I’m slowly easing my way back into work. There’s a lot to catch up on. Typically, when I go on holiday, I make sure to check the news at least once a day in case there’s a breaking news story. This time, however, I knew that unless it was something massive, I wasn’t going to care much, and didn’t check anything for days.

I have quite a few pieces coming out one after the other in the coming days, and now that I’m back, editors have promised to get back to me on three ideas that were in limbo. Looks like travel is on the cards again.

I’m excited about being back to work after the holiday, so expect frequent posts on the blog. In the meantime, here’s some published work for you to check out:

For TIME, I profiled Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, someone I consider a personal hero, and was delighted to meet in person. When my editor asked me if I’d like to interview him, I almost jumped with joy. I was even more thrilled to find that he’s even more gracious and wonderful than he comes across in his work.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1924149_1924154_1924429,00.html

I also have a piece in the Indian magazine The Caravan, titled “Reality of the Façade” about the world’s obsession with virginity and how Indian middle-class women are opting for hymenoplasties. I wrote on this topic once before for a women’s magazine in India, and was very disappointed because not only had the editor misrepresented the people I interviewed, but also sensationalized it to an extreme (the piece wasn’t run by me before it was published, or I would have asked for my byline to be removed).

Thankfully, The Caravan’s editors are wonderful, and I’m very happy with the published piece. The article’s not online yet, but it will be, and I’ll let you know when it’s up. (Or pick up a copy.)