August 19, 2026
Some people come to Leh to find inner peace. Others come to reconnect with nature, spirituality, or themselves.I came for two days and somehow left with forty Buddhist trinkets, and a suitcase that now requires diplomatic negotiations to close.Here is the complete account of my brief but eventful relationship with Leh. Independence Day I landed […]
August 18, 2026
If Kashmir is called Paradise on Earth, then Ladakh is Paradise’s dramatic, slightly eccentric cousin who lives at 14,000 feet, drinks butter tea, and casually mentions that breathing is optional. Known as Little Tibet, Ladakh is a beautiful blend of Tibetan culture, Buddhist monasteries, prayer flags, rugged mountains, and some of the friendliest people you’ll […]
August 15, 2026
There are road trips, and then there are Himalayan road trips — where every bend in the road offers either a breathtaking view or a spiritual revelation. Meeting Someone Taller Than My Problems Our first stop was a Maitreya Buddha monastery, home to a towering statue of the future Buddha. Standing at the foot of […]
August 14, 2026
Sonamarg translates to “Valley of Gold.” By the end of the day, I wasn’t sure whether the gold referred to the landscape, the sunshine, or the amount of money being generated by the local photography industry. The journey began with a strategic stop at a roadside food stall. Officially, it was for tea and snacks. […]
August 13, 2026
We spent a night in Pahalgam, a town so picturesque that it looks as though someone designed it specifically for travel brochures and honeymoon calendars. Pahalgam means “Valley of the Shepherds,” and unlike many place names that have long since lost touch with reality, this one remains stubbornly accurate. At nearly every junction we encountered […]
August 11, 2026
Gulmarg means “Meadow of Flowers.” This is a charmingly poetic name that fails to mention several other notable features of the place: military checkpoints, photographers hiding behind every pine tree, and the urgent need for electrolytes. We started from Srinagar with what has become our standard India travel checklist: ✓ Change currency✓ Get local SIM […]
August 10, 2026
Day 1: Welcome to Kashmir We landed in Srinagar to find our chariot for the trip: a 15-seater van, procured for exactly four passengers. This van does not so much execute a U-turn as announce one — all traffic within a two-block radius grinds to a respectful halt while it completes the maneuver. Parking is […]
August 8, 2026
Some trips have a story. Ours has a saga — with a cast of characters, several plot twists, and a mysterious VIP who may or may not exist It started innocently enough: a flight to Srinagar via Delhi, where friends waited with snacks for us. What could go wrong? Air India, as it turns out, […]
August 6, 2026
Udaivilas, Udaipur Udaivilas is grand when you see it from the driveway. It is grander still when you actually walk in — the kind of grand that arrives with its own soundtrack, because someone at the hotel had the good sense to greet us with live music the moment we crossed the threshold. (Here’s the […]
August 2, 2026
On our way to Kumbhalgarh, we stopped at a stunning Jain temple in Ranakpur— the sort of place that makes you instinctively lower your voice, walk a little slower, and pretend you understand architecture. Our guide cum priest, pointed to an intricate sculpture on the ceiling. “This,” he explained solemnly, “reminds us to leave our […]
August 1, 2026
The Other Side of the Palace There’s a peculiar kind of jet lag that comes from going to bed a commoner and waking up next door to a maharaja. That’s the situation in Jodhpur: we’re staying at Umaid Bhawan Palace, where the royal family occupies one wing, and we occupy a suite on the other […]
July 30, 2026
Reaching Jaisalmar Most airport pickups involve a name scrawled on cardboard. Ours involved marigolds. We landed in Jodhpur to find Ratan Singh standing on the tarmac of the arrivals area like he’d been cast for the role — marigold garlands in hand, bottles of ice-cold water held out like a peace offering to two dehydrated […]
July 27, 2026
On India’s living heritage and the civilization that never stopped breathing I’ve been thinking about the word old. We use it for a 1970s Fiat, a loaf of bread gone green at the back of the fridge, a relative who still uses a chequebook. But when applied to India, old stops making sense as a […]
July 24, 2026
There’s a particular kind of stillness that settles over Granite Bay at 4 a.m. — the quiet, slightly giddy kind that comes right before a month-long trip finally begins, and also, unfortunately, the kind that invites some deeply regrettable choices. Coffee at that hour is less a beverage than a dare, and I made it […]
