In this episode, we hear from Indian-born food and travel writer Madhur Jaffrey, who joined us in November 2013 for a talk on how we become who we are. At the time of her visit, Jaffrey, who is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the western hemisphere, had written nearly 30 cookbooks and won several James Beard Awards, as well as her critically-acclaimed memoir, Climbing the Mango Trees.

We learn how Jaffrey evolved to be an ambassador for Indian cuisine through her career as a prolific cookbook writer. We also learn of Jaffrey’s lively, food-infused childhood in India, of her time in New York where she made a living as a freelance writer while waiting for acting gigs, and of the acting career that followed. Listen to find out how she became an unofficial ambassador for Coca-Cola, how Jaffrey learned to swim with the aid of a watermelon, and how she joined in a peace prayer with Gandhi.