will write more on this important subject. Tackling Indian maternal deaths by smartphone India leads the world in annual maternal deaths. Technology firms are [...]
Evolution of Music 3
Western classical music traces its roots to Egyptian and Greek music. The medieval period lasted the longest, from about 500-1400. This was also the time when Indian music was being formalized. The Sangita Ratnakara, a musical text that influenced both Hindustani and Carnatic music, was written by Sarangadeva in the 13th century. The Islamic influence that caused Hindustani music to diverge from Carnatic music was just about to happen.
Forget brain workouts, chant mantras instead. For Quartz
The pleasure of filing one day and having it up the next! You should click on the link below and read it in Quartz. Looks nicer MEMORIES... Forget brain workouts—chanting mantras takes half the time and is more effective Shoba Narayan March 19, 2014 I read some disquieting news recently. Apparently, science isn’t sure that brain workouts work. This bothers me because it means that I will have to delete the 23 brain-improvement apps that I have downloaded on my various i-devices. On my iPhone, I have Lumosity, Fit Brains, N back 2, and Clockwork Brain, among others. I subscribe to newsletters from Sharp Brains, take [...]
About artisanal male perfumers and perfume: for Bloomberg Pursuits
I thought male perfume was a bit of musk, wood, leather, and all those usual suspect-ingredients. Who would have thought about oudh, orange blossom and the like? These new male perfumers are changing the paradigm. I pitched the story to my editor, Ted, based on Byredo. The perfumer is half-Indian which is how I heard about it. I also sniffed the perfume at a shop in Paris. Bloomberg Pursuits gave me the other names. My Parisienne friend, Elisabeth helped me a lot with this piece. Sourcing contacts and the like. Here it is finally. 14P1_Perfume_REVISE1_RFP 2 The magazine is here. [...]
Evolution of music 2
All music originated in the sacred, no matter what religion. Listen to Gregorian or Mozarabic chants with your eyes closed and they will remind you of the feeling you get in the early morning hours at a temple in Haridwar. Listen to Baroque Jewish music from a Portuguese synagogue, available on Youtube, and it will take you back to a church in Goa. Listen to Islamic Anasheeds or Sufi music and you will not just feel the pull of a mosque but also that of a Buddhist monastery.
About Satya Nadella: Suddenly, all Indians seem to know Microsoft’s new CEO
Wrote this right after Nadella became CEO. It was published yesterday Suddenly, all Indians seem to know Microsoft’s new CEO Shoba Narayan March 11, 2014 Updated: March 11, 2014 19:33:00 Now that India-born Satya Nadella is the new CEO of Microsoft, the number of Indians who know him, are related to him, have studied with him in school, college or kindergarten or claim kinship in some loose form has skyrocketed. “He must belong to the Nathella Sampath Chetty jeweller group in Chennai,” said my father, who began his teaching career in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, the state where Nadella is from. [...]
The real reason Wendy Doniger’s book on Hindus was banned in India. For Quartz
My friend, Mitra moved from the WSJ to Quartz, a digital initiative of The Atlantic Monthly. Their daily briefs are followed by the top brass in Twitter, and policy institutes. The production and layout quality is excellent (like Medium). Best of all, from a writer's perspective-- you turn in a piece today, and if it is news-worthy, it is "pubbed" or published tomorrow. They have a nice photo too that accompanies the story. My oped on the banned book. HOLY COW The real reason Wendy Doniger’s book on Hindus was banned in India: It’s not boring enough Shoba Narayan March [...]
Evolution of Music
Chennai, the city I grew up in and still call home is in the throes of a creative ferment, at least with respect to Carnatic music. This has caused some apoplexy and bile among many keen ‘rasikas’ or lovers of music, who live in homes where even the pillars sing, as an ancient Tamil poem said about the author of the Tamil Ramayan, poet Kamban’s home. These are homes in the bylanes of T. Nagar and Mylapore where the home-ground Narasu’s coffee (my father drinks it) is piping hot and frothy.
For The National Abu Dhabi on Japan
I just got slammed for generalizing but here I go again. This was written before the feedback though. As an amateur cultural anthropologist, I find the differences and similarities between cultures fascinating. Japan is one of my favorites.
Thanks but no thanks
Most old cultures: Israelis, Russians, Chinese, and certainly Indians are this way. Don't know enough about Europe's old cultures to check if they are this way too. When I say West, I mean America. Would be interesting to check if a Polish or old German grandmother says thanks-- or not. How did the word 'thank you' evolve? No need to say thank you, we’ll just even things up later Notebook Shoba Narayan My mother dislikes it when I thank her. She is a youthful 76-year-old woman with grey hair and an easy smile. She makes friends easily. She likes to [...]