Home - Shoba Narayan

Aramness Gir: for Destinasian

Featured, Travel

For Indians, the jungle is the original storybook where our epics unfolded: a space both sacred and transformative. But Gir is the only place where you can see the Asiatic Lion.

Soneva Maldives: for Mint Lounge

Featured, Luxury, Travel

Just outside my cottage at the Soneva Fushi resort was a coral reef. Several times a day, I walked out into the sea and start swimming with my flippers.

Birding in Costa Rica: for Condenast Traveler US

Featured, Travel

We were in Monteverde, the second leg of my family's eight-day-trip through Costa Rica. Our itinerary was tight. We would fly into San José, the capital, rent a car, and drive the La Fortuna region where the dormant Arenal volcano loomed over the landscape like a benevolent pyramid. From there it would be onward to Monteverde,...

Luxury Bhutan: for The National, Abu Dhabi

Featured, The National, Travel

I am crawling on all fours on a bund between the emerald paddy fields in Punakha Valley, Bhutan. Ahead is the fabled Mo Chu river. All around, perched on hillsides are Buddhist nunneries and monasteries, their prayer flags bringing to mind a Matisse print. This is Bhutan: carbon-negative, Buddhist and a pioneer in sustainable tourism....

The welcome "lemon" at the Park Hyatt hotel, Sydney

Australian Restaurants: for Khaleej Times Dubai

Featured, Food, Travel

Some time ago, I took a trip to New South Wales, Australia. Here are six Sydney restaurants that I tried and loved.

The Dalai Lama: for HT Brunch

Featured, Profiles, Spirituality

Where I sit with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for an hour and ask him about life, love, meditation, wisdom and ageing. His Holiness is a person like no other in today’s world. Statesman, Nobel Laureate, spiritual leader of the Tibetans who view him as God, or at least the manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the...

Jasmine Perfume: for Travel & Leisure US

Featured, Travel

Can India be the source of the best jasmine extract in the world?

Travel Stories

Latest Articles

How do you know what you don’t know?

Shoba Narayan2022-11-14T09:59:39+05:30November 14th, 2022|

How do you find things you aren’t searching for? This isn’t a trick question. It is about structure, serendipity and spontaneity.

Fine Dining Lovers magazine: Mangoes

Shoba Narayan2024-02-01T08:43:25+05:30November 9th, 2022|

In India, mangoes are eaten, raw, cooked, ripe, pulped and slurped. Today, chefs all over the world do the same, using the acidity of raw mango or the sweetness of ripe mango to balance unique and unusual flavors.

Bangalore’s secret neighbourhoods: V.V. Puram

Shoba Narayan2022-10-26T22:33:04+05:30October 26th, 2022|

I am in Thindi Bheedhi (literally tiffin street), V.V. Puram’s “khao galli,” which is to Bangalore what Chandni Chowk’s food streets are to Delhi. I am here because I am suffering from Post-Diwali food-withdrawal symptoms.

How do you make friends in a new city?

Shoba Narayan2022-10-13T10:05:48+05:30October 13th, 2022|

Say you move to a new city. You need friends. They won't materialize. They have to be created, connected with and nurtured. How to do this?

Textile treasures of Bangalore

Shoba Narayan2022-10-13T10:08:37+05:30September 29th, 2022|

I stand between Chennai and Bengaluru with respect to my allegiances. Which city is better for textiles? Chennai, in my view. How to change this? One way would be for many of Bangalore's saree lovers to join institutions like the Crafts Council of Karnataka.