July 20, 2026
China just dropped a 2.8-trillion-parameter open-source model. Silicon Valley is stress-eating. I am cautiously optimistic about what this means for my gate opener. 2.8 trillion! That is the number of parameters in Kimi K3, the new AI model from China’s Moonshot AI, which arrived over the weekend like an uninvited guest at a party that […]
July 16, 2026
Nobody warned me about the knees. They warned me about plenty of other things. Grey hair — yes, extensively. The general direction of gravity — implied but not stated outright- is a form of false advertising. The reading glasses that multiply like rabbits until there is a pair in every room and none of them […]
July 15, 2026
How a guitar-playing IIT friend made me realize that Dwight Eisenhower and my spreadsheet have been quietly collaborating for years. A while ago, I wrote a blog called “Confessions of a To-Do List Addict: How I Outsourced My Brain“ — a chronicle of my long journey through notebooks, planners, sticky notes, Evernote, OneNote, and every […]
July 14, 2026
A few months ago, I decided it was time to embrace the future. Everywhere I looked, people were announcing that AI had changed their lives. Productivity gurus were working only 17 minutes a day. LinkedIn was full of smiling people claiming they had “automated their entire business.” Teenagers were building apps from their phones. Retirees […]
July 13, 2026
This morning began, as many profound journeys do, with a crossword clue and a cup of black chai spice tea. The clue was innocent enough. Eleven letters. Something about agreement, divinity, and habitation. Twenty minutes later, I had learned nothing about the clue but had somehow wandered into articles about veganism, Vedanta, human evolution, and […]
July 13, 2026
An engagement party in Vacaville we had already said yes to — the two of us, weeks ago, before the universe decided to schedule everything else on the same Sunday. Vineeth’s Pellikoduku and Swami Sarvapriyananda’s discourse in Sacramento were scheduled at the same time on the same day. We wanted to be at all three. […]
July 12, 2026
This week alone: time ran backward, two rival theories got married, and a decade-old prediction came true. Just another July. The universe doing its thing — indifferent to whether we understand it or not. I want to tell you about the week quantum physics had. Because while the rest of us were arguing about things […]
July 12, 2026
🌱 Plant-based eating didn’t die. It just stopped asking for permission. Abundant, colourful, unapologetic — this is what plant-based eating looks like in 2026. There’s a version of this story where veganism peaked, stumbled, and faded quietly into the lifestyle section of newspapers nobody reads. The headlines have been cheerfully writing that version for three […]
July 11, 2026
Nigel Farage quit Parliament this week. Then immediately asked to be let back in! Note: I live in the US. American politics is, of course, happening. Loudly. Constantly. In every direction. And yet here I am, reading about a man in Essex who quit his job to apply for the same job. I have no […]
June 26, 2026
# Meat may have carried us through the ice age. But the future may belong to those who choose plants # A question that stopped me cold I’ve spent years reading the science behind a whole-food plant-based diet. Dr. Michael Greger’s work — double- and triple-blind studies accumulated over decades — helped me make a […]
June 8, 2026
Just when you thought the ceasefire held, both sides remembered they had missiles left. Today, the world’s most dysfunctional relationship made headlines — again. Iran and Israel have reportedly paused strikes after trading fire for the first time since their April ceasefire. If this were Netflix, we’d be on Season 3 with no finale in […]
March 24, 2026
Like many people, I’ve had a long, evolving relationship with Facebook. It’s no longer the place where I casually scroll through everyone’s life updates—but it hasn’t become useless either. Instead, it’s become something more specific: a curated tool that serves certain purposes really well while falling short in others. Here’s how it works for me. […]
February 12, 2026
Our holiday in Karnataka was, quite accidentally, a sociological experiment in marital booking styles. Stay One: Imperial Time Travel (With Poolside Cocktails) First came Evolve Back— a place so committed to “heritage experience” that it appeared to have borrowed architectural inspiration directly from Hampi and then run it through a luxury filter. We arrived via […]
January 22, 2026
