“As a single desi, one really great way to establish your independence and live vicariously is to pick some hot destinations and explore. Check out the bars and clubs, talk to locals, sight-see and get a sense of how everyone else lives in different parts of the world. As a school psychologist, I am lucky to have spring break, Christmas break and summer vacation. I use that time to travel and see the world. Here are tips on traveling on your own and making the best of your given circumstances.” GUEST BLOG

If you’ve been enjoying Lassi with Lavina, now it’s time to make some of your own too!

If you have insights, ideas, thoughts – provocative, funny or plain offbeat – you are welcome to be a guest blogger at the ol’ Lassi Guesthouse. We’d love to hear your perspectives on India and all things Indian or South Asian. Take an Indian thread and spin a silken tapestry!

Guess what, Lassi with Lavina is being followed on Twitter by someone from the White House!

No, not the President, not even the First Lady. Not even the First Children but by the First Dog, Bo Diddley Obama! Of course, I wasn’t aware that dogs could read or keyboard, much less get on to Twitter. But then again, you have to remember it’s the Obama dog and he probably has a great IQ to match the rest of the Obamas.

Well, I can relate to that urge to connect! I’ve been writing about people since I was ten (honestly – getting 10 bucks from the Statesman newspaper in Calcutta for my articles) and I’ve always been curious about human beings and intrigued by the stories of their lives.

‘Wordsmith’ – I like the feel of the word, its heft. It has echoes of blacksmith, silversmith, goldsmith – someone hardy and dedicated, working with raw material over fire, shaping it and transforming it into something which didn’t exist before.

What better way to start a new blog than with Ganesha, the Lord of New Beginnings? Give him whichever name you choose – He is that consciousness that is within us and around us and in the very breath we take.