CURRENT MISSION
To write about humanitarian and ecological issues to move 100 million people into action.
www.terregeneration.com

ABOUT ME

I've lived in over a dozen cities, including Bangalore, Mumbai, Shanghai, San Francisco, and Delhi.
I love nature and now spend a lot of time on my mountain in Kodaikanal.

PHILOSOPHY
Will try anything twice.

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

For many years, I kept my couch permanently open. These days I travel more often than I host, but I still love the spirit of Couchsurfing. The simple idea that the world becomes smaller and kinder when strangers share space, stories and meals.

I now live and work in London, where I run a communications company focused on climate and social impact work. London has become home, but my life has been fairly nomadic — I’ve lived in cities from San Francisco to Shanghai and across India. So travellers always feel familiar to me.

If our paths cross, I’m usually happy to share a walk through a neighbourhood, a good coffee, a forest trail, or a conversation that stretches late into the evening.

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COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm privileged to have been given the "Pioneer" Couchsurfer badge, as I signed up back in 2007. Over the years I’ve hosted travellers from many corners of the world — some through Couchsurfing, others through the wandering grapevine of friends-of-friends.

Hosting has always been one of my favourite ways to “travel without travelling.” Every traveller arrives carrying stories from roads, mountains, trains, villages, and unexpected adventures. Those stories expand the mind in ways that guidebooks never can.

When someone stays over, it feels a little like opening a small window to another part of the world. If I can’t go out and explore the world myself at that moment, then the next best thing is when the world drops by for tea.

And sometimes those conversations end up being the start of lifelong friendships.

兴趣

reading, travelling, tasting new food and drink and smoke, juggling, games that test accuracy

• books
• dining
• running
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• billiards
• socializing
• juggling
• swimming
• archery
• business

音乐、电影和书籍

My Favorite Music, Movies & Books

I’m terrible at naming “favourites.” My tastes move around too much for that. But here are a few things that have stayed with me.

Films:
The kind that make you feel like you’ve travelled somewhere strange and beautiful. Baraka and Koyaanisqatsi did that to me years ago and I still think about them. More recently I’ve enjoyed the wonderfully odd worlds of Yorgos Lanthimos.

Music:
My musical roots are somewhere between classic rock and classical Indian music. As a teenager I went through a serious phase of The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers, and honestly that love for electronic chaos never really left.

Growing up in Bangalore in the 90s, I was also around a lot of early hip-hop culture. These days I occasionally put together a feminist hip-hop DJ set that I designed for my partner — who once believed all hip-hop was misogynistic. It turns out there’s a whole other side to the genre.

Books:
I gravitate towards books that mix travel, humour and imagination. City of Djinns is one I return to often.
I also have a soft spot for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — which probably explains my long-standing love for science fiction in general.

If you stay over, chances are we’ll end up swapping book recommendations, music playlists, or watching something wonderfully strange.

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

I’m not sure I have one amazing thing — but I seem to have accidentally collected a few small adventures along the way.

I trained as a paraglider pilot, which taught me that stepping off a mountain with a piece of fabric above you can feel surprisingly natural.

At another point I was trained as a snake rescuer and relocator — the kind of work where someone calls because a cobra or python has wandered into their home, and your job is to calmly help move it back to the wild. It’s a strange mix of adrenaline, respect for nature, and trying not to make sudden movements.

On a day of questionable judgement, I jumped out of a plane twice within three hours — mostly because the first time was so good I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.

I’ve also driven a 4-WD jeep up a hill that felt suspiciously close to a 45-degree incline, which was one of those moments where halfway up you start wondering whether gravity has suddenly become very interested in you.

And perhaps the most life-altering adventure: at one point I decided I wanted to move to China. No grand plan — just curiosity. Somehow it actually happened, and I ended up living there for a while.

So I guess the pattern is simple: when life offers an unusual adventure, I tend to say yes.

教，学，和分享

I enjoy building and assembling things — furniture, simple structures, creative contraptions, whatever seems useful or interesting at the moment. I don’t have formal training in it, but I like figuring things out with my hands and a bit of trial and error.

More broadly, I’m always happy to share things I’ve learned over the years, especially with people who may not normally have easy access to that knowledge. A lot of what I know has come from generous people teaching me along the way, so passing that on feels natural.

And I’m always keen to learn from others too — whether that’s a new skill, a recipe from your part of the world, a story from a place I’ve never been, or a completely different way of looking at things.

Travel works best when knowledge flows in both directions.

我可以与沙发主分享些什么

A good meal and good stories.

I enjoy cooking and am always happy to make something from the places I’ve lived or travelled through — often simple Indian dishes, but I like experimenting depending on what’s in the kitchen.

I can also share stories and experiences from different corners of the world. I’ve lived and worked across several countries and cultures, so conversations tend to wander from forests in India to cities in China, London life, strange travel adventures, and the occasional unexpected wildlife encounter.

Mostly, I’m happy to bring curiosity, conversation, and a bit of warmth to the home — the small things that make Couchsurfing feel like more than just a place to sleep.

我游览过的国家

Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

我居住过的国家

China, India, Kuwait, United Kingdom, United States

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