FEASTING ON THE FOOD OF LIFE

EARLIER THIS YEAR, Shobhaa Dé celebrated her 75th trip around the sun with an Elvis Presley themed soirée.

- Karishma Upadhyay

The party might be over but the celebrations continue with Insatiable (HarperCollins India), a diary of sorts that chronicles the post-pandemic year of 2022. She writes about 'the brood' aka her children; Ansariji the mutton-wala and Babita the maalish-wali (masseur); watching the late M. F. Hussain sketch in the middle of dinner; and fangirling over Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee. And, these anecdotes are peppered with food (so much food!). In an interview with Reader's Digest, De talks about her writing process and why she'd always pick bhakri over foie gras.

The book almost reads like a yearlong food diary. Why did you decide on this format rather than a biography?