Travelling back in time to ancient Japan through manga

Historical movies and books have always fascinated me. Reading Greek mythologies, Victorian novels and classic Indian tales about Tamil Kings Chera, Chola and Pandyas gave me a thrill that no drug ever could. They take me to a place, beyond my wildest imagination. There is nothing I don’t like about them – their way of…

Tamil food link to Japanese cuisine

It has been a long time since I ate a meal of piping hot sambar, rasam with potato fry and vellarika kootu complete with curd rice. When you work close to 9 hours a day and 6 days a week and stay alone, cooking is the last thing on your mind. You try to cut…

Battling caffeine hangover

When you wake up with a very bad headache after gulping down you-forgot-how-many glasses of wine, just the aroma of coffee can stimulate your muddled brain. Take a shot of caffeine, you are almost normal. Coffee is the best hangover medicine. But what if you are suffering a hangover from overdose of caffeine? You just…

Growing Korean pop culture in India

Korean pop-culture, a growing subculture in India, now has substantial fan-base. Despite the fact the it is one of the toughest languages to learn and understand, there are thousands that follow Korean music, movies and television series. The Korean Wave, referred to as Hallyu, probably started from the Northeast who adapted them back in 2000s…

Milind Soman, a fantasy. Period.

I was not going to write about Milind Soman. Ex-supermodel, actor, swimmer and now a marathoner.  He is probably still single and as hot as he was in his debut music video ‘Made in India’ by Alisha Chinnai. After reading an interview of Soman in the Hindu Metro Plus today and Facebook reminder about a…

Sleepless in Tamil Nadu

There is no room for peace and quiet in one of the oldest civilisations, Dravidian state Tamil Nadu. Most of us, especially television journalists, have forgotten what an uneventful day without breaking news feel like. From the time former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was admitted in Apollo hospitals on September 22, 2016 to political instability…

Understanding Japanese way of life through shoujo manga

Though I read all sort of manga, shoujo is a go-to genre for me when I just want to feel good. They are fluffy and romantic and makes your heart go all gooey inside. At the outset that is all they are worth for, as they don’t have a great plot line. Boy loves girl,…

An yen for ramen

It was Sunday and I had a yen for ramen. When I searched Zomato, it threw up over 10 restaurants. Somehow Aki Bay Ramen shop caught my eye. At first sight ramen may look like soupy noodles. But they are much more than that. The dish, liked I explained in my previous post, has three…

Cocktail, mocktail and Coffeetail?

I have never tasted a cocktail though I know many. I love the sound of Daiquiri and who doesn’t love a Martini or a Margarita. For people like me, mocktails are the best. I love the blend of fruits that give mocktails unique taste.  But have you ever heard of coffeetails? If there ever was…

Getting high on coffee: Barista training

Is it possible to get high on just coffee? You can, I realised after I attended a barista workshop at the newly launched Lavazza training centre in Chennai. I lost track of how much coffee I drank during the course of the workshop that lasted for over an hour. I learnt about coffee, its origin…