After a long time, I read a truly delightful book - "Monsoon diary" by Shoba Narayan.
The actual book does not have a lot to do with Monsoons - however, the evocative beauty and the innate Indianness of the word captures the feeling the book creates in you .
The subject is pretty simple. It is an account of the author's life, intended to focus primarily on the culinary aspects. Shoba is a typical tam bram girl. She is brought up in Adyar, her grand parents from from Kerala, she goes to grad school in the US and ultimately marries an iyer aathu america mapillai. (sounds familiar?)
If R.K Narayan immortalized life in the small towns of Kerala and Karnataka, in the pre-independence era, Shoba comes pretty close to doing the same for the old Madras. Madras in the 70s and 80s (and even the early part of the 90s) was a quiet green haven, striking the perfect balance between its ancient Dravidian heritage, and the remnants of British colonialism. Shoba captures the spirit of that Madras. The book also beautifully describes one of the most endearing aspects of life in India - the people that you encounter all through the day (the paal kaaran, kariga kari, isthiri kaaran etc!!!!)
The pace of the book lags a bit during the latter half, especially in the chapters where the author describes her grad school life in the USA. Also, there are a number of recipes listed in the book. They are very good, but the most glaring omission is the absence of a good sambar recipe! Ofcourse, this book is not intended to be another Meenakshi Ammal's cook-and-see, but, isnt the cornerstone of our lives a good cup of arachuvitta sambar?
Shoba's book is a must have for any Madras born thamizh lover's library!
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