Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
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 [...]
Music– classical and film.
I am very excited about this program. My friend, Chitra and I are doing this together. I met Chitra because of my columns in Mint. She was a reader who became a friend. She is an amazing singer. So we came up with this idea and pitched it to Bangalore International Center. They accepted it; and here we are, at home, rehearsing. Chitra lived in California for many years before returning to India. She is a lovely person. We are having a great time rehearsing this. Please come if you are in Bangalore on March 14th. It will be well [...]
The Indian mind and the lunar calendar: for Mint Lounge
Calendars (Chinese, Lunar, Gregorian) are fascinating in how they tell time. I am reading about this, and hence wrote this piece. HOME» LEISURE» THE GOOD LIFE The Indian mind and the lunar calendar Familiarizing yourself with the Indian lunar calendar is one of the ways by which one can access India’s heritage and mindset E-mailPrint Shoba Narayan This is the winter season in the Indian calendar. We call it Shishir Ritu (mid-January to mid-March) or leaf-letting season in Tamil. Fat, golden, tired leaves are tumbling from the trees, creating miniature typhoons. Temperatures rise and fall. In Indian towns, people sit [...]
My books on iTunes
I am absolutely thrilled to report that my books are now on the iBookstore and iTunes. They are here And they are gorgeous when viewed through the Apple magic. The Hinduism book is the beginning of a new project. The Cow book looks so much better in the iTunes version. I have slaved over it for days and days. Please consider buying them. Please spread the word if you feel like it. It is about the cost of two lattes (need to come up with better marketing-line. This is lame). It is better than downloading yet another version of Angry [...]
Radio New Zealand
From one end of the world to another. Did my usual interview with the genial Bryan Crump for Radio NZ. Listen to my interviews here.
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In the TOI about the reading. From: elisabeth Subject: Tr : Page 3 Date: February 25, 2014 at 8:21:56 AM GMT+5:30 To: Shoba Narayan <shoba@shobanarayaha ha!! would you like to come to a high tea with me and Magali at the Ritz Carlton on Wed 5 March (11:30 am to 14 pm) ? E. Le Mardi 25 février 2014 3h15, Magali <
Moevenpick
Yesterday, the chef at my reading at Moevenpick Hotel and Spa in Bangalore had done such a nice job with recipes from Monsoon Diary. He had put a contemporary 'five-star' spin on the recipes from the book. My favorite was the poha-stuffed-in-papad and displayed by making holes in what looked like lavash bread. Very creative.
Perfume and communing with god: Mint Lounge
Don't understand Mint's headline for this piece. What does will o wisps mean? Maybe from a poem. But I find this notion of ancient humans communing with the heavens through wisps of smoke very touching. Scents are fascinating. Fragrance, will-o’-the-wisps and prayer How do you scent your home? Do you use oriental lilies and tuberose? The best scents create memories for residents and visitors Mutrah Souq in Muscat, Oman, is not as large as Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, nor is it as visually interesting. Most of the bigger shops that sell frankincense, spices, nuts and attar are run by Indians. At [...]
NGOs help girls in rural India tackle female illiteracy, gender inequality: for The National Abu Dhabi
This was part of a trip with CARE USA where we visited an NGO called Udaan/Join My Village. The tour was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It was an unexpected pleasure to meet my friend, Michael Pelletier, back in India as Deputy US Consul at the reception. Thanks to this trip, I have become interested in girl-child education, community engagement in change, and public health (maternal mortality, infant mortality). The photos are by Josh Estey NGOs help girls in rural India tackle female illiteracy, gender inequality The tour bus pulls into a dusty lane in rural Mewat, [...]
Book Reading
My friend, Meena runs a book club that is affiliated with the Moevenpick Hotel and Spa in Bangalore. Meena invited me to do a book reading at the hotel. Since there is a food element involved, I thought I would do something that I have not done in Bangalore-- talk about and read from my first book, "Monsoon Diary: a memoir with recipes." The hotel's chef is making recipes from the book as well. Since someone asked, there is no fee for this. There will however be beautifully designed hardcover editions of Monsoon Diary for sale at a discounted price [...]