Chasing Calories: Gokarna

This beachside Karnatakan town offers a delectable contrast of South Indian and international fare at scrumptiously low prices.     Chasing Calories: Gokarna   Best of… Banana buns—Shri Gajanan Cold Drinks. Essential Karnatakan breakfast originating from the state’s Udupi region. Plushy, thick, dense, crispy, golden. I could go on and on about Mohan and Shridar’s… Read More

My Favorite Indian Breakfast Is Banana Buns, Hun

A crispy golden exterior yielding to a fluffy, doughy interior makes the banana bun from this modest stall an effortless win for the best breakfast in all of India.     The buns themselves are enough reason to pay a visit to Gokarna (ಗೋಕರ್ಣ), a beachy pilgrimage town located in the state of Karnataka.  … Read More

108 Sure Signs You’re Head Over Heels For India

108 telltale signs that you’re hopelessly in love—a tribute to spending one full year in India.     1. “Chappals” is your word of choice for your open-toed footwear. 2. You eat dal-rice with your hands even when you are served with a spoon. 3. You say “ji” a lot. 4. You like to, and… Read More

The World’s Yummiest Masala Chai

I must have sat and sipped at dozens of tea stalls all over India, and at hundreds of such establishments around the world. Minty greens of Morocco, Turkish blacks in hourglass cups, streetside tintos of Colombia, and iced coffees over a layer of condensed milk in Vietnam are some of the caffeinated concoctions that bubble… Read More

Meena The Parantha Queen

Once upon a time a Punjabi boy visited Manikaran, a holy hamlet of India that was especially venerated by followers of Sikhism. When the boy was hungry he found a local tea stall. He bit into the steamy, crispy layers of a stuffed flatbread and his life was transformed forevermore. Love at first bite. The… Read More

I’ve Reached The Light But I Preferred The Tunnel

A much needed trip update on the self-growth and life lessons of 189 days spent in COVID-19 lockdown. When COVID-19 had international borders sealed shut and I committed myself to India, I surrendered all notions of having plans. I opted to not go back to my birth country and instead chose to let life happen.… Read More

A Poem From Silence

Today I can only output, and take no input. I can create and express, but I can’t speak or read or message. These verses burst from me during this day, and they wouldn’t exist without my quiescence. Day 814 1 May 2020 No markets openNo new food. India’s lockdown is no jokePolice scoot byCanes ready… Read More

10 Reasons To Go Bald This Summer

For those considering a full shave of their own, and to those questioning my mental stability or degree of boredom, here are ten intentional reasons to grab that razor and get depilated. To read about my real-time emotions and the immediate aftermath of shaving my head, see my related post Bald and Balder.   10… Read More

Bald And Balder

As the razor buzzed, I entered that zone of intense adrenaline that can only be accessed by departing my comfort zone. The recollection of these vulnerable moments are comparable to the memory of receiving my tattoo. For a while I had known that 2020 was the year to shave my head. I had expressed this… Read More