Chef Vikas Khanna has often spoken about how and why he started 'Bungalow', his acclaimed restaurant in New York. Recently, he shared a deeply personal post on Instagram, revealing more about what inspired the venture. Chef Khanna opened up about the final days of his sister, Radhika Khanna, who died three years ago after battling lupus. "Love and grief are often born from the same place," he wrote, going on to explain how her memory lives on through his restaurant.
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Chef Vikas said he had begun preparations to donate his kidney to Radhika in 2022. A doctor at Columbia, whom he did not name, told Radhika the transplant could prove fatal for him. Instead, the doctor reportedly suggested she "take morphine... and let go." Chef Vikas described the emotional impact of that moment. "That moment shattered everything in both of us. The way they treated her – so coldly, so clinically – crushed her spirit. She was the strongest person I've ever known. But after that conversation, something inside her gave up. And watching her, once so full of life, turn so quiet - broke me in a way I can't explain."
He wrote that he has lived with the pain of that moment every day, and later decided to pour it into Bungalow. "I built this space to honour her. To create something sacred out of sorrow. To turn absence into presence. To give her a home in this world." Despite his efforts, he reflected on how people process grief in a world that can feel unforgiving. "But sometimes, I still wonder: In this relentless city, how do people heal the parts of themselves that no one sees? How do they keep going when the world shows such little mercy?"
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Chef Vikas admitted that he has not yet found answers to these questions. But he remains committed to honouring his sister by welcoming people into what he calls her "shrine." He said he wants to share with others the joyful moments he once experienced with her. He wrote about "making every gathering - festivals, birthdays, graduations, reunions, parents' visits, first jobs, promotions, engagements, baby surprises, or quiet days of healing - a celebration of love, of life, of memory." He ended his post with, "I learnt that even in pain, there can be beauty. And even in every loss, there can be a legacy."
Chef Vikas has previously spoken about his sister's connection to the restaurant. When Bungalow was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024, he dedicated the win to Radhika. Click here to read the full story.
Chef Vikas also remembered his sister when American actress Jenna Fischer, known for playing Pam Beesly in The Office, visited Bungalow last year. He shared that he and Radhika used to watch the show together during her time in the hospital. Read the complete article here.