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

Can planting a tree save your marriage?

Shoba Narayan2020-06-07T14:04:50+05:30July 8th, 2018|

Yes, that might actually work in a world where phubbing has becoming a relationship killerUsing a cellphone in bed is a common point of discord among couples

Are you a texter or a talker?

Shoba Narayan2020-06-13T19:16:37+05:30June 24th, 2018|

Generation Older wants its information now. Gen Y merely wants messages it can ignore

Are Robert Parker’s 100-point wines worth it? for Mint Lounge

Shoba Narayan2020-06-22T20:05:23+05:30June 23rd, 2018|

An amateur tasting notes from a 100-Point dinner in Bengaluru, which featured wines that were awarded 100 points by Robert M. Parker Jr, arguably the most influential—and reviled—wine critic of our time. 16 people around a table at the Shangri-La-- to sample some exquisite wines: a 2010 M. Chapoutier Ermitage de l’Oree Blanc; a Chateau Larcis Ducasse, Saint-Émilion 2005; Sine Qua Non ‘Shakti’ Grenache 2014; Clarendon Hills Astralis Shiraz, McLaren Vale 2010; Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port 1992

Flaneur in the City in The Hindu

Shoba Narayan2024-04-08T18:40:40+05:30June 14th, 2018|

My favourite places in my hometown, Bangalore, India

Realities of virtual thefts: when your identity gets stolen

Shoba Narayan2020-06-17T11:49:40+05:30June 11th, 2018|

We inhabit cyber space with ever-changing norms and rules. How do we keep up?

Saathee Magazine reviews Milk Lady

Shoba Narayan2020-06-16T15:40:23+05:30June 5th, 2018|

The book is a travelogue through a world so common in India, yet its struggles and ethos unknown to most. She writes with the keen reporting of a journalist combining fluid prose and storytelling, stitched with first-hand research.

The New York Times Book Review!!

Shoba Narayan2020-06-16T15:40:25+05:30June 1st, 2018|

The New York Times reviews The Milk Lady of Bangalore.

Profile of Puneet Chhatwal: CEO of The Taj hotels

Shoba Narayan2020-06-17T13:17:11+05:30May 29th, 2018|

The new Taj CEO's first media interview -- with me. Can a hotel brand be both iconic and hugely profitable, I ask Puneet Chhatwal. “Why not?” he asks back. “We are already iconic. Now we just need to be profitable.” The 54-year-old took charge as the CEO and managing director of Indian Hotels Co. Ltd (IHCL), which runs the Taj chain of hotels, in November and is charting the next phase of growth for one of India’s oldest hospitality brands.