Travel Stories
About Los Angeles for India Currents
For the last two years, I have been visiting Los Angeles a few times a year. Here, then, is a guide to experiencing Los Angeles beyond its cliches.
Tipai Wildlife Luxuries for Mint Lounge
I hadn’t heard of Tipeshar wildlife sanctuary till it mushroomed, quite spectacularly amongst the wildlife crowd because of the birth of six tiger cubs.
Taj Magazine 50th Anniversary Issue: Taj Bekal
For Taj Magazine's 50th Anniversary issue, they sent me to Bekal to write about the Jiva spa there
The many pleasures of Aurangabad for Mint Lounge
Hillary Clinton was the first guest at Dhyaana Farms in February 2023 but it took several months for the luxury farmstay in Verul, Maharashtra, to open for guests.
Soneva Maldives: for Mint Lounge
Just outside my cottage at the Soneva Fushi resort was a coral reef. Several times a day, I walked out into the sea and start swimming with my flippers.
Craft chocolate: Destinasian Hong Kong
This post is about the flowering of Indian craft chocolate using local ingredients. Really lovely to see an idli-grinder as part of the chocolate making process.
Indigenous Food of Tamilnadu: for Mint Lounge
In the effort to serve up history while infusing it with storytelling, chefs are mining journals and literature, meeting home cooks and local eatery owners, and tracing little known ingredients and recipes.
Trying Henna in Jaipur: for Smithsonian Journeys:
This is an old story. But for some reason, it wasn't uploaded here. So here it is. This post is about the art of applying henna and how I learned how to do it in Jaipur.
How Cartier scented a San Francisco symphony: for Mint Lounge
The House of Cartier has created three scents that will perfume the San Francisco Symphony hall at three key points during the performance—but we are not certain how it will be achieved.
Latest Articles
The cult that conquers: Hindustan Times
It is December in Bangalore. Finally, the bean that Bangaloreans wait for, and celebrate with a josh that is akin to how Delhiites celebrate the musk melon or how the whole country celebrates the mango during the summer.
Poem: Silence: in the DMQ Review
This poem was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. I am pinching myself. I had submitted it to the DMQ Review, which published it and later nominated it. Details in the post.
Annual Street Fairs: Hindustan Times
This is what I love about living in Bangalore. Amidst this tech-driven startup-city lies an agrarian festival that has somehow survived and thrived.
St. Mary’s Feast: Hindustan Times
I stand amidst the devout at St. Mary’s Basilica in Shivaji Nagar. We are gathered here to celebrate Mother Mary’s birthday.
Karnataka Rajyotsava: for Hindustan Times
Underneath the pomp of the Karnataka Rajyotsava lies a frustrating truth, and this is something every Bangalorean knows.
Poem: Indestructible: Southword
This poem was published in Southword: New International Writing. This is a print literary journal published twice a year by the Munster Literature Centre.
When you tire of Diwali taash parties and laddus
Around Diwali time, when I have eaten more motichur laddus and murukkus than I can resist, I think of ragi mudde, mainly because it is the healthiest food that I know.
Poem: Braided Rivers: in Indian Literature
This poem was published in Indian Literature, a bimonthly publication of India's Sahitya Akademi
Is it nutrition or a delicacy?
There is no polite way to say this and I might be burned on the stake for saying so but hey, is it a protein or a delicacy?
Interviews with His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Old favourites that I wrote for Condenast Traveler (US edition)
For Condenast Traveler US on China
I have come to China from my home in Bangalore, India, to find a tai chi teacher. My pursuit of tai chi has been punctuated by such cultural challenges. When I informed my conservative Indian family that I was interested in tai chi, they were appalled. Why was their Indian child, heir to an ancient and proud tradition of yoga leaning toward an alien discipline?
Singapore fling
Staid, chaste, strict, small—Singapore has heard it all. But this island-nation of 4.2 million people has one thing going for it (many things, actually, but we'll get to that later): Singapore is a sure fling. Having lived in Singapore for two years, I have returned wanting to revel in it as a tourist—to see it all and do it all within forty-eight hours.
For Condenast Traveler US on Japan
I have come to Japan to learn about allure. I’ve been married for seventeen years, and while my marriage isn’t falling apart, it is fraying at the edges. So I have come to Japan to learn about feminine allure from its acknowledged masters: the geisha. Geisha were created to pamper men—but they were also the freest women in old Japan.
For Condenast Traveler US on Mumbai
I am going to Bombay to become a movie star. Why not? Every country in the world, if it is lucky, has a city that allows people to create such gauzy fantasies unfettered by the grim shackles of reality. They thrive and inspire, catalyze personal transformations and fuel creativity, not through wide-open spaces but through vibrant congestion.
For Condenast Traveler US on Goa
Once a hippie haven where even India's tightly chaperoned teens could turn on, tune in, and drop out, Goa has lately gone upscale. Living in a trading port for the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Europeans meant that Goans were forced to interact with the outside world far earlier than the average Indian. This has made them friendly but not overly curious about foreigners.
For Condenast Traveler US on Scuba Diving
I don't want to write about this place. Few people know of it; fewer still visit. Perhaps that's the way it should be. In this rapidly shrinking world, there ought to be somewhere that remains remote, even obscure; set apart in space and time; offering the promise of mystery, the romance of discovery. Lakshadweep—the name comes out in a sigh.
For Condenast Traveler US on bargaining
The thought occurred as I eyed a stunning Persian carpet in a downtown Manhattan shop. The Mogul-inspired piece looked terrific but cost thousands more than I wanted to pay. The smile on the manager's face suggested that he was willing to bargain. But where to begin? Middle age brings with it the sobering realization that you can actually learn something from your mother.
For Condenast Traveler US on Cambodia and Laos
Cambodia is like a lotus bud concealing an onion—serene on the surface but eliciting tears as you peel back the layers. The scale of the Angkor temples contrast with the photos of skulls in the Genocide Museum. The peace of a Buddhist monastery gives way to the raucous din of tuk–tuks. I am in Cambodia to meet a monk and to travel the Mekong.
For Condenast Traveler US on National parks
Bangalore is home. I didn't always live here—until two years ago I lived in New York. But now this is the city where my kids go to school, where I hail auto rickshaws for bone-rattling yet perversely exciting rides to work and meetings, where I prowl pubs and malls in search of stories and sales, and where I go to Namdharis Fresh supermarket to buy organic grapes, too-hard bagels, and much-too-soft cream cheese in an attempt to replicate the Sunday morning brunches at my Upper West Side apartment.