I was a biology student till Class 12 and had even cleared prestigious exams like AIPMT and the one conducted by the Manipal Institute. But ever since I was a child, maybe 10 or 11, I knew that my passion was cooking. I always loved trying out new things even though my mum didn’t allow me. I would try and cook up a storm.

When I was asked to write this piece, I couldn’t think of any issues important in my life. My first impulse like any other teenager was ‘Google search’ but then I realised that there are some things that even Google can’t answer. It was difficult to confront my own voice and ideas, but I decided to take the road less travelled and listen to my conscience.

I have been staying in Delhi far away from home for the past four years and the kind of support I received from my friends is my biggest strength. The bonding that a girl has with her female friends is much stronger than any guy friend. Shopping sprees, heartbreaks, emotional upheavals or be it any other issue, girlfriends are always there for you.

All I ever wanted was to try and live that life that was spontaneously welling up within me. Why was that so very difficult?” These fabled lines introduce us to the young narrator of Demian, a novel by Herman Hesse, which has inspired generations of adolescents.

Everything in this country is like a big fat Indian wedding, a lot of mess, rush and hush but everything falls into place in the end.
And this attitude of taking things casually peters down to even our day to day interactions as many feel the chalta hai attitude works for them.

When you are alone at home and start feeling hungry, you just look upon something to munch. Instead of eating something unhealthy, you can cook a delicious cold macaroni salad, which is nutritive and yummy.

Milk sandwich for a snappy snack
When five girls are away from home, in the mountains of Kasauli, with few utensils in the kitchen, some basic supplies and hungry stomachs in the middle of the night, those cooking lessons which we could have taken at home would have helped.

By virtue of being a person who does not eat to live, but lives to eat; my tastebuds want to experience every cuisine available on Earth.