We tend to take our neighbours for granted. Literally and figuratively. Though this time I refer to our neighboring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan. I had a chance to visit both these countries in the past one month and boy, was I in for a surprise.  While Bhutan was a natural beauty, the likes of which no amount of photographs or words can describe unless you see it with your very own eyes, Sri Lanka turned out to be a home away from home.  I was invited by the Shangri-La group who have properties in this beautiful country, south of India. With a historical story to boot (inv ..read more

I am a bad flyer. Period.  As much as my work takes me places and I practically live out of my suitcase, I am a terrible flyer and get pretty anxious with everything that has to do with flying. From long lines at check-in (I almost, always have big bags – that is another thing by the way, the fear of not having enough clean clothes to go through during my travel tenure), security, immigration (often times, international), the boarding, to the endless hours which range from 2 to 24 on board, the cycle continues on deplaning and so on. To top this all, I cannot sleep in-flight (I am yet to ..read more

I was skimming through some old photographs on my phone, around 10000 of them, all thanks to the cloud network and the fact that I have had an iPhone since its first generation. I couldn’t go through so many and proceeded to nearly delete everything I had as a memory from a decade ago. I also realized I am a bit of a hoarder, I mean, aren’t we all?  Ironically the picture I last came across to delete was one I had transferred / taken on the birth of my blog. Yes, today marks 11 years of me writing on the blog and I was about to delete all those pictures which have made me what I am today ..read more

Just when you think you’ve had it, something else crops up which changes the way you think or believe the chosen path you’ve taken. If anyone ever said ‘walk on the right path’ – hello! Lets backtrack, there is no wrong or right path. It’s all a matter of making those decisions combined with situational opportunities and encumbrances which nudge you along to that very chosen path.  The question is, when do you finish and move on to the next level?  You basically never finish.  I am in the midst of a whirlpool of situational changes which have ebbed and flowed over the past one y ..read more

It is about time I wrote a post and shared a recipe for some of the classics I have been experimenting with in the past many days. I have been putting up recipes of my cooking and in the process have been receiving a lot of feedback from people asking me to share cocktail recipes.  I know I have been on top of the game lately with visiting several bars and bartenders (read, mixologist) in the city and the world (around my travels) and one way or another my search for a classic cocktail never ceases. I have moved away from wine and learnt the art of appreciating a well made cocktail. From ..read more

I was back in Singapore several times in the past month. On one of my visits courtesy Singapore Airlines where I got to experience their latest farm to plane concept. A new initiative by the airlines and SAT’s their inflight catering service, where in they have tied up with local farmers (yes, Singapore and the airline/hospitality industry is thriving currently on promoting farmers and farm produce, a place which is renowned to rely more on imports rather than being self sufficient) to source local ingredients from and include them in their in-flight menus starting with First and Business Clas ..read more

When did we start multitasking the way we do now? I was driving to the gym the other day listening to my favorite track and suddenly a couple of things happened at once. My phone rang on the bluetooth, I answered it with a click of a button in the swank wheel I was behind (it was an automatic with a steering wheel gear paddle), so I always have my dratted left hand free to do nothing with). The music muted, the call was answered. In a matter of minutes I have spoken, searched a number and sent a contact to the person on the other line, discussed a meeting, received an email confirming the time ..read more

I admit it, I have and will always be fascinated by the Royal State of Rajasthan. Uncovering many experiences in the past stretching from my holy town of Nathadwara (about 50 kms) away from the royal capital city of Udaipur to the other holy spots like Pushkar and Ajmer, Jewel haven Jaipur and now discovering Jaisalmer. Nathadwara, the home of our God “Shrinathji” has been a place of pilgrimage for me and my family. While I am not overly religious I do find visiting my holy temple to be a cathartic experience where solace, quietude, humbleness reign and you come out refreshed and feeling washe ..read more

Well, it has been quite sometime since I have written here. With the onset of quick-thought social media postings, the desire to long form anything for me has been restricted to my extensive print writings and published articles in various magazines and newspapers across the world.  You may wonder why I still continue to publish on my blog. A little reminder, I started writing here for several reasons beginning with my very first newspaper column refusing to publish my recipes (they wanted celebrity chefs and people who carried name and fame, well possibly still do) and I needed an outlet ..read more

It was a calm and quiet evening, the rustic bench I was seated upon creaked slightly as I shuffled through the pages of my manuscript, which had unhinged quite inconveniently from the clip I had so carefully stored for many years.  The pages lay strewn about, few on the bench. Some under a flask of half finished coffee and a few on the grass over a table cloth with the remnants of my sandwich and an empty mug. The evening was perfect for working – the dusk setting in, the grass freshly mowed and watered, the only source of light was the mercury street light right above me a ..read more