Warm chocolate chip cookies – crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside with the chocolate chips warm and melty on the tongue! Few can resist this decadence, be it plain or dressed up (ideas below). It has been a favourite with literally every single person who has ever tasted…
Recently, a classmate posted the following: “Would you rather deal with someone who tells you exactly what they mean (even if it hurts sometimes) … or someone who…. never confronts you directly? Just curious what people think.” Well, it definitely got me thinking. Developing the appropriate filters in communication is…
Simple and unassuming, Kala Ramnath exudes a gentle, innocent vulnerability that betrays the titan that she is in Hindustani music. One of the youngest recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar, she has put her distinctive stamp on Hindustani violin, made it a force to reckon with, and put it…
As a faculty spouse, I have continuous and regular interaction with 20 and 30 something graduate students – moving from being on first name basis then to being Ma’am-ed and Aunty-ed now (which I embrace happily). Pickled in this age group for 25 years, I can unequivocally say it is…
Giridhar Udupa literally grew up surrounded by percussion as his father Ullur Nagendra Udupa was a mridangist who taught extensively. At age 4, he started learning mridangam and learned that exclusively until the age of 9. Then, at a concert organized by his father, Giridhar was roped in to play…
This, to me, is the ultimate in chocolate desserts – for three reasons. Firstly, it is VERY chocolatey with a creamy, silky consistency to die for – rich, smooth, velvety – perfection in other words. Secondly, it requires only four ingredients and can be put together with the most minimal…
This artiste was extremely clear that music was what he wanted to pursue and would have discontinued his studies after 12th Grade, had his Guru not persuaded him to complete his degree. “I had stubbornly refused to listen to my parents,” says L. Ramakrishnan who can be seen accompanying practically…
In the family I was born into, sugar tolerance is very high. As a friend put it a long time ago, “your family needs sugar as a side for desserts.” I was the only exception. “I just wish it was less sweet,” was my stock comment to my mother. Of…
My paternal uncle, my chithappa, died almost exactly 24 hours ago (not COVID-related) – he was my father’s immediate next brother and the fifth of the eight siblings. The word ‘chithappa’ in tamizh, and equivalent words in many other Indian languages, indicates a younger father – literally speaking. My chithappa…
Procrastination is so much easier now. For time has lost all sense of identity. Every day is like the other – a state of suspended fluidity. To postpone is a very common tendency for one born human, but some do so more than others. My husband is one who NEVER…