This essay appeared in the Atlantic this week.

Blame It on the Alcohol: An Unintentional Bender in New Delhi

What happens when an abstainer, inspired by Islam and confirmed by palate, is accidentally served a daiquiri at a friend's wedding in India. 

After a quarter century of… Read full post »

This essay appeared in the Atlantic yesterday. Fittingly enough, today is my 31st birthday!

I approached my 30th birthday with the typical trepidation associated with the occasion: I lamented all I hadn't accomplished; I surveyed my face for crevices. Midnight was marked with friends and cupcakes.… Read full post »

This essay ran in the Atlantic last week.

"So, your last name's Khan, huh?" a guy at work asked out of the blue one day. Though we'd always smiled and waved in the hallways, until… Read full post »

This essay appeared in the New York Times today. Please note: Eid is the commonly used spelling, but Id is apparently NYT style.

 All American Id

When I think of Id, I think of doughnuts.

Some might expect more ethnic fare to be symbolic of this holy day—haleem, perhaps,… Read full post »

A few years ago, I approached my desk after a morning meeting and was greeted by giant glossy color images of donuts, burgers, ice cream, and french fries plastered on the wall of my cubicle.

This was my then-boss's charming way of helping me ring in in… Read full post »

I knew he was sketchy as soon I saw him clambering up the steps of the bus.

Slightly hunched over, the man slithered his way down the aisle, shifty eyes darting from seat to seat, pausing momentarily at my row to stare at the open spot across the way.… Read full post »

A naturalization test at an immigration office in Boston was the last hurdle standing between me and U.S. citizenship. But for me this journey had actually begun years before, on a rickety vessel you may have heard of—The Mayflower. Except in my adaptation, that leaky ship sailed… Read full post »