Israeli wines, gin cocktails, single malt and more
Omicron still rages. But here is a secret. This year, I drank very well. Partly because I was drinking at home, I decided to make a celebration of it. Here are some of the things I enjoyed. A 30-wine tasting at Grover Vineyards, wines from Israel, some unusual gins, and single malts from India.
Episode 30: Birding in Uganda with Judith Mirembe
One of the most satisfying things I do is the Bird Podcast. It releases once a fortnight. This episode is special because it is my first interview with a birder from Africa. The differentiator that we try to maintain is that our podcast has 50% women guests. The other differentiator is that, much like birds, our podcast has no borders. We roam the globe with our guests. We have recently started doing audio and video podcasts so you'll find us on Youtube as well as all podcast platforms.
What do Bangaloreans do for New Years?
Here they come again, the questions: what are you doing for New Year’s? Any plans? Here are some suggestions from interesting Bangaloreans about celebrations. Walks, restaurants, shopping, service, coming home, food, here is a bunch. To celebrate may seem unseemly given the turmoil and crises that many of our family and friends have gone through. But it is also a way to leave behind our guilt and pave the way forward. It is a life-giving affirmation.
Women, work and the pandemic
In the throes of the lockdown, a strange event happened in our privileged apartment community in Bangalore. What was strange was how normal we thought it to be at that time. A young man wrote to the building committee asking if his cook could be allowed inside the building. He was a single working man, he said and needed food. This was discussed. “Tenant in Apartment 845 wants his cook to come-- on alternate days at least-- to cook for him,” was the gist of the discussion on the committee Whatsapp group. What was interesting was that most people in the ten-person committee, including the women, thought this to be a normal request.
Is wealth a good measure of a man? Or Woman?
Every professional I meet at Bengaluru’s great companies, be it Titan, Infosys, Wipro, Biocon or Flipkart, have their “origin tales” of how they struggled and succeeded. Equally, all of us, now lead lives, where we do everything we can so that our kids don’t struggle. This piece is about money and what it means. Many middle-aged Indians who are successful professionals today have our “unreserved compartment” stories. You know what I mean? Or maybe you don’t. It is the moment when you travel by Indian trains. There you are, after an ungainly undignified scramble, sitting on the upper-berth of the unreserved compartment, surrounded by sweaty bodies. In a scene worthy of a Kannada movie, you swear that you will never put yourself through this again.
Women and Power
Privilege is a strange thing. Those who have it take it for granted, don’t even realize its aura because they are surrounded by this. It is only when you are stripped away of your privileges that you feel the pain of those who don’t have it. What about male privilege? Read on.....
Amur Falcons: the largest raptor migration in the world
Bird Podcast, which I anchor, has started doing audio and video. We have a Youtube channel called Bird Podcast. Link in the post. In this episode, I made a film about Amur Falcons. A group of us from Bangalore went to Nagaland in November 2021 to see the largest migration of these small raptors. Renowned filmmaker Sandesh Kadur was part of the group. He quietly nudged me into filming while on location. I used an iPhone and used iMovie for editing. Not happy with the end result but it is a beginning.
Nuance in a polarized world for Nieman Storyboard
As a columnist and a memoir writer, a fundamental question I confront when I begin a piece is this: Do I view and portray this topic as black-and-white, or do I allow for 50 shades of gray? The fact that I need to ask myself this question reflects three things: the polarized times we live in, who I am as a writer, and how journalism uses data to predict audience. Much of today’s journalism draws on data to define the elements of quality that writers have long held sacred. Editors can predict which stories will draw the most “clicks,” the deep scrolls, and the most time on site. Except for a few literary magazines, most mass-market publications now use data to decide the type, tone and length of columns to publish and promote.
Raising middle class kids
In this essay, I address a thorny concept of middle-class values-- what are they and how can you pass them on-- if you can pass them on-- are they useful and do they have an expiry date? Can I pass my middle-class values to my children without them, you know, actually living middle-class lives? Many high-achieving immigrant parents grapple with similar concerns, I learned. We want our children to share our ambition and resourcefulness and frugality, but these traits are often rooted in the defining experience of having been hungry, young, and broke — a way of living our children haven’t known.
Puneeth Rajkumar and the limits of fitness for Hindustan Times
This Deepavali is a quiet and sombre one in Bangalore, not only because of Covid-- it’s long shadow is finally fading-- but because of the sad and untimely death of Kannada superstar, Puneeth Rajkumar at age 46. “Look at these crowds,” said a hardened news reporter, filming the hundreds of thousands of weeping fans who had gathered. “To touch so many lives so deeply is something amazing.” The death of a Bollywood actor does this-- we know. But Puneeth Rajkumar seemed to wear his fame lighter than most. Perhaps it was being born as the son of Rajkumar, a legend and icon in Karnataka. Perhaps it was being the youngest son in a joint family of 30 people. Whatever the reason, the word that most people used to describe the “power star” is “humble.”
What luxury means in 2021
If you ask your mother or grandmother what their idea of luxury is, you will probably get an answer that’s a variation of one of these: “A double ikat Patan patola.” “A diamond addigai (necklace).” “A Kashmiri silk carpet or a shahtoosh.” “A Mughal miniature painting. Or a Srinathji pichwai.” “Listening to Sawai Gandharva on a full-moon night on the banks of the Ganga.” Indians of earlier generations know luxury in a visceral, sensual way. Every product I have mentioned above is hyper-localised, linked to region, personal history and provenance. Often, each of these luxury objects is made by an artist or craftsperson who has worked with the family to custom specifications. It is purchased for a high price by an aesthete who has been following the sector for generations. If that isn’t luxury shopping, what is?
Rara Avis, Black Swans, and Hornbills
For Indian birders, hornbills are the rara avis. Or maybe not, depending on where you live. If you live in the Northeast or the Western Ghats, you will see hornbills. Sitting in Bangalore, it is rare. The term rara avis [...]