KALPANA SUNDER

Wrote “A Craving for the Caucasus,”

Always in search of new frontiers, Sunder, a Chennai-based travel writer and architecture buff, made her way to the Republic of Georgia after hearing accounts of the stunning architecture in Tbilisi, the country’s ancient capital. Instead, she was wowed by the food and wine that she found. “Tucked between Turkey and Russia in the Caucasus region, this tiny Black Sea nation packed a punch by way of varied landscapes and medieval history, particularly the ornate wooden balconies and Persian-style sulfur baths of Old Tbilisi. But what really set Georgia apart for me was its rich cuisine. Using the freshest of ingredients and flavored by garlic, coriander, walnuts, and herbs, Georgian cooking remained a defining point of the trip for me.”