Every generation borrows its courage from somewhere. For mine, it came wrapped in some books, songs and films. Some stories entertain us. Others quietly move into our lives and rearrange the furniture. Rang De Basanti did that for an entire generation. It wasn't just a film. It was a conversation about friendship, citizenship and the uncomfortable truth that loving your country sometimes means asking it difficult questions. Its soundtrack became part of that conversation. Mos

When I turned fifty (yes, thank you), I did what any food and music obsessive would do. I curated the soundtrack. Not one playlist. Three. (Glad the theme song for that party is back on Spotify. Phew) The first was the warm up. Music that lingered in the background while people arrived, hugged, found their first drink, introduced friends to friends and settled into the evening. Songs that invited conversation instead of competing with it. The second was for when th

Last week, I wondered what would happen if an album could be served as a meal. Not one song paired with one recipe, but an entire listening experience imagined as a tasting menu. An amuse-bouche. A first course. Soup. A vegetable course. A main. A palate cleanser. Dessert. Each course carrying the mood of the music rather than the lyrics. Then I realised my first menu didn't have to begin with an album at all. It had to begin with a playlist. Not the soundtrack of my entire c

Most accidental pairings don't begin in my kitchen. They begin in the supermarket. Let's plug in my favorite supermarket song I usually walk in carrying a shopping list, but somewhere between the produce aisle and the checkout, it quietly becomes a list of suggestions. I wander through seasonal fruits and vegetables, pause at ingredients I've never cooked with, and occasionally pick up something simply because I've never put it in my basket before. It's less about buying groc

When people ask me where I learnt to cook, they're usually expecting the name of a culinary school, a restaurant, or perhaps a chef who took me under their wing. The truth is, I've learnt from many kitchens. Some were family kitchens filled with curiosity and experimentation. Some belonged to restaurants and hotels. Others were makeshift spaces where hungry friends gathered late into the night. A few taught me discipline. Some taught me hospitality. The best ones taught me co

A recent bout of decluttering unearthed three relics from a shelf I hadn't visited in years. A cassette. A CD. A DVD. None of them are particularly valuable. In fact, finding a device to play them today might be harder than finding the media itself. Yet I couldn't let them go. The first was a cassette of Kya Hai Yeh Jaadu by Vedic Chant. The second, the soundtrack CD of the film Turning 30. The third, a DVD of Bombay Boys. At first glance, they seem unrelated. But then again,

Birds of Tokyo NYE Roast (Track 10 of "What a Song Tastes Like" Series) Some songs don’t arrive with answers. They arrive with company. Lanterns is one of those songs for me. It doesn’t promise renewal or resolution. It simply suggests that showing up still matters. That light can be low. That staying counts. What this song holds I don’t hear Lanterns as a song about celebration. I hear it as a song about presence. About evenings that don’t need to peak. About being in a ro

Sia- Snowman Stars and Snow on Shells (Track 9 of "What a Song Tastes Like" Series) There are Christmas songs that announce themselves. And then there are songs that arrive quietly and stay. Snowman is not a song I associate with celebration. I associate it with restraint. With holding something carefully. With knowing that warmth can be too much if you rush it. It sounds like winter evenings after the lights are already on. Like things that don’t need fixing- only time. Why

U2- Satellite of Love (original Lou Reed) Earthy chicken with orange, apricots and bread (Track 8 of "What a Song Tastes Like" Series) Some songs don’t enter your life through albums. They slip in quietly through films - sitting in the background, doing their job, not asking for attention. You hear them once, maybe twice, and then one day you realise they’ve unpacked and are living rent-free in your head. That’s probably why I’ve always had a soft spot for soundtracks. They’

Simply Red - Stars Ptitim with Roast Chicken in Mushroom Sauce (Track 7 of the “What A Song Tastes Like” series) There are songs that lift you without noise. Stars has always been that quiet miracle for me. It’s warm, simple, and a little magical in the way good music often is - the kind that shifts the room without trying. The kind that makes you breathe differently, even if the day has been long. A friend recently gifted me tiny paper stars - blue, red, yellow - and they

Asha Puthli — The Devil Is Loose Poached Pears with Chocolate Chilli Sauce (Track 6 of the “What A Song Tastes Like” series) Some songs don’t rush toward you. They settle into the room like a city at night. The Devil Is Loose is one of those songs a quiet stride, a late-hour glow, the feeling of walking through Bombay and New York at the same time. It doesn’t demand attention. It just finds its own corner and begins to colour the space. Asha Puthli’s voice has that kind of c

Michael Jackson — Beat It Potato Kumpir with Beans, Guacamole & Cheese Sauce (Track 5 of the “What A Song Tastes Like” series) This one isn’t a flavour. It’s a rhythm. Some songs simmer. Some unfold gently. Beat It does neither. It arrives with precision, attitude, and a pulse you feel before you even understand it. And when the new MJ biopic trailer dropped last week, it reminded me of something I’ve always admired - not just Michael Jackson’s force, but Quincy Jones’ archi

Queen — Bohemian Rhapsody Banana, Harissa & Calcutta Paan Cake (Track 4 of the “What A Song Tastes Like” series) What if a song had a flavour? Some songs are simple to taste. A soft love song might feel like vanilla cake. A quiet acoustic track might feel like warm bread. And then there’s Bohemian Rhapsody — a song far too dramatic, unpredictable, emotional, and operatic to fit into any neat category. It isn’t one flavour. It’s several. All at once. In one breath. The questi

Third Eye Blind — Bonfire Gostana Chicken Burger (minus the secret sauce) (Track 3 of the “What A Song Tastes Like” series) The Song That I Thought They Never Played For the longest time, I was convinced Third Eye Blind did not play “Bonfire” at their Mumbai gig in 2012. I even said it in my reel with full confidence. Then I recently found the setlist. There, right at the bottom, it says: BONFIRE REPRISE So clearly, they did play it . I just… missed it. Either from exciteme

R.E.M. — Radio Song Cheese Sandwich French Toast (Track 2 of the “What A Song Tastes Like” series) Sunshine, Vinyl, and Familiar Days Some songs just feel good. Radio Song is one of them. It has that easy, sunny, slightly cheeky energy that reminds me of simple days at Gostana — music playing, people dropping in, dogs wandering around, and nothing too serious happening. It also reminds me a lot of the 90s. Movies like Singles , the Seattle scene, relaxed vibes, people showin

U2 - The Fly Chilli, Honey & Lemon Dressing (Track 1 of the “What A Song Tastes Like” series) A Beginning, A Song, A Shift If you’ve been visiting Acoustic Flavours for a while, you already know that my world is stitched with food, music, and those small moments where they blend without warning. And somewhere in that weave — steady, familiar, quietly powerful — is U2. I was always a fan.The kind who listened with interest, not obsession. But I became a super fan only after A

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