Haldar babu knew his ilish machh like nobody’s business, thank you very much. His walk had developed a slow gait, and he couldn’t see very well in the dark any more, but when it came to selecting the perfect machh on Sundays, nobody could beat him. Last Sunday was the first time in 47…
Category: Features
India’s Newfound Love: The Exquisite, Artisanal Coffee
While none of us are quite ready to let go of our favourite instant coffee, homegrown brands are bringing a revolution in exotic, artisanal coffee curated for the masses. India’s tryst with coffee is no overnight millennial fad. The first instances of coffee cultivation have been in India since the 16th century, well before the…
The Mountains Echoed: Mary Budden Estate
Language only echos the truth of nature’s breathing and yet it is in these moments of the unvoiced and unwritten aspirations that we truly are ourselves. We strive hard to put our emotions down in words, only to render them useless at times, because something’s are only to be felt and not to be said….
The Mountain Affair with Mary Budden Estate
If fifteen days back you would have told me that eventually everything heals and you get over the pain, the stress and all that’s pulling you down – I probably wouldn’t have believed you entirely, but out of social courtesy would’ve nodded my head. You see, when we are going through a phase in life…
Whats’s Cooking, Bawa? A Look Inside The Parsi Kitchen
This article was first published in The Indian Express in August 2018. Days before the Parsi New Year, Navroze, the phone lines at Mumbai-based five-decade-old Katy’s Kitchen are buzzing for orders. Over the years, the business has managed to maintain a loyal clientele of Parsis and non-Parsis alike, with the former ordering traditional dishes,…
Foraging For A Greater Taste: How Wild Food Is India’s Latest Culinary Love
This article was first published in The Quint in August 2019. Foraging in the wild for edible berries, leaves and fruits is perhaps one of mankind’s oldest habits. That, though, does not mean that our habit is rudimentary. Even in the present day and age, hundreds of fringe communities across India rely directly on nature…
The Indian Cookie Culture – When Did The Cookie Crumble?
This article was first published in The Indian Express on October 13 2019. You’ve probably not given it much thought, but cookies or biscuits are much closer to your heart than you may have expected. One of my earliest memories of cookies are of “aate waale biscuit“, or wheat cookies. Quintessential to any Punjabi household,…
Lockdown Diaries: What Has The Pandemic Taught Us?
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it…