Hi there! I'm an award-winning radio and print journalist based in Delhi, India. My work broadly focuses on politics, culture, and science but I like to think of myself as a generalist. My reporting has appeared in international media such as NPR, The World, Foreign Policy, CBC, The Christian Science Monitor and more while my science stories have been published in Undark, Wired, New Scientist, National Geographic and BBC Future. My work spans a variety of formats and media: magazine-style deep dives, digital news features, sound-rich radio postcards, and Instagram Reels. I've also worked as a fixer and I'm available for tape-syncs.

If you are an editor or producer interested in commissioning me, I'd love to hear from you. My email is ssp2172@columbia.edu

Over the years, I’ve tagged along with environmentalists trying to save Mumbai’s disappearing mangroves, gone politicking with Hindu nationalists in India, documented the fascinating lives of young Jain nuns, profiled a community health worker wrestling with the pandemic in India's rural heartland and reported on the big struggles and small victories of India’s LGBTQ community. I once did a radio standup from a crowded Mumbai suburban train for a story about the world’s deadliest rail system. 

I also frequently appear on international radio shows and podcasts to discuss my reporting and to provide updates on breaking news stories in South Asia.

Before becoming a freelancer, I was a producer at NPR's Mumbai bureau for three and a half years where I contributed to reporting on a wide range of national and international news events such as India's 2019 general election, civil society protests against Modi's policies and the COVID-19 pandemic, which garnered an Overseas Press Club of America award. Prior to my time at NPR, I had a brief but thrilling stint in live radio by way of internships at WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show and Science Friday. I was also once an intern at the now-defunct OZY Media in Silicon Valley.

I ended up in journalism in a somewhat unusual way. Growing up, I had always imagined myself as a writer of some sort. I dabbled in fiction during undergrad, even winning a college-level short story competition, but it was journalism's mission of telling true stories that appealed to me the most. After spending four years at university poring over circuit diagrams and breadboards to get a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering, I changed course and applied to J-school. I graduated with a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in 2017.