I'm Ninad, born and brought up in Pune, India. Before life and reality nudged me onto a different path, I dreamed of becoming a filmmaker. Though, I think storytelling found its way back to me anyway.

I've always been fascinated by origins. Food did the same. How did a dish travel across regions? What memories are hidden in a single bite?

My real introduction to the kitchen came during the second wave of COVID-19, when I found myself living alone in a newly rented outhouse. I learned how to make basic meals as pure survival and curiosity. A simple dish wasn't so simple anymore. Someone had sourced the ingredients, prepared them, cooked them, and shared them. That realization transformed the way I looked at food and the history behind it.

My favourite dish to cook is chicken in coconut curry, a finger-licking comfort that few who have tasted it ever forgot.

When I'm not writing or cooking, you'll probably find me travelling somewhere. And if you've read my works, you'll discover a bias that I make very little effort to hide: Kerala. You'll find more than a few articles about it.

"When we think of the past it's the beautiful things we pick out. We want to believe it was all like that." - Margaret Atwood.

You can also support me here: buymeacoffee.com/myselfninad.