Latest Articles
Destinasian Magazine: Indian craft chocolate
This post is about the flowering of Indian craft chocolate using local ingredients. Really lovely to see an idli-grinder as part of the chocolate making process. The article began after a trip to West Godavari district to see how Manam chocolate works with farmers to harvest and make artisanal chocolate.
WisdomCircle: how much money
When I was at the Columbia Journalism program in 1995, two professors invited a bunch of us students to their apartment for dinner. After a few drinks, one students asked— what’s the number? How much do you need to live like this?
Hindustan Times: Being single in Bangalore
Has lack of qualification ever stopped Indians from volunteering opinions? No, right? I say this as preamble since I, a married woman, am talking about the single life in Bangalore.
Sommelier India: Has beer overtaken wine in India?
Bangalore has about 85 brewpubs. It doesn’t have a single wine bar. Go into The Bier Library on a Friday evening and you’ll have to wait in line for a seat. Why is this so?
Hindustan Times: Science and Song
The sun is sacred to most old cultures and now this central figure has begun his long march north, beginning a period of renewal, rejuvenation and auspiciousness, all symbolised by a new harvest.
Hindustan Times: New Year resolutions
I think a New Year’s resolution is an expression of hope. It is built on the idea that this year, finally, we will tick off all those things that we have been yearning to conquer.
Wisdom Circle: taking stock of 2023
My definition of the good life is typically Indian. It involves a contradiction. To me, the good life is about a life of the senses and a life of the spirit: what we call in Sanskrit as bhoga and yoga. I would argue that each of us has a version of this.
BIC program on Namma Bangalore
An event that happened at the Bangalore International Centre about my book, Namma Bangalore. This event is over but you can see it in the Youtube video in this post.
Hindustan Times: Beyond ayurvedic spas
Ultimately, it comes down to the smell of the towels, I said when a Bengaluru visitor asked why I had not given a spa guide to the city in this column. After all, I had written about everything else. This is odd because you see, I am that cliché. I am a spa junkie.
For SF Gate: temple food
This is my first piece for SF Gate which has some 136 million page views and some 30 million unique visitors each month. It is about the Livermore temple and its food.
Hindustan Times: On ageing
There is no single blueprint for ageing well. There are whacko schemes like tech entrepreneur Brian Johnson touting his “longevity mix” (also called Blueprint) as being second only to mother’s milk.