A new book series tells the story of cities through food, history, and people

For many Indians, especially those living abroad, the pandemic not just caused a shift in their professional calling but brought them closer to their roots. Take for instance, Sri Bodanapu, a marketing professional based in San Francisco who switched careers to kickstart Heirloom Cities in 2023, now documents cities through a culinary and cultural lens. The series started off with Mumbai (May 2025, ₹5,100) and the second title Kolkata (₹7,500) is set to launch on April 28. 

Sri moved to the US 20 years ago, and that move led her to learn how to cook. “It helped me stay connected to my home in Hyderabad. I moved to India for two years during the pandemic and the seed for Heirloom Cities was sown then,” she says, adding how her mother’s brother, a scientist in the US, had started documenting their family recipes 40 years ago and that served as her starting point. “Post my tech career, I turned his document into a book called the Heritage of Food. I wanted to preserve our food traditions and as an immigrant it was even more important for me.” Sri started a company offering design services to families who were keen to put together their cookbooks. “I worked on several books for Indian, Italian, Jewish, and even Lebanese families. I wanted a deeper relationship with publishing that allowed me to preserve the culinary legacy of not just families but cities, and that’s how Heirloom Cities was born.”