Evolution of Music
Chennai, the city I grew up in and still call home is in the throes of a creative ferment, at least with respect to Carnatic music. This has caused some apoplexy and bile among many keen ‘rasikas’ or lovers of music, who live in homes where even the pillars sing, as an ancient Tamil poem said about the author of the Tamil Ramayan, poet Kamban’s home. These are homes in the bylanes of T. Nagar and Mylapore where the home-ground Narasu’s coffee (my father drinks it) is piping hot and frothy.
For The National Abu Dhabi on Japan
I just got slammed for generalizing but here I go again. This was written before the feedback though. As an amateur cultural anthropologist, I find the differences and similarities between cultures fascinating. Japan is one of my favorites.
Thanks but no thanks
Most old cultures: Israelis, Russians, Chinese, and certainly Indians are this way. Don't know enough about Europe's old cultures to check if they are this way too. When I say West, I mean America. Would be interesting to check if [...]
Music– classical and film.
I am very excited about this program. My friend, Chitra and I are doing this together. I met Chitra because of my columns in Mint. She was a reader who became a friend. She is an amazing singer. So we [...]
The Indian mind and the lunar calendar: for Mint Lounge
Calendars (Chinese, Lunar, Gregorian) are fascinating in how they tell time. I am reading about this, and hence wrote this piece. HOME» LEISURE» THE GOOD LIFE The Indian mind and the lunar calendar Familiarizing yourself with the Indian lunar calendar [...]
My books on iTunes
I am absolutely thrilled to report that my books are now on the iBookstore and iTunes. They are here And they are gorgeous when viewed through the Apple magic. The Hinduism book is the beginning of a new project. The [...]
Radio New Zealand
From one end of the world to another. Did my usual interview with the genial Bryan Crump for Radio NZ. Listen to my interviews here.
Page 3
In the TOI about the reading. From: elisabeth Subject: Tr : Page 3 Date: February 25, 2014 at 8:21:56 AM GMT+5:30 To: Shoba Narayan <shoba@shobanarayaha ha!! would you like to come to a high tea with me and Magali at [...]
Moevenpick
Yesterday, the chef at my reading at Moevenpick Hotel and Spa in Bangalore had done such a nice job with recipes from Monsoon Diary. He had put a contemporary 'five-star' spin on the recipes from the book. My favorite was [...]
Perfume and communing with god: Mint Lounge
Don't understand Mint's headline for this piece. What does will o wisps mean? Maybe from a poem. But I find this notion of ancient humans communing with the heavens through wisps of smoke very touching. Scents are fascinating. Fragrance, will-o’-the-wisps [...]
NGOs help girls in rural India tackle female illiteracy, gender inequality: for The National Abu Dhabi
This was part of a trip with CARE USA where we visited an NGO called Udaan/Join My Village. The tour was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It was an unexpected pleasure to meet my friend, Michael Pelletier, [...]
Book Reading
My friend, Meena runs a book club that is affiliated with the Moevenpick Hotel and Spa in Bangalore. Meena invited me to do a book reading at the hotel. Since there is a food element involved, I thought I would [...]