I cannot believe Mardi Gras is upon us again! Memories of last year’s festivities are still fresh; it was especially unique in that it was my husband’s first Mardi Gras. The weeks of parades, catching beads and trinkets (all in good clean fun, unless you’re on Bourbon Street of course), the crazy and colorful costumes…
London Travelogue: Day Trip to Paris
To view all London Travelogue entries, click here. 1/3/13 For the penultimate day of our trip, we planned a day trip to the city of love, Paris. Several months in advance, we booked Eurostar train tickets for the 2.5 hour trip. Aside from buying the tickets, we did not do much more planning as we wanted…
London Travelogue: Day 5
To view all London Travelogue entries, click here. 1/2/13 After a restful and calm New Year’s Day, we hit the ground running again. We started the morning off by visiting the Tate Modern, one of four museums in the Tate group (the others being Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, and Tate St. Ives). This is the most…
London Travelogue: Day 4
To view all London Travelogue entries, click here. 1/1/13 After ringing in the New Year, January 1 was a day of sleeping in and relaxing. We lounged around the house for the afternoon, and then in the evening decided to watch The Hobbit at the O2 arena, located on the Greenwich Peninsula. The O2 arena…
For Jyoti Singh Pandey
This is a poem I wrote several years ago. It resonates with me each time a tragic headline or untold personal story of a woman comes to the surface. Today, I dedicate it to Jyoti Singh Pandey, may your brave and strong soul find moksha. We Are My first lesson in gender inequality Came at…
London Travelogue: Day 3
To view all London Travelogue entries, click here. 12/31/12 Monday brought a visit to Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, and Trafalgar Square, all within walking distance of each other in Westminster. “Circus” refers back to the Latin word for circle, indicating “a round open space at a street junction.” There are several “circuses” in London, including Piccadilly…
London Travelogue: Day 2
To view all London Travelogue entries, click here. 12/30/12 The second day of our trip started off with breakfast at Westfield Mall in Stratford. I know what you’re thinking — a mall? I tend to avoid malls whenever possible because I dislike the crowds and glorification of materialism everywhere, but this mall is quite impressive as…
London Travelogue: Day 1
12/29/12 My husband and I had been looking forward to visiting London, the city in which he grew up, since the moment we knew we would get married. The main reason for our visit was to see his grandmother (whom we call Ba in Gujarati) who could not travel to the U.S. for our wedding due…
Honoring a Musical Legend: Pandit Ravi Shankar
“Pop changes week to week, month to month. But great music is like literature.” [Pandit Ravi Shankar] After 92 years defined by musical brilliance and accomplishment, Pandit Ravi Shankar died on December 11, 2012. The term pandit signifies teacher or scholar; Shankar was indeed both of these in the art of classical Indian music. He brought…
The Nutcracker
For a very long time, I have been wanting to see a live symphony or ballet performance. Although I have studied only a minute fraction of the history of classical music and art, I have a great appreciation for the technical skill and discipline of classical musicians and ballet dancers. There is nothing like hearing…
Festivals Galore
This past week has been jam-packed with festivals! New Orleans itself is known for its myriad of fun and quirky festivals ranging from those in honor of tomatoes, oysters, mirlitons, and swamps to film, music, art, and wine. The city does not need an excuse to host a party and a parade! Last weekend I…
Three
Being a medical student in North Philadelphia and then going on to residency in New Orleans have shaped my view of medicine and the vast injustices people face. Most of my clinical rotations in medical school dealt with the underserved and uninsured population. These are hands down the most challenging patients to treat for reasons…
pen . paper . storm 