I’m a musician and music writer, fascinated by lots of things including how different cultures approach improvisation and rhythm. I play guitar, tabla, and santoor, aiming to collaborate openly with anyone and also to explore the rich crossover spaces of jazz, jungle, and Indian classical music. Just moved to London so want to find new friends here - interested in why you have your interests.

Currently I’m a writer-in-residence for Darbar Festival, putting together a series of extended articles on Indian classical in the modern world, and I also write about jazz, minimalism, and rhythm theory. (What is rhythm but recognising a pattern through time? What could be more fundamental to our minds than that? I think rhythm really is life).

Used to teach guitar, studied Indian music under Pandit Shivnath Mishra in Varanasi, and wrote up an admittedly quasi-scientific research article around how our minds dream of musical harmony (http://bit.ly/1tmITM9). I'm interested in the way anybody approaches music regardless of how 'good' they think they are.

Outside of music I have an activism project, working with ethically frustrated office workers on how we can push for real systemic change from inside the private sector (I used to be a corporate risk consultant, whatever that’s supposed to mean). We’ll be releasing a Workplace Activism handbook soon.

rāga - that which colours the mind
www.ragajunglism.org

Here’s a track I made recently - No Kanjira:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4J4DQTx3Zg

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I always look forward to meeting new people for meaningful conversations, and want to discover why you have the fascinations you do. Just moved to London so want to find new friends here, and will do my best to host when I’ve got a permanent place. For now I’m drifting between different houses which is great so far.

Interests

• coffee
• meditation
• politics
• jazz
• guitar
• anthropology
• film
• zen
• improvisation
• dreams
• indian music
• tabla
• hip-hop
• radicalism
• countercultures
• tastefulness psychedelia
• rhythm theory
• oldskool russian literature
• animal noises
• aimless night wanderings

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

spat some chewing gum straight into a park bin while cycling past it at high speed

What I Can Share with Hosts

Cooking (of average quality)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Barbados, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, United Kingdom