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As eaters we find ourselves increasingly in the grip of a Nutritional Industrial Complex – comprised of well- meaning, if error- prone, scientists and food marketers only too eager to exploit every shift in the nutritional consensus. Together, and with some crucial help from the government, they have constructed an ideology of nutritionism that, among other things, has convinced us of three pernicious myths: that what matters most is not the food but the “nutrient”; that because nutrients are invisible and incomprehensible to everyone but scientists, we need expert help in deciding what to eat; and that the purpose of eating is to promote a narrow concept of physical health. Because food in this view is foremost a matter of biology, it follows that we must try to eat “scientifically” – by the nutrient and the number and under the guidance of experts.
~ In Defense of Food By Michael Pollan
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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...
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
The Abu Simbel Temple: Egypt’s Timeless Wonder and a Tribute To Global Heritage Preservation
These Words Won't Be Enough Abu Simbel is located in a remote town three hours away from Aswan. Our cab driver picked us up from our cruise boat on the Nile that was stationed at the Aswan...
When Death Isn’t the Fear: A Soul-Shaking Review of “A Battle with My Blood”
Tatiana Schlossberg was a mother, an environmental journalist, and a cancer patient - in that order. She passed away at the age of 35 a few days ago. And she had written an essay about her...
Between Two Worlds: An Indian American Woman’s Honest Take on Identity, Culture, and Belonging
Observations, Opinions, and Cultural Critique Cultural Essays from a Life Lived Between Worlds
Finding Peace on a Walk Across America: What a Dog, the Deep South, and a Buddhist Monk Teach Us
How Do We Find Peace? “By practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness is the medicine we all need.” This was the answer given by a Buddhist monk at the Walk for Peace event yesterday in deep south...
Writer-At-Large – The 2025 Indian-American Documentary – Final Part
Continued from Part I HERE JULY My son sent me pictures of the Harvard university library from his visit to Boston and I lamented to him that it's the right place for me, and then got...
Writer-At-Large – The 2025 Indian-American Documentary
Not Your Average Recap The last time I did a pictorial essay of this nature was in 2014. I had then talked about bathroom selfies I had taken, although they didn't make me look like Kim...
A Year in Writing 2025: Art, Emotion, and the Ideas That Shaped My Inner World
- On Motherhood As a Writer-At-Large and primarily as a mother, I wrote about Kanu dappika, the longing of a mother to see her children in A Mother’s Words for the Ache of Missing Her Children. I...
Let’s Reimagine the Übermensch: Creative Freedom in Service to Something Greater
Every culture has its superheroes. There is Hercules, the legendary Greek hero and son of Zeus, who achieved god-like status through his extraordinary actions. Then there is Arjuna, the epic warrior...
Scandinavian Crime Fiction That Excels In The Art of Being Moody and Riveting
- I work with a lot of Danes, and I find them quietly fascinating. They're humble, economical with words and rarely interrupt in meetings. Even if they are the subject matter experts, they...
Karpura Gauram Karunavataram – Shankara’s Timeless Mantra on Shiva, Shakti, and Non-Duality
Adi Sankara hardly needs an introduction, and whatever little I know about Sanatana Dharma and Advaita philosophy is thanks to his profound work on the topics. Many of his sholas, poetry and prose...
Unlocking Moksha-Sannyasa Yoga: The Final Path of Letting Go for Today’s Teens
- If you would like to teach kids how to let go to usher the divinity in them, here's how you can attempt it. Please suggest any important shlokas I should be including as I compile these notes...
Homesick for the Stars
When I stumble into landscapes like these, I can't help but laugh at the audacity of man — thinking we can tame this beastly beauty of nature and dare to call it "mine." Let everything happen to...
How I Travel to My Village Poranki Anytime Without a Passport
Poranki, my small hometown a few kilometers from the center of Vijayawada, is a place where your morning walk will take you through banyan groves, tall college buildings, and cow-dung-filled...
At Atlanta’s Bobby Dodd Stadium, The Line Between Faith And Football Is Blurred
I just walked out of a Georgia Tech vs. University of Pittsburgh football game at half time. And it was not looking good for our Yellow Jackets, let me tell ya. Yup, by the time I finished writing...
The Invisible Brandons Hiding in Plain Sight – Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/m64m4MyMcIM - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - A Night To Remember I came home and couldn’t go back to bed without cleaning my kitchen countertop...
Nostalgia in Ruins: Watching My Childhood Home Fall and My Memories Rise
- My mother visited her (and mine) childhood home for the last time today as it will be demolished starting tomorrow. Nostalgia, as it turns out, will not have a home anymore. Yet, somehow,...
On Living Out Loud – Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/KHnRhdHrQyE - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - The Actions Of A Free Man Here’s the truth. The things that make us feel alive, laughter that...
Writer-At-Large: The Invisible Brandons Among Us
Listen to the essay- Yesterday I went to a restaurant with a couple of my friends. For now, let's call the place CF Pangs. We were shown to a booth in the back, and I briefly excused myself...
Why I Really Have 3,452 Friends: The Quiet Ethos of Enduring Friendship
- Fun days are when I meet many brand new strangers and also have a chance to invite some of them to my home. Yesterday was one such day. I was witness to an event where two friends who had...
I Crashed a Wedding in Seville. Sorry, Curiosity Got the Better of Me.
- I have so much to write about Spain and its aura, but where can I really begin? I’ve already written about an Indian wedding in the heart of Sitges, and a child who was a cutter at the...
ఎన్నో భయాల్లో ఇది ఒకటి – A Poem by Rachana
నాలోని భావాల లోతు వినిపించాలంటే,తెలుగు తప్ప నాకు మరో భాష తెలియదు.నిజంగా చెప్పాలంటే, తెలుగులోనే చెప్పాలంటే —ఈ పదాలు, ఈ వరుసలోనే రాయాలి. నీ కోసం శ్వాసల సముద్రం నింపుకుంటా,కానీ నీ తలపు తీరాన్ని...
Babysitting and Brain Rot Stations: What Kids Can Teach Us About Living in the Now
- Last week, one of our funniest Swamijis (Ramakrishnaji) was in town for a Satsang, so I was assigned the task of babysitting kids at a local chapter of the Chinmaya Mission. As I got on...
When East Met West Under the Georgia Sky: A Fusion Wedding at Serenbe
Two Worlds, One “I Do” What can two families born 8000 miles apart yet raising their kids in the deep south of the US have in common? Their children, who inspite of cultural differences,...