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

Paris and Luxury

Shoba Narayan2020-07-10T20:59:32+05:30November 27th, 2015|

Should brands take a stand is the question I try to analyze in this piece. Normally, no. But now? Thanks to Elisabeth Cadoche-Guez for setting [...]

Poetry Feedback

Shoba Narayan2015-11-17T08:15:53+05:30November 17th, 2015|

Funny how poetry evinces so much passion. Did not realize. Hi Shoba, As a poetry junkie, loved your last column. Would love to meet your [...]

Poetry…India…Verse… Performance Poetry Festival. How to appreciate poetry?

Shoba Narayan2015-11-12T17:26:07+05:30November 12th, 2015|

The mysterious ways of poetic inspiration Why do we like poetry? And how do they get into our lives? Shoba Narayan T.S. Eliot. Photo: John [...]

How to talk to elders: game their wisdom and learn from it

Shoba Narayan2020-06-17T14:08:16+05:30October 30th, 2015|

What is your strategy when you meet elders; those uncles you encounter at weddings? You sit with them, chat desultorily about their prostate, how hot Mumbai has become, and maybe reminisce about the ancestral home or village. The conversation ends abruptly after 5 minutes; and then both parties, with relief, turn to their devices.

Krishna, Rabdi and ladoos in Jaipur: Sacred Food: Mint on Sunday

Shoba Narayan2024-04-08T18:42:23+05:30October 25th, 2015|

Jaipur is a magical city. The colors, the food, the peacock calls.... latest installment of my food series here in Mint on Sunday Don't miss [...]

Thank you Domain-B

Shoba Narayan2015-10-18T17:38:46+05:30October 18th, 2015|

For the plug here

The outrage over Manchurian ‘idli’: for Mint Lounge

Shoba Narayan2020-06-22T18:21:08+05:30October 18th, 2015|

The outrage over Manchurian ‘idli’ There are a hundred wonderful variations of this ancient, flawless dish. Why spoil it? It was on board a [...]

How to give (or how to clear out your closet)

Shoba Narayan2020-06-17T15:01:57+05:30October 3rd, 2015|

This then is the long view of life. I view interactions as transactions. My parents view interactions as relationships. Post office personnel get invited home for festivals; and the man at the transport office gets new nightwear because he complained that his joints were aching in Bengaluru’s cold weather. As for me, I have a lot of spare room in my storage closet these days.