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

Dance Conference- Maya Rao

Shoba Narayan2023-11-23T13:24:31+05:30September 15th, 2021|

When the multi-talented Madhu Natraj asked if I would chair a dance conference in her mother's name, I was honored and touched. I am a failed bharatanatyam dancer. But I love dance and the world of dance. So I happily accepted. For the last several weeks, we have been planning. And here it is-- happening on Saturday, September 18th from 10 to 3 at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC). You have to register for the event to be there in person at the BIC. Details in the post and on the BIC website.

Personal essay/Harvard’s Nieman Storyboard

Shoba Narayan2021-11-10T12:45:00+05:30September 9th, 2021|

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

Shoba Narayan2021-09-04T01:47:54+05:30September 4th, 2021|

About the wonders of the Kodubale and the Maddur Vada There are some snacks that have a pan regional jurisdiction, while there are those [...]

Shoba Narayan2021-08-21T09:01:17+05:30August 21st, 2021|

Speaking to my alma mater, Women's Christian College, what a treat!

Bangalore Talkies: Uniquely Bangalore: the nipattu

Shoba Narayan2022-02-07T21:42:31+05:30August 19th, 2021|

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 [...]

Let’s talk about South Asian mental health

Shoba Narayan2024-02-01T08:43:53+05:30August 8th, 2021|

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.