-k4lD-U204025897261YmH-250x250%40HT-Web.jpg "Shoba Narayan")
Shoba Narayan is Bangalore-based award-winning author. She is also a freelance contributor who writes about art, food, fashion and travel for a number of publications.
Articles by Shoba Narayan
Being single in Bengaluru
Dating isn’t set up for introverts. Whether you are on Bumble or any other dating app; whether you attend singles meetups that happen regularly in the city
Updated on Feb 01, 2024 08:02 AM IST
A confluence of science, song, the sun and their significance
Sankranti is among the most important because it signifies that the sun will move from Dhanu (Sagittarius) to Makara (Capricorn) in the Indian lunar calendar
Updated on Jan 18, 2024 08:52 AM IST
Why bother making resolutions if you cannot keep them?
New Year's resolutions are expressions of hope, but their success record is often patchy. Keeping resolutions simple and breaking them down into small parts can help increase the chances of success. Desperation often leads to resolution and action, so don't give up hope. The author's resolution is to renew her relationship with yoga.
Updated on Jan 05, 2024 04:28 PM IST
Street fairs, floats and processions and how Bengaluru enjoys them
Karnataka, like many Indian states has over 1000 village fairs that take place throughout the year. Most are linked to season or festivals
Updated on Dec 21, 2023 08:44 AM IST
What does Goa have that Bengaluru doesn’t?
This piece is about land fostering a creative ferment and certain places do it better than others. Can Bengaluru aspire to be part of the mix?
Updated on Dec 07, 2023 09:04 AM IST
Bengaluru’s tribal fierce goddesses
As an Indian woman brought up with the expectation that women are the keepers of harmony within family and community, I find these fierce goddesses liberating
Updated on Nov 23, 2023 09:20 AM IST
Looking inside one of Bengaluru’s subcultures
Nature is central of India’s civilisational ethos. It is central to our faith, festivals, mythology and iconography
Updated on Nov 09, 2023 08:48 AM IST
When will a Kannadiga character appear in Bollywood?
The soft power that comes from Korean television serials, its music and fashion is a long way off for Bengaluru because like it or not, we are still a city with a programming, engineering mindset that values dot.coms more than connecting the dots in a creative imaginative fashion
Updated on Oct 30, 2023 06:56 AM IST
Goddess energy in city
Aachar & Co is a breath of fresh air. Here too, women play to stereotypes (all the girls want to get married, which is perhaps true of that age), but they aren’t opaque lacklustre heroines created only to please men
Updated on Oct 13, 2023 09:08 AM IST
Is beer the butter chicken of Bengaluru?
You have to try and visit one of the 85 craft breweries in the city to witness the craze of beer among Indian, especially Bengalureans
Updated on Sep 28, 2023 08:38 AM IST
What is distinctive about the Bengaluru art scene
Owner of Gallery Sumukha wonders the reason behind an absence of anyone from the IT industry in Bengaluru’s rich art scene
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 10:44 AM IST
Students leaving home for college and the accompanying checklist
Parents put in efforts to figure out the “university list” of things to pack as their offsprings all over the country leave home for college within India and all around the world
Updated on Aug 24, 2023 07:50 PM IST
How to negotiate and get things done in B’luru
Moving to a new city, like Bengaluru, can be challenging when it comes to getting things done. Negotiating with government officials and finding the right tailor are just some of the hurdles. While bribes are an option, some choose to use alternative methods, like numerology or gifting educational books and fabric. Social media makes shopping easy, but finding a tailor requires more effort and negotiation skills. The key is to have multiple options and be willing to switch if necessary. Brinksmanship is also a common tactic in various situations.
Updated on Aug 03, 2023 12:33 AM IST
Walking the talk about Inclusion
But what about inclusion and diversity—something every brand talks about today. Talk is cheap though. What counts is putting your money where your mouth is.
Updated on Jul 20, 2023 01:00 AM IST
The Kannadiga obsession with khara-bhaath
The bhath has the consistency of thick porridge and you could argue that this is the Kannada comfort food.
Updated on Jul 06, 2023 12:38 AM IST
Why do so few outsiders bother to learn Kannada?
“Linguistic jingoism only happened after the states were reorganised by language. Before that, the borders were much more porous.”
Updated on Jun 22, 2023 01:08 AM IST
Better than bhel puri: Girmit or mandakki
To understand the hold that girmit or churmuri has on people from Karnataka, you have to understand that it is not just a recipe. It is an ecosystem
Updated on Jun 08, 2023 01:19 AM IST
What kind of a coffee drinker are you?
My divide is much more nuanced and connected to those of us who wake up to filter coffee every morning. The question is: where do you buy your coffee from?
Updated on May 10, 2023 12:29 AM IST
Is the Kannadiga sambhar overrated?
Most restaurants in Bangalore do not serve sambhar with the dosè. Thank God, I say because I think the Kannadiga sambhar is overrated
Updated on Apr 26, 2023 12:39 AM IST
How to spot a Bangalorean
But even the firebrands from other regions of Karnataka and other states calm down when they come to Bengaluru. Why is that? For a city of some 12 million, Bangaloreans are among the most genteel and polite people in India, if not the world
Updated on Apr 13, 2023 12:33 AM IST
10 mind blowing things about B’luru’s history
So you see, don’t dismiss this city as merely modern. It is as modern and cosmopolitan as it gets, but it is also an ancient settlement.
Published on Mar 30, 2023 12:24 AM IST
Why do Bangaloreans like single-colour chutneys?
To verify my theory about Kannada food minimalism, I crashed weddings in Basavanagudi, Chamrajpet, Jayanagar and Malleshwaram
Published on Mar 16, 2023 01:08 AM IST
Why Bengaluru’s traffic makes it the startup capital of India?
Do a search on India’s startup capital and two cities come up: Bengaluru and Delhi
Published on Mar 02, 2023 12:47 AM IST
The chef as an artist or businessperson?
Chef Manu Chandra, who has many well-wishers in Bengaluru, has opened Lupa, his first entrepreneurial venture
Published on Feb 16, 2023 03:08 AM IST
Which breakfast is better? Kannada or Tamil one?
I may be wading into the Kaveri here, but a question arose recently in a mixed group about whether the Karnataka or the Tamil Nadu interpretation of the classic idli-dosa breakfast was better.
Updated on Feb 04, 2023 12:24 AM IST
Where can you go to shop in Bengaluru?
This is one of the most frequent questions I get asked by visiting friends: where do you shop in Bengaluru?And the answer in the great Indian tradition is “Depends on what you want to buy
Published on Jan 17, 2023 11:55 PM IST
The delicate art of maintaining friendships
“Okay, I am going to reveal a vulnerability,” confessed a friend during a recent New Year’s party
Updated on Jan 10, 2023 04:35 PM IST
Counting my numerous Bengaluru blessings
Frankly, I find it exhausting to narrow down on things everyday that you are thankful for. Taking stock once a year is more doable. So here are the things that I am grateful for, about living in Bengaluru.
Published on Dec 22, 2022 12:19 AM IST
An art institution that deserves to be celebrated
Every public arts institution in India these days says that it wants to be inclusive, but most never achieve this goal. Most end up as containers of beautiful objects, a space where an elite few stand silently in contemplation of works of art.
Published on Dec 06, 2022 11:32 PM IST
Bengaluru’s Shivaji Nagar and its myriad hues
Much like any other global city, Bengaluru is composed of neighbourhoods, each with its own unique charm.
Published on Nov 26, 2022 08:25 PM IST