My feature on Islamic Portugal appears in the March/April issue of Condé Nast Traveller Middle East—you can read it here.
Recent Work
For the Wall Street Journal, I interviewed four prominent locals—fashion designer Manish Malhotra, pastry chef Pooja Dhingra, art consultant Farah Khan Siddiqui, and architect Ashiesh Shah—about their favorite places in…
I love writing about Dubai’s food scene, so I had a blast reporting this one for Tripadvisor—juxtaposing some of the city’s most thrilling high-end experiences with some more low-key, but…
For my latest story for Afar, I interviewed a wide range of hotel concierges around the world to learn more about how they are the secret weapon to a seamless…
When I lived in Cape Town I loved covering its food scene, but I’ve also been excited to watch it evolve over the past decade. On my most recent visit,…
For T Magazine, I interviewed chef Prateek Sadhu about Naar, his ambitious new restaurant in India’s Himalayas. Read it here.
Like everyone else, I’ve been dying to go to Portugal—but what I was most curious was about its Moorish legacy. Even though Portugal shares a similar history with neighboring Spain,…
What if Archie and the gang were from a quaint hill station in India? That’s the premise of the new Netflix adaptation of the beloved comics, The Archies, in which…
According to my Spotify Wrapped this year, my musical tastes place me in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania. My listening preferences have evolved with time thanks to my travels, and for…
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.