Articles written by meenakshi

Remember Chamatka, Suppandi, Tales of Birbal and Jataka Tales? Apparently, a startup, ACK Media, is acquiring a majority stake in Amar Chitra Katha Pvt. Ltd., the company which publishes the wonderful Amar Chitra Katha comics, besides Tinkle and Double Digest. While I was growing up, this definitely a big hit - a lot more interesting than the history teacher's droning, dates and maps, a peek into Indian culture and mythology and a definite pride in being Indian. Where else would you see 10 year old eager to read about Rabindranath Tagore's life or Amarapali, the court dancer in the ancie...more

I lost a very near and dear one to cancer recently. Coping with death is tough, no matter how much you know that it is coming, when it does come, it hits you like a whirlwind. As one of my dearest friends said, the only definite thing in life is death. May sound morbid - but I think that the person I lost kept that in mind and dealt with her life and the cancer very gracefully. Never one to complain, she took everything in her stride. Clear-cut and organized, she dispensed instructions on everything from her funeral to what she wanted to do with her possessions. She was certainly not i...more

Got a sweet tooth? Here is a list of my favourite places to satisfy those cravings. Corner House - Of course! And have the Death By Chocolate and in summer the Strawberries with Cream and Ice-cream. Café Fresco's - The awesome B52 - a creamy concoction of chocolate mousse and kahlua. The Edge Ice Creams - Try the Rum Tart - you will go back for more. Kadambam - The sakkare (sweet) pongal - warm, gooey, with oodles of ghee and bits of cashews. Casa Piccola - The delicious After 8 - a mixture of peppermint and vanilla ice cream with malty chocolate sauce and whipp...more

Selective meat-eater? Or "pure" vegetarian? Prefer organic products? I come from thair sadam (that's curd rice for non-Tamilians) brigade and am married to a sorpotel - sannas (aka Mangalorean) clan. So what do we eat at home - rasam and surmai fry, vatha kuzhambu and jackfruit curry, pan pole and milagai podi and may other such combinations which might make purists shudder. The rasam and sambhar I make is not the Tamil original either - it is the Karnataka version with a dash of jaggery, a result of growing up in Bangalore and my hostel life in Mysore. All this i...more

Ten years ago, I left for the US to do my masters - with no cheap way of keeping in touch with family. Having just about got an email address and with the new computer at home being some DOS type thing where no pictures came up, the vsnl internet connection had speeds that rivalled Rip Van Winkle's aging process. Dad's email address was soooo long - ending in bgl.vsnl.net.in. Really!!! Calling cards from the US charged 53 cents a minute to India and that was considered a good deal and calling from India to the US was Rs.60 a minute. Seriously! Now one of my dearest and nearest has left for ...more

The aqua-blue and white-washed walls bring memories of the sea shore. The greens, reds and yellows of the salads jostle for space with the wicker baskets filled with loaves of freshly-baked bread and rolls. Crisp tablecloths. A whiff of grilled lamb and barbeque sauce. A strumming guitar, a lazy melody in the background, the clink of champagne glasses. Candles flicker in the shadows. The taste of creamy gorgonzola cheese and the tangy citrus flavour of the grape salad with crisp lettuce. Dip the pita in the tzatziki. Muted conversations. Cherubic babies in beautiful clothes play amon...more

Whether you are from Gen X, Gen Y or the 1960s, I am reasonably sure that most of us, at some point when we were growing up, felt that our parents did not understand us at all and were stuck in time. I think a very important factor in parent-child relationship is being able to relate to each other - that is, having a relationship where you are able to understand and be understood. Here are some thoughts on reaching the golden median with your parents: Make the effort : However old-fashioned and out-of-touch your parents seem to you, make the effort to reach out to them. Spend t...more

The Bangalore Blahgers got together for brunch on Sunday, May 27 at Brewhaha in Koramangala. For most of us, this was the first time we met up with the other authors on blah and it was awesome to put faces to names! After the initial introductions, the animated discussions (what do you expect from an opinionated bunch?!!) revolved around everything from the worst boss ever, to The Namesake and dak-nams , to a comparison of the shopping scene in Mumbai and Bangalore, to the best state in India to live in (no agreement on this - the only thing everyone agreed on was that the weather in Bangal...more

An acquaintance of mine, an elderly lady, feels very strongly that love is blind and that most people enter into relationships without a rational thought in their head. She vouches for her strong feelings by pointing out the example of her son, seemingly intelligent, who chose to marry a woman with a controlling, possessive personality who has damaged everything in his life from his career to his relationships with his friends and family. And this despite having witnessed obvious incidents and had numerous clues that should have provided him with enough insight into what to expect in the futur...more

Its summer!! And if you are the kind that goes mushy at the thought of mango season, with nostalgic memories of eating a Neelam with juice dripping down your chin or gulping thick Alphonso milkshakes on hot afternoons, here are three of my favourite mango recipes. Mango Mimosa (makes 5 glasses) 1 ripe mango 1 bottle of chilled champagne Peel the mango and separate the pulp. Add about ¼ cup of water to the pulp and puree in a food processor. Strain the puree. Pour the chilled champagne into a large pitcher/jug. Gently add the strained puree and mix it in without beating. S...more