Chronicles of food and memories!

Novelist R K Narayan was fond of scented areca nut and the strictly vegetarian author fussed over food labels and ate the 'cleansing' curd rice during his stint in the US as a Rockfeller Fellow.
Charming tidbits about the author of iconic stories like "The Guide" and "Malgudi Days" can be found in "Tiffin: Memories and Recipies of Vegetarian Food," written by Rukmini Srinivas, who used to teach at Queen Mary's College in Chennai and now divides her time between Boston and Bengaluru.
Narayan, a family friend of Rukmini and her renowned social anthropologist husband M N Srinivas, recounted to the author his experience of having mistaken pepperoni for tomatoes at a pizza place in Berkeley in the US.

Kunjappa, as Narayan was fondly called "requested me for a bowl of rice mixed with yoghurt as 'cleansing' food as he put it," recounts the author, who is now in her 80s and hosts a TV programme on Indian vegetarian food on a Boston-based channel.
Written in a memoir style, the author who grew up in British India shares the memories and recipes of delectable food that she has cooked and eaten over many decades.
Rukmini's father worked for British defence administration till 1947 and her childhood was spent in different places across the country.

Food eaten in cities of Poona, Baroda, Delhi, Tanjore, Mysore and Madras besides Stanford, Berkeley and Boston in the US, various places that Rukmini or "Rukka" lived find place in the book published by Rupa.

"There is a growing interest in the UK and the US in tiffin, the food and its traditional Indian container, the tiffin carrier. Its global popularity is evident from the fact that several Indian restaurants by the name 'Tiffin' have sported in recent years from London to Philadelphia" says the author.
'Tiffin', derived from 'tiffing', a historical British term for small meals or snacks to accompany a drink, is a staple meal in most Indian households.
Like the traditional metal tiffin box, which has found its way into modern food, Rukmini's pure-vegetarian recipes are an interesting amalgamation of old-school cooking techniques, with innovative twists.