The World is my Playground

Dravida at Fern in Ahmedabad hosts Chettinad food fest. The fest is about serving authentic Thalis from Chttiar region of South India, which is apart from their elaborate South Indian Menu. This unique food festival features mouth-watering delicacies from the golden era of the Chettiars who believed in living life king size! Their traditional food was well balanced & flavoured which helped them to stay healthy & fit. The Chettinad cuisine is further enhanced by the hand pounded spices, a tradition from the past and Chef Gersome from Chennai with his team painstakingly prepares the delicacies in the same traditional manner. To retain the authenticity of food, efforts are put in to such an extent that shallots, black sesame oil and spices are brought in from South India, which hels imparting the exact flavour to the recipes. Traditional stone grinder is used to fully extract and impart flavour and right texture.. Such initiatives taken by any hospitality gro...

Sattvik, the name itself says it all.. A food festival organised and celebrated during peak of Winters in Ahmedabad witnesses overwhelming response from both participants and visitors. The success rate and growing demand for such festivals clearly implies that we are still connected to our roots, our origin, if exposed with light and knowledge.. we are open and respect our culture and our food habits just like being open and accepting to western food habits. Sattvik- Food Festival, entering fifteenth year is all about reviving the lesser known ingredients, pulses, millets, spices or any kind of food elements which are not much known to people or probably have lost their significance. Revival is the right term to apply, revival of our food which is seasonal, regional and good for health as it carries lot of hidden therapeutic benefits. Ragi & Beet Cup Cake After Revival comes the aspect of presentation to the new generation.. fusion is the right word. The fastest evolvin...

Karnavati or Ahmedabad is going on a fast track, or bullet track probably... Big projects like Metro rail, Bullet train and Gollywood growing is about the recent developments. Adding feather to its cap has been declaration of Ahmedabad as first Heritage city of India. Apart from architectural heritage..literary works too add to it. The city undoubtedly is moving on fast track; yet at the same time is connected with it's roots. Second season of Ahmedabad International  Literature Festival is a loud testimony itself, wrapped up with Heritage as the Theme. Today curtains were drawn after the two day action packed event which witnessed presence of authors, actors, professors, poets, journalists, film-makers from across age- groups to discuss, debate, deconstruct and celebrate literature. Famous Bollywood star, Annu Kapoor yesterday was present for the inaugural function. A series of sessions and workshops were organised running in  parallel at Ahmedabad Man...

A genius, or gifted or inclined towards music..Prem Joshua  - German by origin but a world citizen, having traveled across the globe has a special corner in his heart for India. He feels that wherever he might have been born, his heart is Indian. It was the first time in Ahmedabad he made a Public level at a large scale organised at the sprawling lawns of Rajwadu. Last week I got a chance to meet him in person at the venue, when questioned about his inspiration, he mentioned , "I don't have any inspiration as such, Music just flows out of me. At times I feel I am not doing justice to one instrument by focusing on it, but certain notes or moods can be reflected only by one... like Sitar can express only a particular set of emotions and traditions. I put in a lot of dedication and devotion to produce fusion masterpieces by playing multiple instruments and making the best out of one life... Defining music he says,"Music is mystery, it has lot of power which c...

Capturing territories through power we all have studied, learnt and witnessed in history; kings used to conquer and with that was their power portrayal. This conquest wasn’t just meant for land and kingdom but along with victory, women too were the soft target; unspoken about... The Patriarchal societies thus took over constantly and women because of their higher EQ succumbed to the patriarchy, giving up on their own existence, rights and forgetting own worth... Centuries passed by; the Shakti forgot her own power, her WILL POWER!! All of a sudden with education there came in a wave, a sea change, the 21 st century mantra!!! WOMEN EMPOWERMENT!! Ahhh, to me very frankly this is a new marketing gimmick and sounds like a joke. The fact is.. they have more power than men, that’s why she is addressed as “ Shakti ” . She is an embodiment of Love, she has the power to bear pains, to give selfless love and it’s because of that quality of selfless love she gives up on he...

 Hyderabad is known for it's Biryani's, on the other side there is another preparation of Dum Biryani which is a rice preparation with mutton or chicken or veggies cooked with spices along so that the flavours of the meat and spices amalgamate with rice.. cooked in a sealed container; that's why we term it as Dum. Swapnil Gandhi, recommended by a friend of mine invited me to taste the same rice preparation. Chicken Dum biryani, absolutely cooked to perfection. I couldn't  spot any trace of oil on my plate, not very spicy, succulent juicy pieces of chicken and the flavour of burnt onions arriving in between  served with raita is the best option for one's like me, who are a foodie yet a bit diet conscious and ofcourse for the new generation who wish to splurge on food and try new places. Up and Up  as the name of the restaurant goes, is also a solution for the food woes of the working lot. the food prepared is healthy, fresh and not too heavy on the wallet or ...

Love is in the air... marriage season is over, cupids are a passe'. With winters setting in, a perfect mood and time for gastronomic indulgence...that's just not all,  Amdavadi love for food has brought in all major restaurateurs and hoteliers together. The third season of Ahmedabad Food Festival is dotted with culinary spread not only from across the nation, but also has Global cuisine on its map... The preview of the fest today, was an entertaining evening, marking presence of who's who of the city. The fest will be open for public from 15th to 17th December 2017 from 4 pm till midnight.  Begin with some Turkish delighst.. Baklawa Served with Love by Hoglatto  Don't miss the secret recipes of Chef Aman Tandon ... Find out!!  Golgappas  Non Veg Platter by Crowne Plaza  Authentic Local Cuisine served by none other than one of oldest brand in city - Gopi Agra ki sizzling chaat.... And there are various oth...

Travelling into time when today, nations most spoken Bride, Anoushka, was spread all across media, parallel to that we went for a tete-a-tete on the book about wife of Father of the Nation... Mrs. Kasturba Gandhi.  Neelima Dalmia Adhar, author of ‘The Secret Diary of Kasturba’ shared her experiences as a daughter, mother, woman and author in an interactive session for which she traveled  down to Ahmedabad to share her thoughts about the book with select audience.   Neelima herself being brought up in a difficult and challenging environment, in a male dominated, hypocrite household and a completely dysfunctional family, surrounded by six siblings, step mothers, a difficult father, sexist mother... her understanding about reading the psyche of people probably grew there transforming into an innate ability.. over and above that; being a psychology student, she loves to observe people, understand thought patterns which helps her in her writings as well. ...

Growing economy, urbanisation and migration with modernisation has also transformed the food patterns of the city, migrated population seeks hygienic home style food as either they don’t have time or infrastructure to cook food which is required both to satisfy their hunger and satiate desire of food which tastes like one straight out of their mom’s kitchen. Kalpana Purohit  One such place in town, the foundation stone of this food outlet was done by a mother only. Mrs. Purohit commenced her venture with a very humble beginning.. daughter of a famous restaurant chain of Mumbai, she always had the expertise running in her genes hence it was easy to venture in...so it was in 1996  when she started her brand serving.... from home itself. She ventured into this field with an intention of serving 'home style' food to youngsters who are staying away from home, because she as a mother could relate it with the need of her own children who were out of country to pursue ...