When a hotel is home
Who could possibly complain about spending months in a beachside hotel, right?
Conde Nast Traveller India / March 2016
Assistant Editor- Digital, Conde Nast Traveller India, former Editor, Brown Paper Bag (Mumbai). Email me at smithamenon1@gmail.com.
Who could possibly complain about spending months in a beachside hotel, right?
Conde Nast Traveller India / March 2016
Here’s how I did it
Conde Nast Traveller India / December 2015
An grand adventure from Bengaluru to Paris
Conde Nast Traveller India / November 2015
Nidhi Tewari made the trip in 97 days, with just a little help from her friends
Conde Nast Traveller India / January 2016
The girl who saved lives
Conde Nast Traveller India / January 2016
In a trip that spanned six continents and 15 months, Tushar and Sanjay had more adventures than you will have in your life
Conde Nast Traveller India / November 2015
Ashish and Rajendra survived everything from Russian police to the earthquake in Nepal on their 17,000km road trip
Conde Nast Traveller India / November 2015
Say hallou(mi) to these eight unique cheeses, all native to India!
Conde Nast Traveller India / October 2015
Launching your own treat truck soon? Read on for the inside scoop from three experienced entrepreneurs
Conde Nast Traveller India / September 2015
With over 50 wine producers and 400 wines in India, author Peter Csizmadia-Honigh says the Indian vino growth story is just starting to ripen
Conde Nast Traveller India / October 2015
As Brewbot finally launches its own craft beers, Smitha Menon goes behind the scenes with brewmaster Julie Baggett
Mid-day / July 2015
So, you have a long break coming up but you can’t get yourself to go to another mall and check out the sales again? Smitha Menon tells you how to make the best of your mini vacation, just outside Mumbai
Mid-day / July 2015
A few days ahead of her new tour, Black Mamba's launch, vocal gymnast and melody maverick Suman Sridhar chats with Smitha Menon about what to expect from her upcoming project
Mid-day / August 2015
Om nom, nom
Daily Secret / August 2015
CrossFit is fast becoming a popular workout routine for women across various age groups in the city. A newbie CrossFitter, Smitha Menon investigates
Mid-day / July 2015
With 36 jobs & five decades of jazz under his belt, the piano man at Palladium is much cooler than you imagine. Next time you’re at the mall, stop by & say hello.
Brown Paper Bag / June 2015
Photo essay featuring 8 interesting subjects: a rapper-turned-copywriter, a single mom with a band, a TV show host & a 56 year-old dad.
Brown Paper Bag / February 2015
It’s hoes before bros for many young professionals who are giving up the city life for farming. Read on for how to make the shift to Farmville even when you don’t own family land.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2015
Over the clang of vessels and buzz from Churchgate station, Gaurav Kamat tells us about the iconic restaurant's move to New Marine Lines.
Brown Paper Bag / January 2015
A writer, ad man and TV professional walk into a bar. Listen in to find bargain brew and the best crispy chicken in Mumbai.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2015
Have a pet that you can’t bear to ever part with? Call Dr Gaikwad, who can use his tools to ensure your animal will safely rest in (mantel)piece.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2015
This community meal venture is run out of a sprawling Colaba apartment, where authentic Muslim meals are served to groups of guests no larger than eight.
Brown Paper Bag / December 2014
The CSMVS museum wing reopens after 15 years with exhibits from the 19th century, climate-control technology and an interactive section. (St)itching to check it out?
Brown Paper Bag / May 2015
What is the author of White Mughals like as a student? bpb sits in on a tutorial with the hottest Hindi teacher in town. PS: She can help you too.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2015
Mo’s Kefir delivers a fermented milk drink created by good bacteria affectionately named ‘Danny’. These arrive in retro doodh bottles via a subscription.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2015
bpb knocks on doors from Cusrow to Behram Baug to scout six Parsi ladies with hobbies and businesses that you should know about.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2015
An ex advertising graphic designer will visit restaurants, draw out her order, and see what ends up on her plate. This is also a game you can buy from her.
Brown Paper Bag / March 2015
An ex film professional & student of founding baker at Balthazar, New York launches a food brand with a cast of hefty granola, tea breads & relishes.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2015
Girish Singh Sani makes sculptures, objets d'art, installations and furniture, all from junk he salvages out of a shipyard.
Brown Paper Bag / March 2015
I spoke to ten art experts for tips on how to start an art collection, which gallerists to befriend, what to read & recommended pieces to buy.
Brown Paper Bag / March 2015
Sea horses and baby sharks, pretty fish called Damsels, but a lot of people in distress with no help in sight.
Brown Paper Bag / March 2015
Get a birds & bees crash course at the new Fragrance Garden at Borivali National Park, where you’ll find 58 species of plants, butterflies & birds.
Brown Paper Bag / March 2015
Restaurateurs, store-owners and experts imagine what the graveyard shift will be like if Aditya Thackeray’s 24x7 city plan comes into play.
Brown Paper Bag / February 2015
This World Cup, we're batting for Mr Menon, who runs the numbers for the cricket industry. Read on for stats, field gossip and the commentary box with the best cake.
