Why I’m Leaving London to Write

A year (or more) of travel and storytelling through India

Jul 09, 2025

Hi all,

This is a bit of a milestone-slash-pinch-me moment and one I’ve been meaning to write for a while.

After months of sitting with the decision, I’ve finally decided to step away from my job in London and take a writing sabbatical across India. It’s a big shift, and one I’ll write more about soon — the hows and whys, the hesitation, the strange exhilaration of choosing the uncertain thing, and the final leap of making it all public. But for now, I just wanted to say this: I’m going to be doing this full-time for a while.

I move to India in late August. Before that, I’m taking a bit of a breather — after nearly a decade of the corporate grind — with a few short trips: first to Scotland, then to Canada, and maybe (if all goes well) a quick visit to Italy.

📚 But why do this, you ask?

Well, because … I GOT A BOOK DEAL!

I still can’t believe it and I haven’t said it this directly until now. Over the next year or so, I’ll be travelling across India to research and write a literary travelogue under contract with one of the country’s leading publishers. The book will trace a sacred geography of India, from Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south, from the white salt of Kutch to the far hills of Nagaland and the Seven Sisters. Along the way, I’ll be visiting lesser-known shrines and sites across all of India’s major faiths — Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and more — and writing about what they reveal about belief, beauty, and belonging in India today.

Some of these reflections will eventually find their way into the book. But much of the raw, messy, in-between parts — the thoughts that don’t fit neatly into chapters — will show up here, on Infinity Inklings. This newsletter will be the field journal, the scratchpad, the dispatches from the journey.

And I’d love for it to be a two-way road. If you have suggestions: places you think I should visit, stories that moved you, local recommendations, or if you’re simply on the ground somewhere and want to meet for a coffee (or chai), I’d love to hear from you. Especially if you’re Indian, or from the diaspora, or know the terrain in a way I don’t (which won’t be hard), your guidance would mean the world. You can reply to this post, email me, or message me on Instagram.

This journey feels huge and humbling and it’s taken a lot to leave the glass temples of global capitalism to walk through different kinds of temples: spiritual, cultural, and metaphorical. But I’m excited to begin this journey and take you along with me.

🌍 What to expect here:

I’ve thought long and hard about how this newsletter can evolve along with me on this journey. You can expect a few different kinds of writing here over the next year and beyond:

Dispatches: Quick scenes, observations, and fragments from the road
Essays: Longer reflections on identity, culture, memory, and belonging you’ve gotten used to here
Reviews: Mostly books, occasionally exhibitions or films that leave a mark
Interviews (coming soon): Conversations with people whose stories, work, or questions have stayed with me

🔧 What’s changing:

First: I’m saying goodbye (with some sadness) to the Infinity Inklings #X format. Numbering the posts gave me rhythm and accountability when I was doing this on the side of my day job. But now, as I step into a more fluid phase of life, it feels right to let each piece stand on its own; untethered, unnumbered, and a little freer.

Second: I’m aiming to publish something every week or so. But I’ll be honest, there may be pauses. Some weeks I’ll have stories spilling out of me and no one but you to tell them to. Other weeks, I’ll be deep in the writing cave, working on the book or just sitting in the silence. Thank you in advance for bearing with me when those quieter spells come.

And third: After much nudging (and a fair bit of stalling), I’m turning on paid subscriptions.

Nothing changes immediately — all new posts will remain free for now. But paid subscribers will get access to the full archive, and soon, a few extras: early chapters from the book, behind-the-scenes notes, maybe even field recordings or voice memos if I figure out the tech.

I’ve set the price at the lowest Substack allows (£5/month or £50/year — about the cost of a good iced matcha). If you’ve found value in this work and want to support it — especially now that this will be my main focus for the year — I’d be deeply grateful. But there’s no pressure. Just having you here is already a gift.

But before I go, thank you. Thank you for the time, the care, the kindness across these years. For reading quietly, replying generously, sharing a piece or two with someone you thought might need it. I wouldn’t have had the courage to do this without you.

The road ahead still feels uncertain … but it seems far less lonely because you’re here!

Lots of love,
Nishad

P.S: I wasn’t sure what picture to share, so here’s toddler me at Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, already fascinated by Indian festivals. I’ve always been drawn to rituals, mythologies, and sacred places, and now somehow I get to spend a year writing a book about them. I think baby me would be proud … and also very, very confused.