Suvir

The art of letting go - Slice of Life/Indian Express

When I was 20 I fell in love with an Australian artist in NYC. He moved in with me, and five months later I came home to an empty apartment. I began looking for clues to his disappearance and soon realised my student loan and any meagre savings had vanished with him. He left me broken, betrayed, and full of anger and regret. New emotions for me. He also left me with a choice. Would I allow this one person and one moment in time to become the lens through which I observed life and love? Would I opt to live in a body and mind drowning in a cesspool of depressive emotions? Or would I choose to let go of the hurt and move on to love again?

All the light we cannot see

Pain has no GPS location. It doesn’t belong to one joint of the body, one malady or one human being. It is universal; it is a rainbow that changes its face, its nuance, its tragedy and its infliction as it goes from home to home, from people to people, and across the regions of the world. Pain makes us citizens of a global village without borders, regardless of racial or religious divides. Pain forces us to realise that black, white, brown, beige — whatever colour we might be — we are all connected.

The Story of Instamatic & Crispy Okra Salad

This weekend I share my fourth book, Instamatic in my column. 

I share the backstory to the book. A book that is equal parts Instasaying, Instapics, and Instawisdom. A deeper more thoughtful look into our Instaworld. 

As a teaser I share the brilliance of the sun and clouds as I learned at our farm in Hebron, NY. Also share what I learned while visiting the remarkable nation that is Rwanda. 

Read the column on Mail Today, or below.

It's Time to Fly

My nephew, Karun Sagar, a student at Sara Lawrence College, is a musician, screenwriter and rebel with the world on his shoulders. His is a cool genius that makes magic wherever he applies himself. These are his thoughts when asked what inspiration a 20-year-old living in New York might have for the world.

Instamatic: Poetry in Pictures

Grateful to Dr. Shashi Tharoor for reading Instamatic when it was being compiled into book form. In his debt for having seen sense in it in that loose form. Overjoyed that he found the time and will to write the foreword for Instamatic. 

Today, Instamatic is being released to the world. The day my publisher/editor, my friend Yogi Suri (Milap Publications) and I had been looking forward to for the better part of this last year. 

Here, I share the words of Dr. Tharoor to launch the book into the world. Words that are gracing Hindustan Times' HT Brunch. 

Grateful to Jamal Shaikh and the paper for this wonderful feature that also made it to the cover.

Hopes Get Real, It's Time To Fly, & Crispy Okra Salad

My May 16th, weekend column from Mail Today is out. 

Features my take on hope as I see it. 

My nephew, Karun Sagar was asked by me to write something inspiring. His writing flows as easily as water down a stream. 

Crispy Okra Salad, a recipe I came up with as a young young boy, that was the prize winning recipe at Devi, the one that was the only Sub-Continental recipe included in Food and Wine Magazine line up of the 40 Best Dishes of the Last 40 Years, is included here. 

Read full column below, or see it on Mail Today by India Today. 

And a Curry, Hari Bhari (Egg Curry with Peas and Potatoes)

 

This recipe was shared by visual artist extraordinaire, Aamir Rabbani. A dear friend. Also responsible for editing and digitizing the Corona recipes I have been sharing. 

Aamir is stuck home-alone in Delhi. He also has lost his cook to the lockdown. Instead of moping and complaining, Aamir has used this time to cook the dishes that he misses from back home in Muzaffarpur in Bihar. 

Egg Curry with green peas and potatoes is a dish his mother made often. His memories of it are rich. This version was made by him at home under quarantine. It is easy to make and delicious to boot. Enjoy making it for yourself and your family.

Bonds of Joy, Twin Power & French Toast

My Slice of Life column for the May 2nd weekend from Mail Today by India Today. 

 

Mom's French Toast

 

This is one of several western dishes that my mother made for us kids. Instead of drowning our French Toast in syrup, she would sprinkle coarse demerara sugar on the bread, so as it cooked on the grill, the sugar caramelized and pooled creating a sticky, sweet and crunchy built in coating that we found addictive. I use vanilla paste in this recipe as I feel it provides a gentler, richer vanilla flavor than vanilla extract. For an extra special touch, pulse some sugar cubes with lemon zest in your food processor and sprinkle over the French Toast before serving.

 

Dhan-Saee (lentil and vegetable stew)

 

Dhan-Saee is my take on what a baby born to a vegetarian marriage of Dhan Saak and Saee Bhaji would be. A nod to the Parsi and Sindhi food and forkways. A celebration of pulses and vegetables. Add more as you find in your refrigerator or the market. Switch them around to meet your fancy.

The dish has wonderful heat that doesn’t bite the tongue the way green chiles (hot peppers) do, but a warmth that comes from the use of whole spices. A comforting discovery of tastes and flavors that build with each bite. That entertain beyond the bite as well. A lingering enjoyment. Simple in its putting together yet complex and layered in its character.

What Will Be, Will Be

My Slice of Life column from Mail Today by India Today for April 18th, 2020. 

Read by following LINK here or keep reading below.