Tell us a little about yourself.
I am perfectly content with a good book and an iced coffee. I swerve somewhere between being solemn and superfluous, striking this out because it sounds solemn, superfluous and extra.
A woman (from the past) that you admire.
My great grandmother, biji, for her joie de vivre. She lost 6 of her 7 children, lived through the partition and led a life charred with personal losses. Despite that she had the most jovial nature I’ve known anyone to have, a joke up her sleeve at all times, and unmatchable charisma.
A woman (from the present) that you admire.
I am inspired by rebels and provocateurs.
Your favourite Punjabi word and what it means?
Thatte khu vich. I am still not entirely sure what it means. But that was biji’s answers to my incessant childhood questions.
Favourite childhood memory?
A month spent with my grandparents after my brother was born. My grandma bought me a nath and tikka and I kept both on through that entire month.
Do you own any heirlooms?
A coveted pair of gold chandbalis from my nani. What I love most about them is that they weigh a fraction of their current-day counterparts.
Favourite part of your day?
I am trying to build a morning ritual that's slowly becoming my favorite part of the day. Wake up to a surya namaskar that ends in me sitting in lotus pose, followed by a five-minute meditation by Tara Brach, topped up with a shot of wheatgrass.
Your self care tips.
Cold showers (the Hof Method) I’ve recently experimented with them and they are a game-changing, especially if you are always cold like me. Social media detoxes. Pursue fulfillment and not success.
Tell me about your best friend.
She is an elected politician and I get very little time with her given her crazy schedule.
Tell me about your favourite holiday of all time.
It was an alternative spring break trip to Guatemala during my final year in college with a great group of friends. Antigua, Guatemala (Central America) is a dilapidated old town with so much character. The trip included climbing up a live volcano, days spent dancing and playing with kids at Los Patojos, an exquisite school run by Juan Pablo who is now a CNN Hero. And evenings spent drinking tequila and being serenaded by Mariachi bands.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Everywhere, like a turtle with my home on my back.
All images by Tenzin Lhagyal.
