*
I visited Colorado and this is what happened. The lake and its vast silence must be humming with life under the surface. The mountains in the distance look at me as if they’re asking, “Why did it take you this long to find us?” Two dried up tree limbs spring out of the earth on either side of my full view as if its arms are welcoming me. How else can mother earth beckon its children?
I feel my face with my palms and look down at my feet to check if I’m still myself – one whole of a human being. I’m using my senses to soak in the view, but somehow my inner wisdom has awakened to experience this strange stillness. I can’t even sit still with my eyes closed to get this close to my core.
Amidst this natural setting, I feel like I can’t be anything unnatural or unpleasant. I will have to ask every thought of mine to vacate its mind’s house. If I can’t clear out my thoughts, I can never be alone, the giant trees seem to teach me.
The fact that they were here well before I arrived and they will still be standing long after I leave the earth’s lap, hits me hard. My petty thoughts of unfolded laundry, lunch box ideas and presentations that are due humiliate me.
Like Mother nature, I want to be a stoic. I will only bear witness to love, greed, hate and excesses but not be stifled by emotions created and only known to our human kind.
*
Travel Around The World
Skyfaring In Luxor, Egypt: A Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride Over the Valley of the Kings
At 5am, we got ready for our sunrise hot air balloon ride. We were each handed a small bag of breakfast items to take with us at the lobby of our cruise. A few of us ate a muffin or a slice of bread but were mostly not hungry at that early. We were then picked up by a...
I Walked In as a Tourist and Left Feeling Like I Belonged Somewhere I’d Never Been Before
Selling Our Soul to The Arts I arrived in SFO as a tourist, but the moment I walked into SFMOMA, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, it felt like I belonged there. I was suddenly in the company of over 50,000 artists’ works. The Grand Atrium’s minimalist...
A Speck on the Sahara – Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/ob4pSskh2pg Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - Sipping Tea In The Sahara One early morning in late December, we set off on a three hour journey from Cairo to Dahshur. As we passed village after village, lush green fields...
I Stumbled Upon a Baby Shower in a Café. It Became a Reminder That Joy Finds Us Anywhere.
It's safe to say it's been a while since I've attended a baby shower. I don't even come across infants on a regular basis. I last saw a baby (almost 1 year old) was at a party this past Thanksgiving. My friend had a grandbaby in 2025. So, that's that. And also...
Kagemni Slayed Me With a Reed Pen: A Love Affair With Ancient Egyptian Scribes and Tombs
Falling Into A Saqqara Tomb Silly me, when I visited the Djoser Step Pyramid complex of the Saqqara necropolis (ancient Egyptian burial ground city), I was worried I would fall into a catacomb, one of those recesses between the ancient Egyptian tombs. Little...
Living in America’s Melting Pot While Confronting the Housing Crisis No One Talks About
It’s safe to say that even in America, as a true blooded Indian, I live in my own world of Indian food and Bollywood style parties. What little I understand about how everyone else lives is mostly through shows like Friends, Seinfeld, Sex and the City and movies like...
One Road Trip, Many Spains: A Soulful Journey Through Art, Faith, Food, and Freedom
A Slow Drive Through Spain’s History and Heart I have a million essays planned about Spain. I’ve already written about some gorgeous places HERE. We went on a 16-day road trip through Spain, starting in Barcelona, traveling to the tip of Catalonia, looping...
A Dream Mehendi in Sitges: An Indian Wedding Celebration Where Tradition Meets Mediterranean Magic
In Sitges, a coastal town in Spain's Andalusian region, we once attended a beautiful mehendi function. A mehendi event is a pre-wedding celebration where family and friends gather to decorate the bride’s hands and feet with henna. Henna (or natural tattoos) is...
Wandering Through Spain: Siestas, Weddings, and Andalusian Wonders
Losing My Way In SpainHi, welcome. In these essays, I write about the fascinating landscapes of Spain, Spaniards and their siestas, and the fierce art of flamenco. Through road trips, weddings, whitewashed villages, and seaside camper days, this is my attempt to...
A Speck on the Sahara: Sipping Tea Above Egypt’s Bent and Red Pyramids
Listen to the audio version of this poem on HERE. One early morning in late December, we set off on a three hour journey from Cairo to Dahshur. As we passed village after village, lush green fields dotted with beautiful villas belonging to farmers, we...
Walking With the Ancients: Egypt’s Temples, Art, and Timeless Lessons for Modern Life
Eternal. Enduring. Egypt. Egypt — to me, the most beloved and beautiful of things. ~ Salah Jahin, Egyptian poet
Homesick for the Stars – Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/AHm4v2h1PhU - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - Homesick for the Stars This essay is about travel, wanderlust and our perennial need for discovery. I wrote this while staring at a glorious sunset. As the golden hour sky...












Mother Nature is teaching something through it’s silence.