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About Monica Bhide

Monica Bhide is an award winning writer, literary coach, poet, storyteller, and educator. As a bestselling fiction and internationally renowned cookbook author, Bhide is known for sharing food, culture, mystery, and love in her writing. Having roots and experience in many places, Bhide inspires readers everywhere with present day stories which transcend cultural, chronological, geographical, economical, and religious borders. Bhide’s short story collection, The Devil in Us, topped the list on Kindle as a bestseller in its category of Literary Short Fiction. Her memoir, A Life of Spice, was picked by Eat Your Books as one of the top five food memoirs of 2015. Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi picked Bhide’s Modern Spice (Simon & Schuster, 2009), as one of the “Best Books Ever” for Newsweek in 2009. A respected writing authority, Bhide appears regularly on NPR and conducts sold-out workshops on writing, food, culture, and scheduled speaking events at prestigious venues as the Smithsonian Institution, Sackler Gallery, Les Dames d’Escoffier, Georgetown University, and Yale University. She has taught all over the world including conferences in London, Dubai, US etc. She has also been the “Writing Coach in Residence” for the annual conference of the Association of Food Journalists.

Recent Posts by this author:

  • Powered by Hope
  • Writing About Personal Suffering
  • What Is Your “Home Rice”?
  • Why Write During Difficult Times
  • A Recipe for a Non-Traditional Marketing Plan
  • Creating Authenticity from Estate Sale Treasures
  • On Giving Up
  • Timeboxed Whining

    • Powered by Hope

    By 15 Comments

    “Are we going to die, Mama?” I overheard this conversation as I walked behind a young woman and her preteen daughter. The local government here had just announced the lockdown due to COVID-19 and the news was spreading. I had heard the mom tell the daughter that they would have to stay inside for now, as there was an invisible illness in the air that could hurt people. The mom stopped and hugged her daughter. And the child added, “I love you, Mama. I am scared.”

    At some point, I think we are all that child. Scared, worried, uncertain about what is coming. I certainly wasn’t prepared for the torrent of my own roller coaster of emotions, much less the messages I was getting from my friends, family, and readers. I was still nursing my wounds of my twenty-four-year-long marriage ending, a heartbreak that I had not been prepared for, and the resurgence of my chronic pain issues, financial problems, and, well, you name it.

    And then the pandemic hit. It is like life was imitating a country music song: first the dog died, then the house burned down, then it felt like the world, as we knew it, ended.

    I found myself on the other end of long phone calls, walking friends through some gentle guidance and meditation to accept what was happening so that we could calm our chaos and deal with the situation.

    Every day, questions like these were arriving in my mailbox:

    1. I am so scared. I fear I cannot create any art.
    2. I feel so helpless and angry with myself. I am sitting here feeling sorry for myself and there are so many who have it worse than I do.
    3. I hate this feeling. I feel like I will suffocate.
    4. It is over, isn’t it?
    5. I am terrified for my family/my parents/my kids/myself.
    6. Does my work matter?

    I knew I had to do something. So I created these short sound bites, Powered by Hope, to help my friends and readers deal with this surreal time in our lives. Their goal is to offer gentle stories, hope, and self-care for all of us. I offer listeners a different perspective, as our world faces a “new normal” and we learn what is means to be physically distant, yet connected as humans at our very core. At the end of each audio bite, I offer listeners the chance to put my reflections into practice, and lead them on a uniquely crafted and specialized guided exercise to calm and center the mind. The guided exercises allow people a moment of reflection, the opportunity to pause and think about their lives. [Read more…]

    Writing About Personal Suffering

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    I just wrote a book that I never thought I would write. And now I am now writing this post that I never thought I would write. As a writer I have written on food, lifestyle, travel, family, work, and love. I have written nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. But never in my wildest dreams did I think that one day my life as I knew it would be over and I would write a book about caring for a loved one, suddenly suffering a life-threatening illness in a coma, in the intensive care unit. The … [Read more...]

    What Is Your “Home Rice”?

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    I grew up eating only one type of rice: white. When I was young, I thought there was only that one type of rice. Of course, as I grew older I learned about white rice and brown rice, but I don’t think I ventured much further than that. Then, at a point in my food writing career, I was honored and delighted to interview author Naomi Duguid, coauthor of Seductions of Rice. As we discussed the rice of my childhood, the white, nutty, aromatic basmati rice, Duguid said something quite insightful: She … [Read more...]

    Why Write During Difficult Times

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    Our family recently experienced a life-changing medical emergency. As the doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff worked endlessly to save my husband’s life, I was, as a caregiver, on the sidelines. Feelings of helplessness, grief, sadness, and frustration found a home in my heart. During the time of his hospitalization and now, during post-op care, I find myself reaching again and again for the only thing that gives me great comfort: books. For some people, it is music, or medication, or … [Read more...]

    A Recipe for a Non-Traditional Marketing Plan

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    Please welcome Monica Bhide to Writer Unboxed as our newest regular contributor! Monica is is an award winning writer, literary coach, poet, storyteller, and educator. She is the author of the novel Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken, which has just been nominated for the Library of Virginia Literary Awards, fiction category! (Congratulations, Monica!) As a bestselling fiction and internationally renowned cookbook author, she is known for sharing food, culture, mystery, and love in her … [Read more...]

    Creating Authenticity from Estate Sale Treasures

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    Please welcome our guest Monica Bhide whose first novel Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken released earlier this year! Monica’s work has appeared in Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Saveur, The Washington Post, Health, The New York Times, Ladies Home Journal, AARP The Magazine, Parents, and many others. Her books have been published by Simon & Schuster and Random House (India). The Chicago Tribune named Bhide one of the seven food writers to watch in 2012. In April 2012, Mashable.com picked … [Read more...]

    On Giving Up

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    Please welcome today's returning guest, Monica Bhide. Monica is an established nonfiction writer, appearing in Food & Wine, The New York Times, Parents, Cooking Light, Prevention, Bon Appetit, and many other publications. She's been named one of the seven noteworthy food writers to watch by The Chicago Tribune, and one of the top 10 food writers on Twitter by Mashable. She's also published three cookbooks, including her June release, Modern Spice: Inspired Indian recipes for the contemporary … [Read more...]

    Timeboxed Whining

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    Please welcome today's guest, Monica Bhide, to Writer Unboxed! Monica is a well-established nonfiction writer, appearing in such publications as Food & Wine, The New York Times, Parents, Cooking Light, Prevention, Bon Appetit, and many more. She's been named one of the seven noteworthy food writers to watch by The Chicago Tribune, and one of the top 10 food writers on Twitter by Mashable. She's also published three cookbooks, including her June release, Modern Spice: Inspired Indian recipes … [Read more...]