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


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


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


As COVID-19 swept from my dear China across the globe, my own life suddenly became far more interesting and restricted than I ever could have anticipated when I packed my backpack over two years ago, embarking on a dream to embrace the world. While I do my best not to give this own life of… Read More