Poem From The Toilet Seat Concentrate not the citrusy, frozen kind from the supermarket Day 911 5 August 2020 Ganges River, India One-pointedness of the mind,they say. The rishis, sages,books by thosewho are more than less enlightened. Concentration. Meditationis concentration.Fixation on an objectto free oneself of thoughts. Use the breath,a beloved mantra, mala,to access God… Read More


If you’re reading this right now, you are so lucky. You may not always think so, but think so! Did you drink clean, parasite-free water today? Is your electricity wired in a way that doesn’t threaten to blow up in flames at any given moment? Do you have your freedom of speech? Do you have… Read More


    Day 1089 01 February 2021 ಗೋಕರ್ಣ (Gokarna) Six months ago, I was battling the standard of life that comes with $3 Indian guesthouses. Urban limitations fought against my willpower to get my bliss balls on the market. I had Женя trudge home the cheapest mixer-grinder from the main market. The plug wouldn’t reach… Read More


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


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 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


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


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


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