In search of the perfect wine glass
Anyone who has stayed in a hostel has a resource-constrained mindset towards food. I don’t care which college you went to. Standing in line and waiting for a finite amount of food does something to your psyche. It makes you think of food, not as a pleasure to be had, but as a resource to be grabbed. It has taken me several decades to get out of this mindset.
Identity and Culture: for The National Abu Dhabi
One more ode to my favorite garment: the sari. How a simple, draped cloth defines a national aesthetic Shoba Narayan November 19, 2014 Updated: November 19, 2014 07:07 PM There are many ways to come at the concept called identity. [...]
Heritage Conservation
What Mumbai has that Bengaluru doesn’t There is an anecdote that is the stuff of legend. When queen Victoria took over the administration of India from the British East India Company in the 1860s, she gathered a group of cultural [...]
For The National Abu Dhabi on Bombay
Why does Mumbai inspire so much activism, writing, and imagination? Urbs Primus in Indus: the enduring appeal of Mumbai, India Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station in Mumbai. Trains play an important part of daily social life in the Indian city, [...]
Bangalore Club
A simple email I got some time ago. On Oct 13, 2014, at 10:22 PM, Vikram Rajaram wrote: Dear Shobha, We have, in the past, been in touch re the possibility of getting you to speak at the Bangalore Club. [...]
Culture and Globalization
The Question of our Time. How can we stay rooted in our own culture in a globalised world? In a globalised world, it's hard to define our respective culture by what we eat or how we dress up. Mike Young [...]
Heritage Buildings
Thank you, Deepa Krishnan of Mumbai Magic for pointing me to a great PDF describing heritage conservation in Bombay Lessons from the Balabrooie brouhaha On heritage conservation in India Shoba Narayan Heritage views No.1: preserve or modernize? A smart [...]
Spirits of India
Korea has soju; Japan has sake; America has bourbon; Mexico has tequila and mezcal; Germany has schnapps; Scandinavia has aquavit; France has wine; Greece has ouzo; Britain has beer; Portugal has port; Spain has sherry; Turkey has raki; Brazil has cachaça; Peru has pisco; Scotland has Scotch; and India has…what? Chai? Horlicks? At a time when national spirit is high, shouldn’t we consider a signature spirit as well?
Gita and management
Dharma is a very complicated Hindu concept. In this episode, I discuss this idea with Professor B.Mahadevan Professor B. Mahadevan has taught at the Indian Institute of Management for over 20 years. His research interests include supply chain management in [...]
Reduce transactions
I am speaking at The Bangalore Club on November 20th. The title, which I suggested is "Returned to India: now what?" I am sorta freaking out because I want to make it funny. Debut stand-up act and all that. The [...]
Garlands as a national emblem: The National Abu Dhabi
I didn't set out to link flowers to culture, but there they are. A simple garland of flowers is a powerful cultural emblem. Dutch people stick tulips into vases. Brazilians arrange flowers on little pots that they hang all over [...]
Birds: A tryst with cacophony and camouflage
Bird watching fits this paradigm, because no matter where you travel, you will always find birds. If you educate yourself on birds, you can travel the world and remain engaged in your interest. When you get too old or feeble to travel, you can stand in your balcony and look through binoculars. As I have been doing. The freedom that birds seem to experience is uplifting and you wish you could lift yourself up.