A Look at How Changing Diets Affected Health in India Once upon a time—not in a fairy tale, but in actual Indian history—most Indians were unintentionally healthy. Not because they counted calories, avoided gluten, or owned smartwatches, but because overeating required effort, and sugar was not lying in ambush at every street corner. The decline […]
December 29, 2025
The Dreaded Colonoscopy! It all started with two full days of “prepping.” Which is a polite medical term for thinking about food while not eating food. Around me, life went on cruelly. “I made some popcorn.” ”Mom, do you want to try this vegan pumpkin pie?” “I’m opening a bottle of wine.” Reader, these people are […]
December 24, 2025
Cairo Cairo is the land of ancient pyramids, the Great Sphinx, and heat so intense it makes you wonder whether the Egyptians built everything purely for aesthetics—or to slow-roast tourists for eternity. Our journey began at ancient Memphis, Saqqara, and Giza, where we stood in awe before the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. That […]
December 19, 2025
There are musicians whose names fill arenas, whose faces land on album covers, whose egos arrive a few minutes before they do.And then—there is Phil Kenzie. The man doesn’t need a spotlight; he is one — warm, gold-lit, illuminating everything around him without ever demanding to be the centre of it Most people don’t realize how many of […]
November 21, 2025
Four girls set off to celebrate a milestone birthday with style, class, and sophistication. The universe responded with a polite but firm: absolutely not We left our luggage at Left Luggage and traipsed around in the drizzle — because nothing says glamorous girls’ trip like being mildly lost and damp. We eventually found Caesar’s Palace, […]
September 25, 2025
Between buses going in every direction except ours, impromptu pilgrimages to shrines of 18th-century science, and wandering straight into one of Europe’s biggest street parties entirely by accident, I think I’ve aged approximately three monarchs. So here it is — my gloriously chaotic, somewhat educational, and occasionally overpriced 5-day London adventure. Day 1: London by Bus… […]
September 15, 2025
11 Days of Fjords, Open Sandwiches, and Finding Subo’s Relatives Ah yes, our epic 11-day Scandinavian adventure—where history, red herrings, and hats collided in glorious chaos. We began in Denmark with a crash course in Danish government. We then flexed our cultural muscles at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and the National Museum (we nodded thoughtfully […]
May 16, 2025
Discover a simple, meaningful way to capture family trips with a travel journal. This post shares easy prompts and practical ideas to help you preserve memories, reflections, and useful tips from every outing.
May 6, 2025
November 6, 2025|Deep Thoughts From the first clash of swords to the blast of modern warfare, humanity has always turned to music to make sense of violence and to dream of peace. Across continents and centuries, songs have become both the cries of the wounded and the prayers of the hopeful. Whether in the driving […]
January 9, 2025
Back in the High Life Again by Steve Winwood became my anthem of choice as I eased back into Bhajan Day practice at Chinmaya Mission Sacramento—trying to decompress after a month of immersive Carnatic music in India. A month of sheer sonic bliss—and yet, somehow, it wasn’t enough. Fifteen days of Margazhi concerts in Madras felt […]
October 20, 2024
I embarked on an Ayurveda residential program with the hope of treating my chronic cough. Little did I know that the journey would be as memorable as it was medicinal. From the moment I arrived, the irony hit me immediately, along with a faceful of sacred incense. It was as if the universe was playing […]
August 31, 2024
Day 1: The Great Carpool Caper We gathered at Mala and Kumar’s house bright and early—well, some of us were bright, while others were just early. Breakfast was a lavish spread of pre-packaged delights (thanks, Mala!). Fueled by coffee and tea, we piled into the car, ready for an adventure. But wait! Sundar’s man-purse—prized possession […]
January 11, 2024
What a trip! It’s the type of trip that you must type about – the type that’s all hype and no heart. This palace belonged to legendary Jat warriors, Badan Singh and Suraj Mal of the Kingdom of Bharatpur. The royal brochure advertises: ‘We offer a perfect experience of royalty, right from the hospitality services‘. […]
January 9, 2024
The Royal Hermitage in Jaipur is a haven of opulence and charm, masterfully curated by a remarkable duo — Bollywood actor and artist Amyt Kumar, and his ever-gracious, customer-facing daughter, Rajput princess Shivya. Our arrival was nothing short of royal. We were welcomed with rose garlands and cool, rose-flavored drinks — a multisensory tribute that blended art, fragrance, and […]
