Naresh Rijhwani is a structural engineer, author and chronicler of India's changing times. Over a distinguished career spanning more than four decades, he worked on major industrial and infrastructure projects in India and overseas, holding senior engineering and leadership positions with Public Sector Organisations and international engineering companies.
Born in 1956 into a Sindhi Hindu family whose roots trace back to Larkana and Sukkur in Sindh, Naresh grew up in an India still finding its feet after Independence. His connection with Sindhi heritage, however, has remained a constant thread throughout his life. The food, traditions, festivals, stories and customs he encountered within his family and community became not merely memories, but a part of an inheritance he felt was worth preserving.
The Sindhi Cuisine Cookbook: Heirloom Recipes, Rituals and Remembrance grew from this personal connection. More than a collection of recipes, the book is an attempt to preserve the flavours, cooking traditions and memories of a community that was separated from its ancestral homeland during Partition. Alongside authentic family recipes, Naresh brings together the customs, occasions, stories and recollections associated with Sindhi food—showing how recipes passed from one generation to another can carry history, identity and a sense of belonging.
His earlier book, Echoes of Sindhi Heritage, explores the wider cultural landscape of Sindh through its history, traditions, festivals, spirituality, music and collective memory. His memoir, Through the Winds of Change, chronicles his personal journey through seven decades of a changing India. His latest work, Resilience of a Republic, reflects on India's journey from 1956 to 2026 through the perspective of someone who has witnessed many of its social, economic, technological and institutional changes first-hand.
Across his books, Naresh's writing is guided by a common purpose: to preserve memories that might otherwise fade and to pass them on to future generations. In The Sindhi Cuisine Cookbook, that purpose finds expression through something at once simple and enduring—the food that families have cooked, shared and remembered across generations.