I like to say I'm thirty something - which could imply I'm vain and don't like to reveal my age. The truth of the matter is, I'm incorrigibly lazy and don't want to have to update this profile for the next few years. I may be lazy, but I'm also finicky about spelling and grammar and punctuation; a bit of a perfectionist; passionate about travelling, birdwatching, history, old Hindi films, and reading.

A bit more about me: I live in New Delhi, India. In fact, have lived here since 1985. Have a diploma in Hotel Management and worked in a hospitality company for 4 years before chucking it all up and moving to advertising. Between Client Servicing and Media Buying, I also found time to moonlight in Creative, first in Art and then in Copywriting. The copywriting bit finally drew me on to take to writing full time: my next job was as an Assistant Editor with a travel portal. Next in line was another writing job, with a large training company where I learnt instructional design.

I've been dabbling in writing all along - mainly short stories in a variety of genres, from humour and horror to romance and crime. I've won a fair number of awards, from the Commonwealth Short Story Competition in 2003 to the Readers Digest-Oxford Bookstore e-author Competition in 2006. Also plenty of travel writing, most prominently as part of IgoUgo's community, where I masquerade as the guide phileasfogg. I also write travel articles off and on for Lounge, the Saturday edition of The Mint, India's Wall Street partner. Am right now in the process of finishing my first novel (a Mughal detective story set in 17th century Delhi), and keeping my fingers crossed for a good publisher...

My passion is ...

history!

I know too much about ...

Hindi films of the 1950's and 60's - much more than is considered fashionable.

My parents always told me ...

to be considerate.

My childhood ambition ...

to travel the world.

My favorite memory ...

collecting `raw' garnets from Garnet Hill, overlooking the blue-purple-azure striped Pangong Lake, in Ladakh. Unforgettable!

Why I write ...

to tell, to share, to learn a little bit more.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Portuguese Irregular Verbs, by Alexander McCall Smith

My first job ...

Assistant Manager, Food and Beverage Controls

My best moment ...

Winning the Commonwealth Short Story Competition in 2003

My inspiration ...

the world.

Travel > Vacations Planning a family summer vacation on a budget

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With summer around the corner, many of us are beginning to plan a summer vacation. For families and that too on a budget planning a vacation becomes a tad tougher than just making bookings. To get more bang for your buck, and keep your family happy, follow a few simple guidelines.

1. Plan well in advance.
Figure out what you want from your vacation before you book. Get the family together to make sure your itinerary features something to please everyone. Make a `long list' to begin with, then start cutting out items that break your budget or don't appeal to more than one member of th...

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