Time’s annual World’s Greatest Places list is out again, and I contributed four amazing destinations: Mharo Khet, a farm hotel in Rajasthan, the Tashkent Centre for Contemporary Art in Uzbekistan,…
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Recent Work
Ramadan is in full swing, and for Vogue I covered an elegant iftar dinner held in Manhattan last week that brought together a powerhouse group of trailblazing Muslim women. Read…
I wrote about the best Indian restaurants in New York City, including some super buzzy new ones, for Condé Nast Traveler—read it here.
For the latest issue of Elle, I interviewed Carolina Herrera creative director Wes Gordon on one of his favorite cities, Madrid. Read it here.
Some exciting news: I won two NATJA awards for my work in Condé Nast Traveler! My essay on traveling to Turkey with my mother earned silver in the category of…
For this week’s T magazine T List, I wrote about a new gallery in the heart of New York City that’s showcasing contemporary South Asian design. Learn more about House…
For T magazine’s T List, I wrote a preview of one of the most exciting restaurant openings of the year: London import The Ambassadors Clubhouse. Read it here.
For Eater’s annual Where to Eat feature, I spotlighted Cape Town—and the diverse flavors that are making it an even more dynamic dining destination than ever before. Read it here.
This year I wrote my first book: a look at the history and cultural impact of the hookah called Mystic Mist: Rituals of Huqqa, out now from Assouline. It was a…
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.