Brown Paper Bag / February 2015
Satisfy your base instincts as Trisha Basu and her boyfriend make you pizza that was probably baked to a Dirty Dancing track.
Brown Paper Bag / January 2015
This new restaurant in Colaba is dedicated to cuisine from the Tamil Brahmin community's kitchen. Iyer being served?
Brown Paper Bag / January 2015
Avani Yashwin has six cats, a pink pixie cut and a re-assuring set of hands that will convince you to get an adventurous haircut.
Brown Paper Bag / January 2015
It takes a certain kind of genius that makes you believe, even if for a few hours, that Teja, Amar, Prem and Crime Master Gogo are actual characters that exist in our world.
Brown Paper Bag / November 2014
A long twirling moustache, an evil laugh and a scary whip. Sujith Dilip, owner of Rambo Circus, has none of these.
Brown Paper Bag / November 2014
Call ahead and taxi driver Shahid will compose a song with your name in it, his voice steady even while driving through the potholes.
Brown Paper Bag / January 2015
At the Tham brothers’ new bar, the cocktails, appetisers and entrees all compete for the superhero title.
Brown Paper Bag / December 2014
Say hello to Shilo Shiv Suleman, the driver behind Pulse and Bloom, an installation of pulsating giant lotuses at the Burning Man music festival this year.
Brown Paper Bag / November 2014
This Asian eatery makes a promising debut, catering to the many struggling scriptwriters & hopeful heroes that populate the neighbourhood.
Brown Paper Bag / January 2015
This new breakfast cafe melds cutesy with grunge, eggs with cookies and sandwiches with cake in a way that feels fresh and new.
Brown Paper Bag / November 2014
Compiled & edited this feature on Mumbai's libraries
Brown Paper Bag / November 2014
The team behind Kofuku launches a new Korean restaurant in Bandra. Raise your glass of Jinro Soju.
Brown Paper Bag / November 2014
Our favourite new fin-up girl, Anita sends over fresh catch, but also seafood cooked in her signature masala.
Brown Paper Bag / January 2014
Each member of the Cardoza family is pitching in to make this pickle project work. Buy a jar, already.
Brown Paper Bag / July 2014
The Bombay Bronx's ode to Mumbai city is a bit of an overkill, but the bar snacks make it worth your while.
Brown Paper Bag / June 2014
7 ways to celebrate Diwali across India
Daily Secret / October 2014
The Japanese restaurant from Delhi has replaced Goa's Thalasaa that used to live in this pop up space. No g-ill will.
Brown Paper Bag / September 2014
What does the Royal Dairy of Jordan and Eleftheria have in common? Cheese consultant Mausam Jotwani!
Brown Paper Bag / October 2014
We love the food here, but hope they add meat and alcohol to the line-up soon: two characters integral to any bpb story.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2014
Sensing a gap in the market for high-end luxury and bespoke watches, the BWA was created to minimise the hassle of unique watch acquisitions in India.
Brown Paper Bag / July 2013
An ex journalist launches a do-good campaign that allows you to contribute to different causes. Karma sutra!
Brown Paper Bag / October 2013
London's glitzy and celebrity-endorsed San Lorenzo opens at Taj Land's End. Will this be the fuddy-duddy hotel's ticket to hip?
Brown Paper Bag / September 2013
Not to be dramatic, but you may hear the sound of the Santorini ocean when you bite into the gyros here.
Brown Paper Bag / June 2013
Diver + filmmaker Anees has worked on the underwater sequences for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. He also makes under-the-sea save the date wedding videos.
Brown Paper Bag / July 2013
On our first tour we learned that the desk at the Oval office is made from an abandoned ship that docked at Bombay Port Trust.
Brown Paper Bag / July 2013
The new Flintstones headquarters or a giant computer. Read on to find out.
Brown Paper Bag / June 2013
Ex Taj chef Aseema Mamaji puts Sheer Khurma in a jar, and slaps on a story label that's dedicated to you. The end.
Brown Paper Bag / August 2013
This VIBGYOR cake will appear on a cloudy day to make you feel like you deserve it.
Brown Paper Bag / January 2014
TSM will house recording studios, a music library, an auditorium, DJ consoles and resident faculty from The Manhattan School of Music.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2013
Conversational, tongue-in-cheek & sometimes so random, Karma 101's topics range from technology and pop culture to politics and food.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2013
A Malay national who came to India more than twenty years ago and fell in love, can make you Semla, Simnel & Sambhal.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2013
Considering all the mutations that food go through here - Burhani Mousse, Kaffir Lime Air, Thandai Crème Brûlée - it should have been called Masala Laboratory.
Brown Paper Bag / October 2013
No one thing stands out at Boveda just yet, but we'll wait around for when they start their live acts. Stag(e) allowed.
Brown Paper Bag / October 2013
A do-good campaign feeds off the fact that quite often, the lunch in your tiffin goes to waste.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2013
Choose to be a dinner host on this website, invite strangers over for a meal and hope that a psycho killer doesn't show up. Bond appetit!
Brown Paper Bag / January 2014
First post for Brown Paper Bag. The ride lasts exactly 32 seconds. Here are some ways to use the time on your way up.
Brown Paper Bag / May 2013
Here are some of the other writers who are using porterfolio right now.