UPDATE: this essay now appears in the travel anthology The Places We’ve Been: Field Reports from Travelers Under 35. My grandparents in India live on a tidy little estate called…
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Recent Work
On a crisp spring night last month, seven girls, 15 bags, 12 cereal bars, and six digital cameras (including one rather hardcore Nikon SLR) embarked from JFK on a whirlwind…
There remains a near-extinct species within the South Asian diaspora, one whose plight is rarely championed in the world forums of… wherever such plights are usually championed. Nary a petition,…
Cab Culture 101 On the streets of Manhattan, visitors are easily detected by the manner in which they struggle to hail taxis: their I-Heart-NY-bag-laden arms flail wildly from the safety…
Every species has its natural rival. Cats have mice. Wolves prey upon deer. Zebras are hunted by lions. Mailmen are weary of dogs. Sarah Khan’s arch nemesis? The water bottle….
Check this column out in the new issue of Divanee magazine Balle Balle on a Thursday Thursday I admit it: Back in college, I was a dancing queen — desi…
Armed with a healthy measure of Beantown-inspired nostalgia, my remote, and clearly, some good fortune, I surfed my way onto HBO just as Fever Pitch was starting. The opening bars…
My brother and sister-in-law recently moved to New York, and my bro’s on this “I want to do all things New York-y†kick. For some people that would involve visits…
You haven’t really bonded with your girls until you’ve spent 15 minutes trying to help your best friend out of her pants. Over the years, we’ve all spent thousands of…
Awards & Books
Awards
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2021: Honorable mention for the Grand Award, Travel Journalist of the Year
- South Asian Journalists Association, 2021: Outstanding Arts and Culture Reporting for “Zanzibar in the Rain,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2020: Bronze in Short Work on Travel for “Raise the Roof,” Condé Nast Traveler
- South Asian Journalists Association, 2019: Outstanding Arts, Culture, and Lifestyle Reporting about South Asia for “Force of Nature,” Surface magazine
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2018: Gold award in US/Canada Travel for “A Muslim American’s Homecoming: Cowboys, Country Music, Chapatis,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2018: Bronze in Service-Oriented Consumer Work for “My Town,” Virtuoso Life
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2017: Gold in Culinary-Related Travel for “Eating Bunny Chow in Durban,” Saveur
- South Asian Journalists Association, 2017: Outstanding Arts and Culture Reporting for “Eating Bunny Chow in Durban,” Saveur
- North American Travel Journalists Association Awards, 2016: Two Silver awards in Destination Travel and Adventure Travel for “7 Days, 1500 Miles in Namibia,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2016: Gold in Foreign Travel for “7 Days, 1500 Miles in Namibia,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2015: Gold in Personal Comment for “Returning to Hyderabad, Once a Land of Princes and Palaces,” New York Times
- Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing, 2013: Silver in Most Unforgettable Character for “Spitting Distance in Jodhpur,” Wall Street Journal
Books
- New York Times Cultured Traveler: Contributed a feature on Bosnia & Herzegovina to this upcoming anthology
- Best American Travel Writing 2021: “City of Saints” from Travel + Leisure was selected for the 2021 edition of this anthology, edited by Padma Lakshmi and Jason Wilson
- New York Times 36 Hours World: 150 Cities from Abu Dhabi to Zurich: Contributed 36 Hours guides to Johannesburg and Mumbai for this anthology
- My Life Abroad: A Selection of Expat Stories: Contributed to this compilation of expat stories from around the globe, recounting my experience as an American in South Africa, in the chapter “From New York City to Cape Town.”
- The Places We’ve Been: Field Reports from Travelers Under 35: Contributed my essay “When Coconuts Attack” to this travel anthology.