The National Abu Dhabi
Comment Essays for The National Abu Dhabi
Being Mohandas: Book Review for Time magazine April 12, 2007
What more can be said about Gandhi, the subject of dozens of hagiographies, biographies and an autobiography; a hero of both Bollywood and Hollywood; a man whose face adorns stamps and currency? Plenty, if you are Rajmohan Gandhi, journalist, scholar, [...]
The Parent Trap: Time magazine, May 31, 2007
As a mother, I regularly grapple with two related questions: How soon should I talk about child predators to my kids, and how should I couch such a conversation? I have two daughters, ages 10 and 5, and they interact [...]
How to bargain | Condenast Traveler US |
The thought occurred as I eyed a stunning Persian carpet in a downtown Manhattan shop. The Mogul-inspired piece looked terrific but cost thousands more than I wanted to pay. The smile on the manager's face suggested that he was willing to bargain. But where to begin? Middle age brings with it the sobering realization that you can actually learn something from your mother.
Mekong, Cambodia & Laos | Condenast Traveler US |
Cambodia is like a lotus bud concealing an onion—serene on the surface but eliciting tears as you peel back the layers. The scale of the Angkor temples contrast with the photos of skulls in the Genocide Museum. The peace of a Buddhist monastery gives way to the raucous din of tuk–tuks. I am in Cambodia to meet a monk and to travel the Mekong.
Bangalore and Beyond | Condenast Traveler US |
Bangalore is home. I didn't always live here—until two years ago I lived in New York. But now this is the city where my kids go to school, where I hail auto rickshaws for bone-rattling yet perversely exciting rides to work and meetings, where I prowl pubs and malls in search of stories and sales, and where I go to Namdharis Fresh supermarket to buy organic grapes, too-hard bagels, and much-too-soft cream cheese in an attempt to replicate the Sunday morning brunches at my Upper West Side apartment.
The minibar menace
The minibar menace Raise the bar: Paying for every can of cola can be more than a mini nuisance The minibar: I know this sounds like a Seinfeld episode but it is in fact a rant. The one thing [...]
Rating hotels for review: Mint Lounge
The filch factor: : Mint Lounge 4 min read . Updated: 01 Feb 2008, 12:06 AM ISTThe Good Life | Shoba Narayan I have a somewhat unusual method of rating hotels. I call it the filch factor. If I feel like [...]
About service in hotels: Mint Lounge
Leave me alone, I'd like to be invisible please: for Mint Lounge 3 min read . Updated: 04 Jan 2008, 12:21 AM ISTThe Good Life | Shoba Narayan Ok, folks. I might as well get ready to take it on the [...]
Dinner with Alain Passard
When your food sings to you 5 min read 23 Dec 2011, 09:22 PM ISTThe Good Life | Shoba Narayan As fresh as it gets: Chef Alain Passard has a kitchen garden in France. Photo by Maurice Rougemont/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images [...]
Our Native Village: Hotel Review: Gourmet Magazine
Our Native Village 11.16.07 This 20-room rustic hideaway bills itself as India’s "only 100 percent eco-friendly back-to-basics lifestyle resort." In plain English, that means solar power, windmills, composting, bio-gas plant (no, it doesn’t smell), organic gardens, and a "zero-waste" policy that [...]
New York Times: My first article
This is the first article that I wrote for the New York Times. I didn't realize it was available on the Times' digital archives till someone forwarded it to me.