Chandra Padmanabhan, a graduate from Calcutta University, did her post-graduation education at Delhi University. She has long been associated with the publishing industry. But it is cooking that has been the author's forte for nearly four decades. She is the author of the three bestselling titles, Dakshin (Harper Collins), Southern Spice (Penguin) and Simply South (Westland). She last won the international GOURMAND award for the second best vegetarian cookbook in 2009.