“A literary mixtape [with] perfect flow and variety.” — The New York Times, March 2016
House of SpeakEasy continues its electrifying 2025 season at Joe’s Pub on May 13 with a night of fresh, original storytelling from four celebrated writers. Inspired by the theme “Let the Great World Spin,” each author will take the stage to share a brand-new, never-before-heard tale—live, intimate, and unfiltered.
I’m lucky to have an essay of mine published as the Weekend Essay at the New Yorker. Please read the piece here. I have also compiled a few images from my trip in my latest Substack newsletter.
Here’s an image that I was unable to include in the album, of Bihari migrant workers from one of the unreserved train cars.
Feb 11. Happy pub day. The paperback of A Time Outside This Time comes out today. When the hardcover was published, The New Yorker described the book as “a shimmering assault on the Zeitgeist.”
Also, it is my father’s birth anniversary today. Here is a link to a piece in Granta magazine; the piece was published, coincidentally, when I was sitting in the ICU in Patna while my father was in a coma.
Many of the drawings and paintings in this book are the result of the walks I have undertaken. Don’t stop walking! And keep a journal. What you draw is a way of keeping a diary, of course, but also write words to record what you see.
On a fast-heating planet, it has become more important than ever to hold on to every vestige of hope. We must save every drop of creativity to imagine new futures. We must remember that like leafy trees, art also offers us shade, and that literature quenches our thirst for finding the right words for every emotion.