October 11, 2023
Stripped to my birthday suit, I was instructed by a stunningly efficient woman to lie on the marble slab while she slathered me in black soap, oils, and potions of questionable origin. Between scrubs, she barked orders: “Sit up! Lie down! Sit up again!” Each time I obeyed, I slid — less gracefully, more zip-line […]
October 10, 2023
They wrapped my scarf around my head, over my visor, under my neck, and over my ears until I looked like one of Ali Baba’s forty thieves. Then my camel driver pointed to the only uneasy, restless, side-eyeing camel in the group and told me to hop on by the right side, which I did, […]
September 6, 2023
I’ve long suspected that my ‘Tam Brahm’ credentials are questionable on both counts. True Brahmins eat rasam with their hands. I prefer my dosais with a fork, my idlis with a knife, and — on difficult days — everything with ketchup. And my Tamil, it turns out, is in roughly the same condition: technically present, […]
April 9, 2023
Long before I earned my MS in Computer Science, I was already a hopeless devotee of Robert Noyce—the “Mayor of Silicon Valley,” the man whose charisma and brilliance became the stuff of legend in PBS documentaries like The History of Silicon Valley. While my friends fantasised about movie stars, I was starstruck by the men who […]
August 22, 2022
A Place for Everything, and Everything in Its Place: Lessons From My Mother Growing up, I didn’t realize my mother was quietly handing me one of the most valuable life lessons I’d ever learn. It wasn’t wrapped in a formal lecture or presented as some grand teaching. Instead, it was something she lived—something woven into […]
October 25, 2021
Our kids are definitely holier than us—no contest. We raised them as vegetarians, but somewhere along the way, they soared past us, landing gently (and firmly) in vegan territory. One of them even went full raw vegan. And while we parents could easily polish off a bottle a day without blinking, these two chose to […]
October 22, 2020
Rock and roll is many things: loud, rebellious, raw, and emotional. It’s been the anthem of heartbreak, protest, excess, and freedom. But listen closely — beneath the guitar riffs and gravelly voices, there’s something deeper humming through the chords. Something ancient. Something spiritual. Because sometimes, between the lines of love and loss, you’ll find echoes […]
April 21, 2017
(How I Outsourced My Brain) I have always been a list person. Not in a casual “jotting things down on a sticky note” kind of way. I mean a deeply, spiritually committed, color-coded, categorized, cross-referenced list person. My spreadsheet isn’t just a to-do list. It’s a philosophy. It’s evidence that life, at its most chaotic, […]
October 24, 2015
‘Paadaravaa’ (paad’ur-va) — noun As defined in the Tamford Dictionary: 1. People who sing. 2. Amateurs who lip-sync behind one or two talented people. 3. Enthusiasts who long for Golu invitations from strangers, primarily to parade their entire saree collection. Note to aspiring Paadaravaas: Membership is not for the faint-hearted—or the perfectly in-tune. Auditions are held around July for […]
August 4, 2013
In Bad Hersfeld, I’m staying at a place that’s more than a hotel—it’s practically a meditation retreat. I presume the staff’s noble objective was to upgrade me from “guest” to “enlightened ascetic.” No pesky distractions disturb the yogic mind here: And yet, it’s not all bad here in Bad Hersfeld. I ride in German cars, […]
July 12, 2012
Hari Om! (Writing this as I continue to float in the mellow afterglow of an awesome trip…) Friday morning, when sleep was rudely interrupted by my alarm at 4:30 a.m., I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into. Fun and necessary though Satsangs are for my well-being, a whole weekend of good people […]
December 28, 2004
Grab your popcorn—this is where the universe reveals a celestial “plot twist!”. Because apparently, the Lord works in mysterious ways… and sometimes through moms who forget to book flights. It’s Thanksgiving 2004. A Tofurky is roasting in the oven, pumpkin pies are cooling, and I am blissfully unaware that I have completely forgotten to plan […]
August 16, 2003
They say wearing the nine-yard sari is a symbol of grace, devotion, and timeless tradition. I say it’s our ancestors’ way of sneaking in cardio. Forget your 10,000 steps — try pleating nine yards of silk while holding your breath, your balance, and your dignity. To honor this sacred art, every Avani Avittam season, I […]
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