With the explosion of interest in novel cuisines and healthy eating, has food writing as a career come of age in India?

Interview by Anne John

Monica Geller of the TV show Friends is famously known for her interest in food and cooking. Here we have her namesake, who eats, cooks, writes as well as teaches about food! Meet the other food-enthusiast-Monica; Monica Bhide!

Anne John (AJ): Hi Monica! Your story of discovering cooking as a way to connect with people is touching. Over the years, how have you and your cooking evolved?

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Interview with Top 3 finalist at MasterChef Australia 2011, Alana Lowes who captured viewers with her spirit and talent in the kitchen.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

Alana Lowes has many credits to her name – but the one which pushed her into the limelight and earned her loads of fans from all corners of the world, was ending up as a finalist on Masterchef Australia 2011. Here she speaks about her journey, passions and her future plans.

Aparna V.Singh (AVS): At the risk of sounding clichéd, how has the MasterChef journey been? How has reaching the top 3 changed your life?

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Meet Kalamandalam Bindhulekha, the mural painter who paints on temple walls – a profession that few women, if any, are involved in.

Interview by Amrita Rajan

Kalamandalam Bindhulekha is a talented, self-assured young woman fast gaining acclaim for her work in a traditional male bastion – the temple art of mural painting in Kerala. Belying her matter-of-fact manner, she expresses herself through the use of vivid hues in her paintings. Elemental reds, blues and yellows reveal the rich landscape of her mind.

Here, she talks about following her dreams, creating her own opportunities and powering through life with self-confidence.

Amrita Rajan (AR): When did you start painting murals?

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Travelling to exotic places and writing about them seems like a dream career; but what does it take to get going? 

Interview by Aparna V.Singh

A good travel writer’s words are like a magic carpet; they can transport us to new places and help us discover hidden delights or make us see well-known sights in an entirely new light. They serve as an extension to our senses and make us experience the flavours of destinations that we long to explore, someday.

Charukesi Ramadurai is a Bangalore-based travel blogger and freelance writer whose travel mantra is ‘anywhere but here’ – so when she is not actually travelling, she is busy planning her next trip. She blogs her travel stories on Itchy Feet. Charu talks to us about her passion and shares some pointers for anyone considering travel writing as a career option. More about her and her published work on her website. 

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What is sensitive greening? Why are indigenous trees critical to urban areas? An interview with Shobha Menon of Nizhal, ‘the tree NGO’.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

On hearing the word, “ecology”, we first think of wildlife sanctuaries and nature reserves. Yet, the urban environment we live in also needs sound ecological thought, given the rapid population growth and attendant pressures in India.

Nizhal (shade, in Tamil) a non-profit trust that started working in Chennai in 2006, aims to preserve and nurture indigenous trees in urban landscapes, as well as create awareness of the need for greening in crowded urban areas.

We caught up with Shobha Menon, a Trustee and founder-member of Nizhal, to learn about the interesting work they do in the urban ecology space. The meeting spot was interesting too; a “tree-park” coming up on the banks of the Adyar river, hidden away in one of Chennai’s busy neighbourhoods.

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Ritika Mittal, textiles entrepreneur on the one-of-a-kind saris she creates at MORA, her fascination with the North-east and why she doesn’t want big business!

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

Coming across Ritika Mittal’s MORA sarees is something of a shock. Few of us even know that the North-eastern states of India produce some exquisite silk fabrics unique to them. Even stranger it is to find them allied to Kalamkari techniques from Andhra Pradesh and ending up as saris that look traditional, yet have a certain je ne sais quoi about them.

When I came across MORA on Facebook, I knew that I had to interview the woman behind it, and find out more.

Aparna V. Singh (AVS): I’ve learnt from your website about the curious way in which MORA started up, with you designing saris for your own wedding. How did it grow into a business venture?

Ritika Mittal (RM): I designed my first sari in November 2008, just before my wedding in December. I had been working in media for over a decade – before I decided that I wanted to do textiles. I had no formal training in textiles, none at all – so I was like, let me try this and see how it goes! What happened was that I went backpacking to Ladakh for 2 months, and once I was there, I realized that what I really wanted to do was work with the local women’s groups – and the only way I could do that was with textiles.

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An interview with Mukta Darera, Founder of iReboot, a life orientation company which helps people discover themselves and  their true career calling.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

Mukta Darera started iReboot in 2008, to help people change directions in their lives. Here she shares her experience with helping people re-look their lives and identify new career directions.

Aparna V.Singh (AVS): Tell us a little about yourself.

Mukta Darera (MD): Born and raised in Mysore, I am a firm believer in second chances – a concept that is the very foundation behind the initiation of this company. I graduated in Electronics & Communication Engineering from SJCE, Mysore and soon became part of the prestigious Intel family; the place that triggered my thoughts to build a world where people can “reboot” from where they left off. I later went on to an entrepreneurship program at IIMB, where the seeds for iReboot were sown.

As for my passions, I’ve been lucky enough to be all of these – travel guide, tutor, examiner, drummer, theatre actor, anchor, voice over artist, radio jockey, master of ceremony and a Kathak dancer. I have always believed that there is really no limit to how enriching one’s life can be. And the choice to enrich one’s life is in the hands of each and every individual.

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An interview with Aarti Mohan, Chief Editor of The Alternative, an online platform that seeks to chronicle and support social development in India.

Interview By Anne John

Aarti Mohan had a flourishing career in Engineering before she switched lanes to follow her twin passions of community development and writing. Thus was born The Alternative, an independent and progressive space for information, dialogue and social action focusing on the evolving changes and challenges of social development in India.

Anne John (AJ): What was the inspiration behind an initiative such as The Alternative?

Aarti Mohan (AM): The Alternative emerged initially out of a need to communicate stories about interesting yet lesser known organisations, people and initiatives that are making a bigger difference to society. As volunteers with various non-profits in Bangalore, we experienced first-hand the passion, hard work and commitment that drove social organisations to bring about real change, an impact we felt needed to be talked about much more widely.

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Hetal Jannu and Anuja Balasubramanian, founders of Show Me The Curry, transport thousands of viewers from across the globe into their kitchens through their cookery shows on YouTube.

Interview by Anne John

Anne John (AJ): What was your ‘aha!’ moment that spurred you both onto the road to SMTC?

Hetal Jannu/Anuja Balasubramanian (HJ/AB): Filming cooking videos was Shrikant’s (Hetal’s husband) idea but the “aha!” moment came as soon as he mentioned it. Immediately, we both thought of family and friends who could benefit from such a service.

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Meet Aishwarya Natarajan, Director of Indianuance – an artiste management firm – and  proud recipient of the British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur Award in Music.

Interview by Anne John

Anne John (AJ): You’ve talked about your growing up with music and starting Indianuance previously. Could you tell our readers briefly about what  Indianuance does and where it fits in the music world?

Aishwarya Natarajan (AN): Ours is an idea born out of the desperate need for professional management among Indian classical musicians, much like it exists in the Western world where managers are  respected for taking an artist’s career to new heights; and the need to see Indian music find a more ready audience amongst the young – to see them enjoy classical music as much as they would a rock music gig.
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