Latest Articles
Bangalore’s secret neighbourhoods: Shivaji Nagar
Much like any other global city, Bengaluru is also composed of neighbourhoods, each with its own unique charm. This is about the Shivaji Nagar area
How do you know what you don’t know?
How do you find things you aren’t searching for? This isn’t a trick question. It is about structure, serendipity and spontaneity.
Fine Dining Lovers magazine: Mangoes
In India, mangoes are eaten, raw, cooked, ripe, pulped and slurped. Today, chefs all over the world do the same, using the acidity of raw mango or the sweetness of ripe mango to balance unique and unusual flavors.
Bangalore’s secret neighbourhoods: V.V. Puram
I am in Thindi Bheedhi (literally tiffin street), V.V. Puram’s “khao galli,” which is to Bangalore what Chandni Chowk’s food streets are to Delhi. I am here because I am suffering from Post-Diwali food-withdrawal symptoms.
A taste of India on Australia’s Tweed Coast
A piece I wrote based on a visit to the Tweed Coast of Australia. I wonder why I hadn't heard of this place before. It is an hour north of Sydney, in New South Wales.
How do you make friends in a new city?
Say you move to a new city. You need friends. They won't materialize. They have to be created, connected with and nurtured. How to do this?
Twenty Things to Know about Burgundy
Burgundy or Bourgogne as the French prefer to call it is three things: a name, an idea, and a geography. If you are a wine geek, this is where you want to go.
HT Brunch: Destination New South Wales
I am here in Sydney to engage in adventure and theatre, two things I have been longing for during Covid. From Byron Bay lighthouse, I see the whale. She is slicing through the ocean below, on her way home. Much like I need to be.
Old favourites that I wrote for Condenast Traveler (US edition)
My Life as a Geisha
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.
Mumbai Meri Jaan
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.
Goa Grows Up
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.
Scuba diving Lakshadweep
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.
Lessons from my mother
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.
Chasing the Mekong River
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.
Finding a tai chi teacher
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.
Travel Stories (my favourite type of writing)
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