Between my last post in March 10 and today, it seems like we are in a whole different world! Social connect, essentials, entertainment – everything that defines life has taken on a different meaning. We are in a world that needs, more than ever before, for us to be empathetic, generous, nourished and positive. Using…
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Continue ReadingMussoorie; October 28, 2019, Monday It is unbelievable how much the temperature and air quality can change at the end of a six hour drive. Mussoorie looked, smelled and felt like another part of the planet, far removed from the almost sepia-tinted, dusty Delhi air. The owner of the cottage Desna Sharma had warned me…
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Continue ReadingEnough has been written and said about the Bengali shukto. So why more? I agree, I might as well not add few more words to a cup that is already overfloweth! But how about a til shukto or shukto made with a paste of white sesame seeds? Might be it deserves a word or two.…
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Continue ReadingThe Social Tables Mini had as auspicious and fun a start as we could have ever hoped for. We brought together people around the tradition of making kasundi – the famous Bengali mustard condiment. Kasundi has always been shrouded in intrigue, bonding and a lot of love. We wanted to bring back all of that…
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Continue Readingहे मेघ, मित्रता के कारण, अथवा मैं विरही हूँ इससे मेरे ऊपर दया करके यह अनुचित अनुरोध भी मानते हुए मेरा कार्य पूरा कर देना। फिर वर्षा ऋतु की शोभा लिये हुए मनचाहे स्थानों में विचरना। हे जलधर, तुम्हें अपनी प्रियतमा विद्युत् से क्षण-भर केलिए भी मेरे जैसा वियोग न सहना पड़े। O clouds, in…
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Continue ReadingI had been tinkering with millets, of late, in my kitchen. My fascination wasn’t so much about their recent fad status as super grains but started with their place of pride as ancient grains and the production process, which is more climate sustainable than rice or wheat. However, the nutritional benefits that they bring on…
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Continue ReadingWe had promised you that we will bring you the Nizamuddin 11…here they are. After training classes that lasted six weeks, the pop up by Zaika-e-Nizamuddin with ForkTales finally happened in March, 2018. After working with them and knowing them for more than a month, this event, in my heart and mind, was not just…
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Continue Reading‘In a small village next to a deep forest stayed a poor mother and her little son of four. Their small thatched hut was right at the edge of the village, just before the forest began. The mother was a househelp and could barely make ends meet but she wanted to educate her son, just…
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Continue ReadingWhat do i know about Dhaka and its food beyond the bookish and webish (if there was ever a word like this!!!) information? Well, may be a little more than that through my discussions with Didubhai and her knowledge of it. She wasn’t born there and as far as I know, went there just once…
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Continue ReadingRice, especially our heirloom rice varieties, has been a passion for a long time now. The passion led to two and a half years of research on tracing the antiquity of rice through our Vedic era texts and folk lores; and following the work of a few rice conservationists who have been doing remarkable work…