Looking for a bright and cheery holiday? Head to one of these colorful cities that I rounded up for Travel + Leisure.
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Recent Work
I wrote this essay, “Credible India: After gang rape, the tourism industry assures female travelers they are safe,” on the impact of December’s brutal Delhi gang rape on tourism in…
I spent an afternoon last summer on the sets of a photo shoot that Big Bang Theory‘s Kunal Nayyar and his lovely wife, former Miss India Neha Kapur, did for…
Lucky me – I flew back from India at 4am on January 1, just in time for them to have restocked the airport bookstores with the January Vogue India—which meant…
Happy holidays! I’m off to India this week, and I couldn’t be more excited—but if you’re looking for other interesting ways to spend Christmas, check out my take on a…
Also in October’s spectacular fifth-anniversary issue of Vogue India, I wrote a roundup of rustic retreats around the world. And as an extra treat, feast your eyes on this cover…
It’s all about the bling in my October Vogue India story. The magazine’s fifth anniversary issue has five—count ’em, five!—glam covers featuring Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Sonam Kapoor, Katrina Kaif,…
Hi folks – sorry for the delay, but now that means I have not one but two Vogue covers to post. In the August issue, I wrote a profile of…
I wrote about my South African dream trip with Micato Safaris for Travel + Leisure.
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.