Institutions
A restaurant, hotel, school or company, and the people who built it, worked in it and kept it going.
Commissioned Histories
I write commissioned histories that capture the people, work, and memory behind a place, so its story can be told through the lives that shaped it.
What can a history hold?
A history is never just one story. It lives in different memories, experiences and points of view. Bringing them together reveals a fuller picture, often uncovering stories that might otherwise go untold.
Family businesses
The generations of knowledge, decisions and hard work behind a family business.
Brands
The people and ideas that shaped a brand, from those who started it to those who keep it going.
Families
A family’s generations, where they came from, how they lived, and the stories, photographs and recipes that have been passed down.
How it works
- 01
A conversation
We start with a conversation about what you want to preserve and who it’s for.
- 02
Research
I spend time with the people and the material, from long conversations to old photographs and letters.
- 03
Writing
I write, and you read and respond at each stage.
- 04
What you keep
It might take the form of a book to share, a private family record, or an archive of recorded conversations, transcripts, photographs and papers. The format depends on what you want to preserve.
A published history
Published · 2025 · English and Kannada
The MTR Story: A Labour of Love
A history of one of Bengaluru’s most loved restaurants through its first hundred years, told through the cooks, servers, managers and patrons who built it. It brings together my experience of working in restaurants for over a decade and years spent writing about Bengaluru’s restaurants and the people who keep them going.
Get in touch
I take on a small number of commissions each year and am happy to travel anywhere in India. Family histories are treated as private unless you choose otherwise.
Write to me at
pchabbi@gmail.com